Board Responsibility for Equitable Student Success
Board Roles and Responsibilities
Explore board responsibilities for equitable student success.
At any given point, boards play an integral role in equitable student success. Just because boards are not on the campuses and involved in the day-to-day operations of their institutions does not mean boards cannot (and do not) impact what is happening among the students, staff, and faculty. It is important for boards to assess the role they play in advancing or impeding student success.
Below we highlight responsibilities that boards should take on in an effort to advance student success.
Establishing, disseminating, and keeping current the mission of the institution
Selecting, supporting, and assessing the chief executive of the institution/system
Co-creating, approving, and monitoring the progress of the strategic plan
Ensuring the institution’s fiscal integrity, preserving and protecting its assets for posterity, and engaging directly in fundraising and philanthropy
Ensuring the quality of education provided by the institution
Safeguarding both the autonomy of the institution and the related tradition of academic freedom
Ensuring that the policies and processes of the institution remain current and are properly implemented
Engaging regularly with the institution’s major constituencies
Ensuring that the board’s business is conducted in an exemplary fashion, that its governance policies and practices are kept current, and that the performance of the board, its committees, and its members are periodically assessed
Ultimately…boards are responsible and accountable for the success of the institution; therefore, they become a key group in the implementation process of SEL [shared equity leadership] as well. Campuses in our study actively involved their boards with their DEI efforts (see also Morgan, LePeau, and Commodore 2022; Rall 2020). In addition to the presidents of each institution committing to make DEI issues a part of the board agenda, they also created an infrastructure to support the board work in this area, usually a board subcommittee focused on DEI. Boards were responsible for approving and monitoring DEI plans at each of these campuses. The degree to which the board embraced its role in accountability for DEI shaped the culture of urgency and commitment. Board commitment could also be a challenge, however, especially at colleges where alumni are deeply connected to Greek life and often loath to commit to action that would change culture in this sphere, where there is often active racism and sexism.
The Association of Governing Boards has several useful resources on board roles:
- “Increasing Diversity on the Boards of Colleges and Universities” (2020)
- Review and Enhance Institutional Policies Related to Campus Climate, Inclusion, and Civility (2016)
- “Trustees Need to Address Racism” (2020)
Source: Adrianna Kezar, Elizabeth Holcombe, and Darsella Vigil. Shared Responsibility Means Shared Accountability: Rethinking Accountability Within Shared Equity Leadership. (American Council on Education, 2022).
“The ultimate aim of colleges and universities and a primary responsibility of boards of trustees should be equitable student success. Too often, though, this goal has proven to be elusive. The resources provided here offer practical, prudent recommendations to convert aspirations into realities, much to the benefit of students, colleges, and society at large.”
Richard Chait
Professor Emeritus of Higher Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Former Trustee, Wheaton (Massachusetts), Goucher, and Maryville Colleges
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