AGB Releases September 2011 State Governance Action Report

Management and Fiscal Autonomy Top the List of State Concerns

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) has released the latest State Governance Action Report (SGAR) covering current or just recently completed legislative sessions. Among the most important issues being considered are management autonomy, such as relaxed rules for purchasing, procurement, and human resources, and greater fiscal autonomy measures such as carry-over budgeting and greater tuition-setting authority.

The 2011 legislative cycle and the 2012 fiscal year have prompted increased state action around several issues, but most prominent are the inter-related themes of:

• Managing state budgets, instituting performance-based funding, and implementing state planning imperatives;
• Restructuring governance and statewide coordination;
• Decreasing state regulation and increasing institutional autonomy; and
• Advancing student success by increasing the number of college degree and certificate holders, improving graduation rates, and workforce preparation.

As state funding continues to decline as a percentage of institutional revenues, statewide governance and coordinating structures are under increased pressure to leverage performance improvements (of which college degree completion remains primary) and advance overall responsiveness to state economic and social needs.

“State fiscal constraints continue to dominate the headlines,” said Rich Novak, senior vice-president for programs and research and executive director of AGB’s Ingram Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance. “As a consequence, we are witnessing the most extensive autonomy and deregulation proposals seen for some time, major shifts in the investment of state dollars, and a willingness to experiment with new governance arrangements.”

Due to difficult state fiscal situations, higher-education leaders continue to seek increased levels of autonomy to promote efficiencies that may ultimately save time and money.  From Ohio’s “enterprise universities,” which would provide some level of autonomy if institutions agree to certain performance benchmarks, to Louisiana’s Grad Act 2.0, and proposals in New York, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and other states, developments related to management and fiscal autonomy continue to percolate.

“Governors and legislators are concerned about funding for public higher education and degree attainment in their states and are promoting initiatives that will build a workforce prepared for tomorrow’s economy,” said Cristin Toutsi, policy analyst.  “Given their fiscal situations, many are willing to experiment with new policies, new governance structures, and new incentives for meeting state-performance goals for public higher education.”

The full report is available on AGB’s Web site, www.agb.org. Readers may also want to visit the Higher Education Governance Policy Database (http://agb.org/ingram/policy/search), which focuses on governance proposals and legislative activity in the states.  All policies reported in State Governance Actions Reports (SGAR) can be found in this database, a hub of current governance information affecting public colleges, university systems, and institutionally related foundations.  Enacted legislation and proposed policies are searchable by state, year, policy status (enacted or not enacted), and the following nine policy areas:
•    Board Selection, Composition, and Operations
•    State Strategic and Master Plans
•    Conflict of Interest and Ethics
•    Federal Policy Developments Affecting States
•    Accountability, Autonomy, and Regulation
•    Governance and State Coordination
•    Institutionally Related Foundations
•    P-20 Coordination
•    Tuition and Finance Policy

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For 90 years, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) has had one mission: to strengthen and protect this country’s unique form of institutional governance through its research, services, and advocacy. Serving more than 1,200 member boards and 36,000 individual citizen trustees, AGB is the only national organization providing university and college presidents, board chairs, trustees, and board professionals of both public as well as private institutions and institutionally related foundations with resources that enhance their effectiveness. In accordance with its mission, AGB has developed programs and services that strengthen the partnership between the president and governing board; provide guidance to regents and trustees; identify issues that affect tomorrow’s decision making; and foster cooperation among all constituencies in higher education.