As 2008 draws to a close, Trusteeship features a cover story on the Higher Education Opportunity Act and what it means for federal reporting and record-keeping requirements. The headline says it all: lots more federal regulations. Moving on, we look at a myriad of other pressing issues, from what lies ahead for university-foundation relations to women seeking appointments on college and university governing boards: is their glass half empty or half full? All institutions must tackle presidential assessment; we asked what are some of the barriers to do so effectively? And finally, the roiling economy affects everything, including fundraising. Should institutions change their plans or stay the course?
In August, President Bush signed the Higher Education Opportunity Act into law and in doing so completed the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The six-year effort spanned three Congresses and required 14 short-term extensions of the underlying law to ensure that student-aid benefits would remain available while deliberations continued. The bill itself totals 1,158 pages, establishes roughly 70 new spending programs, and imposes more than 100 new reporting and record-keeping requirements on colleges and universities. Congress approved it overwhelmingly.
Public college and university foundations are undergoing a significant transition that could change their relationships with the boards and presidents of the institutions with which they are affiliated.
In these uncertain economic times, leadership is among the most frequently used (and misused) terms in public discourse. And the vast literature on this topic certainly encompasses considerable discussion of the policies and practices that can equalize leadership opportunities for women and people of color. In reviewing the status of women in leadership positions in higher education, however, it is apparent that despite this work, women continue to be a largely untapped resource, at least in the upper echelons of administration and policymaking. For women who seek appointments as presidents, chancellors, or trustees on college and university governing boards, the glass is less than half full.
A core responsibility of governing boards is the periodic evaluation of institutional leadership, starting with the president. Many very legitimate administrative techniques take time--and often more time than anticipated. But sometimes the use of those processes may deter boards from fulfilling their responsibility for assessing the president's performance in a timely manner.
With the United States economy on a rollercoaster ride this year and words like "meltdown," "bailout," and "crisis" commonly used in recent weeks in connection with the financial markets, college and university administrators might find themselves becoming increasingly anxious about their fundraising plans. But they needn't be, according to several experts in the fundraising field.
It's hard to find the right words to describe the events of the past several weeks of market turmoil and economic worries. It's also hard to know if the worst has occurred or if more turbulence is coming: Have we hit bottom yet or does the stock market still have more to give up? When will the credit markets thaw? Will the actions of the federal government stabilize the economy, and will world markets also find their footing? Right now, there still seem to be more questions than answers.
Conferring honorary degrees is a significant act, not only for what it says about a college or university, but also for the context it provides for the degrees conferred simultaneously on the members of a graduating class. The choice of recipients becomes an important part of an institution's self-definition and can reflect in fundamental ways the institution's mission.
As if it's not difficult enough to digest the meaning of the current economic crisis for our country, colleges, and universities also must grapple with the ramifications for campuses, some of which may not be immediately apparent. Evaluating the potential short- and longer-term impacts of the crisis now may permit early course corrections that minimize legal exposure and the resulting financial burdens.
Ever since the New York Times caught Thomas Hoving, then director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at it in 1973, "deaccessioning" has had a bad odor in the museum world. Even the term, which the Hoving episode made famous, is the kind of word Orwell made infamous, designed as it is to obscure its true meaning.
Museums--whether on a college campus, on Fifth Avenue, or on Main Street--should not sell pieces from their collections to fix the boiler. That is not a statute, but it is a clear standard in the Code of Ethics established by the American Association of Museums. The language in the AAM Code is succinct and to the point:
"Proceeds from the sale of nonliving collections are to be used consistent with the established standards of the museum's discipline, but in no event shall they be used for anything other than acquisition or direct care of collections."
There are 17 million students on college campuses across the United States, most of whom have grown up with an abundant and evolving array of information technology. These are students who have never developed a roll of film. Cut and paste has never involved scissors. And for our traditional college-age students, the World Wide Web has been an online tool since they were born.
As trustees, we take seriously our fiduciary responsibility to the institutions we serve regarding such matters as financial stability, endowment management, enrollment planning, and fundraising. Many of us bring to the table a background in private business that prepares us for discussions about budgets, competitive strategy, and succession planning. But are we ready to talk about mission?
The first round of greenhouse-gas reports has come in, and we just beginning to analyze the data. Out of 391 Charter Signatories, we've received reports from 190 colleges. Another 99 were granted extensions of up to four months to submit their baseline data. We are working with remaining charter signers to help them complete their inventories and submit their reports.
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