Colleges must manage all types of risks on their campuses every day, and none should be of greater concern than those involving students. With students at the core of their mission, higher-education institutions should minimize any risks related to student safety and satisfaction, and governing boards should establish effective policies to support…

Discusses conflicts of interest in higher education, offering rules of thumb for judging individual situations, tools to help board members address such conflicts, and possible standards to apply when considering conflicts of interest. Also touches on the need to be realistic and the importance of collegiality and trust. (EV)

Discusses faculty retirement policy at colleges and universities, particularly findings from a survey by the American Association of University Professors. Explores defined-contribution plans, terminal leaves, phased retirement programs, and prerequisites that can enhance faculty retirements. Also addresses how trustee boards can help with…

Provides an overview of technology transfer issues and discusses ways in which trustees can help ensure that academic mission is balanced with valuable opportunities for taking campus research to the marketplace. (EV)

Discusses how a policy statement on board philanthropy can clarify fundraising expectations of all governing and foundation board members. Describes essential components of such a policy statement: mission and vision, recognition of board responsibility for fundraising, specific expectations, and commitment to project and campaign goals. Also…

Three models for college governing boards to use in approaching teaching and learning issues in a technological age are outlined, presented as lists of characteristics reflecting their focus and perspectives on student and faculty needs, responsibility, interactivity, funding, rewards, competition, relationships, and student-faculty ratios. While…

Although the role of the college governing board secretary should be low-profile, this officer can contribute to effective leadership at the institution by establishing and maintaining open channels of communication, formal and informal, among board members and between individual trustees and the chief executive. A well-designed orientation can…

A glossary presents basic terminology and acronyms of information technology and some common shorthand messages used on the Internet and World Wide Web. The glossary is intended for college and university trustees who need to understand basic terms for policy discussion and formulation. (MSE)

In an interview, a prominent college trustee discusses strategies for increasing ethnic and cultural diversity on governing boards, the relationship between board diversity and institutional policies, effects on the student body, the responsibility of the board, and the challenges and rewards of trusteeship. (MSE)

Five college and university admissions officers (Richard Whiteside, Robert Laird, Jon Rivenburg, Fred A. Hargadon, Stanley E. Henderson) tell how their institutions have responded to charges that some institutions selectively report data to boost their rankings in magazines and college guides. Comments address the way data are obtained and…

Public colleges and universities increasingly raise private funds through institutional foundations. A healthy relationship between governing and foundation boards requires open communication, regular interaction, and shared information. The fulcrum of this relationship is the college's president, who has specific responsibilities toward each…

A July 1996 public opinion poll shows that Americans, particularly those likely to have children reaching college age, sharply overestimate the cost of a college education. As a result, some may not explore financing possibilities further. College officials must be more direct with the public about the economic realities of higher education. (MSE)

As campuses grow, they have become more confusing, unwieldy, and expensive. Colleges may have to forfeit a physical face and space for every function of the institution. A unique planning challenge is the interface between physical and virtual realms. As institutions go increasingly online, physical space can be freed for collegial encounters and…

Five members of the Commission on the Academic Presidency (Michael Schwartz, Garrey Caruthers, Mary Maples Dunn, Paul D. Schauer, Donald G. Phelps) reflect on how the commission's recommendations to public and higher education leaders can encourage meaningful, lasting change in college governance. Each speaks from a different policy perspective…

The beliefs that underpin traditional governance in higher education no longer fit the reality of higher education leadership. Higher education must abandon the quest for the perfect governance structure and attend to the nature of effective governance. Focusing on autonomy and control issues distracts from solving problems of access,…