By Ry Rivard
Inattentive college and university governing boards are putting American higher education at risk, according to a new set of guidelines for trustees issued today by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
A special 26-member commission, led by former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, concluded that changing conditions — including financial constraints and public perceptions – endanger the durability of the nation’s higher education system. That system, the commission concluded, is based on “the reputations of a relative handful of highly ranked U.S. universities, not the overall performance of the sector.”
The commission said generous government funding and lifelong careers for faculty and staff are rapidly becoming things of the past, yet boards function as they have for decades and even then disagree with or misunderstand what they ought to be doing.
In a series of recommendations, the commission called for board members to restore public faith in higher education by improving value for students; to do less short-term thinking and more long-term planning; to rethink the power-sharing agreements boards have with faculty; and to hold themselves accountable for bad board behavior, including self-dealing and conflicts of interest.
The report also calls on boards to do more to oversee affiliated institutions, including university foundations, public-private partnerships, research companies and teaching hospitals.
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