Collaborative Leadership for Higher Education Business Model Vitality

Role

In consultation with board leadership and the president, a fundamental role of the board chair is to ensure alignment of strategic objectives with the college or university’s day-to-day operations. The board chair must also ensure that the institution is exercising sound management practices without the governing board overstepping the boundary lines between management and governance—“noses in, fingers out.” The board chair consults with the president to confirm that the appropriate questions are asked to confirm the institution is appropriately resourced and staffed to protect its long-term sustainability and financial viability, and that the institutional programs offered have clearly defined purposes in support of the college or university’s mission, and that those purposes are being achieved.

Responsibilities

In consultation with the college’s senior leadership, the board chair performs other key functions intended to support sound governance of the institution including:

• Appoints strong committee chairs with clearly defined charters and delegation of roles and responsibilities;
• Works with board leadership and the president to plan the agenda for board meetings and shapes the work of the board;
• Works with the appropriate committees to affirm that sound financial and business practices are in place;
• Works with the appropriate board committees to ensure board members have the requisite skill sets to support their fiduciary responsibilities and provide periodic wide-ranging education sessions regarding the college’s business model;
• Builds trust between board and college leadership by empowering president and senior staff to be innovative when dealing with difficult business decisions;
• Promotes a “culture of transparency”;
• Assesses the college governance structure’s capacity to respond to business threats—institutional adaptability and flexibility, and incremental v. decisive action; and
• Requires a multiyear financial planning model linked to a strategic plan.

Role

As the chief executive officer (CEO) of the college or university, the president is responsible for developing the strategic vision for the institution in consultation with the governing board, ensuring that the resources are available to support the plan, and periodically reporting to the board on the achievement of organizational objectives. An essential role of the president is to periodically provide the college’s board with an internal and external risk assessment of the college’s competitive environment and any threats to its long-term sustainability. To accomplish these tasks the president is authorized to recruit a leadership team with the prerequisite skills and experience to manage day-to-day operations and motivate staff by creating an inclusive culture of open communication and collegiality while engaging them in the decision-making process.

Responsibilities

Presidential responsibilities include:

• Continuous leadership assessment, which includes:
  • Right people in the right chairs, and
  • Inclusive engagement with each member of the senior leadership team and effective team building;
• Ensures periodic strategic review of business model’s evolution to remain competitive and ensure desired institutional performance (that is, fiscal, academic quality, student success outcomes);
• Initiates board discussions around the college’s strategic direction;
• In consultation with the chief academic officer, ensure the faculty is an engaged partner in seeking constructive solutions to any internal or external threats to the viability of the institution’s business model;
• Engages with external partners and key supporters of the institution to keep them apprised of the college or university’s planning assumptions and long-term strategic goals and objectives; and
• Aligns institutional financial plan with strategic priorities.

Role

Traditionally, in higher education, the CFO is responsible for maintaining the institution’s records, reporting on its financial performance, and verifying institutional compliance with statutory and regulatory policies. Today, in high-performing colleges the CFO and president work closely and collaboratively, and the CFO serves as a sounding board, strategist, and institutional business risk mitigator. As part of these responsibilities, the CFO at most colleges has a distinct reporting function to the board given its broad fiduciary responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Specifically, the CFO:

• Undertakes periodic environmental scans to assess risk to college business model in consultation with the chief academic officer and the senior leadership team;
• Develops an institutional dashboard of key business drivers and assumptions with stakeholder inputs and periodically publishes information relative to performance, projections, and recommended actions or decision points;
• Regularly undertakes a variance analysis–tracks data at macro level by program and/or line of business;
• Establishes risk tolerance and institution-specific operational performance objectives;
• Actively engages in the production and/or approval of business plans when launching new or revising existing programs to keep an institution relevant;
• Builds multiyear financial planning model and stress-tests same; and
• Articulates the value of transformation, with supporting external and internal data, and how it will support overall financial health of the institution while preserving the institution’s mission.¹