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Board Operations

Board of Trustees Policy

Subject: Board of Trustees Self-Assessment

Number: 2.3

Date: November 2019

Supersedes: June 2012, May 2002


Purpose

Effective Boards of Trustees engage in a regular process of self-assessment of their performance. This willingness to engage in this type of self-assessment serves as a model for all units of the College. Engagement in the process of self-assessment demonstrates that Trustees are strongly committed to fulfilling their governance responsibilities as defined by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Standards of Excellence, Standard VII, Governance, Leadership and Administration, and by the superseding Community College Act of 1963, Section 35.11. In addition, discussion that emerges from the self-assessment about Board roles and responsibilities strengthens communication and understanding among individual Trustees and improves the effectiveness of the Board as a whole.

Responsibility

It shall be the Board’s responsibility, through the work of the Executive Committee, to ensure that it engages in a regular process of self-study to ensure that it continues to serve the public interest, ensure that the institution clearly states and fulfills its mission and goals, has fiduciary responsibility for the institution, and is ultimately accountable for the academic quality, planning, and fiscal well-being of the institution (MSCHE, Standard VII). The Executive Committee, with the support of the President, will organize and conduct the process. The results should be used to identify where the Board is performing well and where it might improve and to set annual Board goals. Because the effectiveness of the Board and the effectiveness of the President are so closely tied, the Board and Presidential evaluation processes will run in tandem if possible.

Process

At the heart of the process shall be a rating instrument to measure Board performance in the following areas as recommended by the Association of Community College Trustees:

  • Board Organization
  • Community Representation
  • Policy Direction
  • Board-President Relations
  • College Operations
  • Monitor Institutional Performance
  • Board Behavior
  • Advocacy
  • Board Education

The Executive Committee will develop the rating tool and will collect, synthesize and report on results on an annual basis, to the full Board, at the September meeting.