In an era of demands for greater accountability in higher education, an increasingly polarized political environment, and scandals such as that at Penn State, access to information is becoming everyone's business, affecting public and independent institutions alike. Although Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demands are often annoying or…

Recent political and economic trends pose a challenge to developing effective leadership capacity to guide public universities to the achievement of statewide goals. However, the increasingly complex political and economic contexts across the nation are making it difficult to develop such leadership capacity. The authors argue that it is important…

Controversies over higher education governance are in the news these days. The most recent occurred this summer when several members of the board of the University of Virginia asked the president, Teresa A. Sullivan, to resign, only to be forced to reinstate her after protests from students, faculty, donors, alumni, and others. That situation…

While cost and completion are important issues, they are not the fundamental problems that have put higher learning in crisis. What calls for urgent attention is low "value"--a critical deficit in the quality and quantity of learning in college. To state it as plainly as possible: Most students graduate without learning enough. There is no longer…

Dormitories, student centers, lecture halls, laboratories, athletic facilities, quads--just try to imagine a residential campus without them. Impossible. They are among its most important assets. As fiduciaries, boards must ensure that those assets are protected and enhanced over time. But how to do so effectively when growing internal and…

Many institutions develop specific measures or indicators--often called "dashboards"--to inform boards and top administrators about the college or university's current situation and performance and assist them in moving the institution ahead strategically. And, increasingly, institutions are using metrics not only to assess internal…

Governance controversies have raised questions among policy makers and the public about how and why trustees are selected for public boards, to whom they are accountable, and whether current problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Having the right board in place can strengthen the higher education-state government relationship. Appointing…

Public college and university foundations are undergoing a significant transition that could change their relationships with the boards and presidents of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Such foundations have been around for over a century. The growth in the value of assets held by foundations, and their increasing significance to…

Articles about accreditation have moved to the front pages of newspapers, and the supposed shortcomings of accreditation have become the subject of national reports and federal legislation and regulations. All this attention reflects a shift in the role accreditation is now being expected to play as an agent of public accountability for higher…

Accountability, transparency, and compliance, are three principles which form the bedrock of best practices in nonprofit governance and are at the heart of a lively debate that has unfolded over the past five years. However, most governing board members do not associate the realization of these principles with the task of completing Form 990, the…

The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on…

Successful shared governance often means that trustees and administrators take an interest in and demonstrate an understanding of what professors do in their disciplines, while faculty members show an understanding and respect for the responsibilities held by the university's leaders. At some colleges and universities, shared governance processes…

For most of the last century, the United States has been recognized as having the best system of higher education in the world. No other nation has a postsecondary system that has been as successful in advancing knowledge and innovation, while also making college accessible to its citizens regardless of their financial circumstances. Yet today,…

The public holds college and university governing boards accountable for the selection and performance of institutions' presidents, and the simple truth is that boards will not find the leaders they need in the coming years without changing how presidents are prepared and selected. Three factors account for this--the aging of current presidents…

As Americans near the end of the first decade of the new millennium, higher education in the United States is caught in a classic "good news/bad news" dilemma. The good news? Broad recognition of the importance of higher education to the country's future, along with larger federal funding increases than at any time in their history. The bad news?…