Trusteeship Articles By Topic: Academic And Student Affairs

At board meetings, trustees scrutinize their institution's statistical indicators or "dashboard," which often constitutes the administration's brag sheet: "We brought in lots of new students and met our enrollment goals, so the budget looks good."

But there's one indicator--seldom bragged about--that trustees should pay closer attention to: graduation rates.

It is argued that European countries with lower or no drinking-age restriction do not experience the youthful drinking problems we do. A 2005 gov­ernment report concluded, however, that among 15-to-16 year olds in 37 countries, including all major countries in Europe, the only country experienc­ing lower rates of drinking and prevalence of heavy drinking than the U.S. was Turkey. Many countries, including the UK, Germany, and Denmark, experi­enced twice and in some cases more than three times the prevalence of intoxication.

Poor student mastery of basic skills shows higher education must maintain higher standards.

Conversations about “job creation” seem to dominate today’s political landscape. At the same time, institutions of higher education and their trustees are working hard to make a compelling case for sustained public and private support. Taking hold of the current interest in new and better jobs for American workers, universities must herald the job-generating benefits of academic research and development.

"Attend our university, where we're not sure what--or even if--our students are learning. We have dedicated faculty members and great facilities, so we think we're doing a good job, but the truth is that we have no evidence to support that."

Promotional copy like that might draw some double takes, but not many applicants. Yet, allowing for some hyperbole, this is the situation at many well-regarded institutions of higher education.

For a trustee on the governing board of one of the more than 1,000 colleges and universities that are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), intercollegiate athletics often sparks unparalleled excitement and energy. The feeling might arise as alumni and friends return to campus for a football weekend. It may come in the midst of a championship basketball run. But whether it’s on the campus of a small private liberal-arts college or a large flagship state university, college sports create a sense of community few other campus activities can match.

In an impassioned article in Trusteeship early last year, Patricia McGuire, the president of Trinity University in Washington, D.C., boldly called for college leaders to respond to the U.S. News & World Report reputation survey this way: Throw it in the trash. As of January of this year, the leaders of some 65 colleges and universities, including my own, had sided with McGuire and signed a letter pledging not to complete the U.S. News reputational survey and not to use the rankings to promote their institutions.