Questions for Boards

Recommended Resources

All Resources

Why this is important.

Crises within the higher education arena were rising both in number and severity well before the coronavirus eruption. Risks that foreshadow crises are often ignored or underestimated. Fast-moving social media platforms convert problems into crises overnight, partisan and ideological conflicts add fuel to the flames, extreme weather events strike without warning, and changing markets and demographics result in sustainability crises for many institutions.

Crises are inevitable in higher education, but dynamic crisis leadership ensures institutional viability through even the darkest of times. Governing boards are uniquely positioned to assist colleges and universities in navigating complex challenges, from the global COVID-19 pandemic to diminishing enrollments, declining government funding, and public skepticism about the value of a college education today.

No matter the crisis, practicing sound governance and scenario planning is the best way to anticipate crises and to resolve them once they erupt. With effective leadership, institutions and their boards can emerge from a crisis with greater awareness, resiliency, and commitment to integrity.

Ultimately, such resilience and adaptability enable governing boards to lead with greater confidence in today’s tumultuous environment.

Source: Crisis Leadership for Boards and Presidents: Anticipating, Managing, and Leading beyond Pandemics, Disruptions, and Ethical Failures by Terrence MacTaggart, AGB 2020

Questions for boards.

These are key questions for your board to consider:

Situation

Consequential Questions:

  1. What is happening in the world around us that might pose risks and threats to us as well?
  2. What are we doing or what are we avoiding that makes us vulnerable to risks, threats, and actual crises?
  3. What lessons are offered by similar colleges in similar situations to this crisis?
  4. What fundamental principles and strategic concerns are relevant here in this crisis?

Source:

Crisis Leadership for Boards and Presidents: Anticipating, Managing, and Leading beyond Pandemics, Disruptions, and Ethical Failures by Terrence MacTaggart, AGB 2020

Leadership

Consequential Questions:

  1. Do we have the right board leadership and administrative competence to deal with this crisis?
  2. Are your board and president prepared to seriously reimagine the college’s business model to meet the new realities in the higher education marketplace?

Source:

Crisis Leadership for Boards and Presidents: Anticipating, Managing, and Leading beyond Pandemics, Disruptions, and Ethical Failures by Terrence MacTaggart, AGB 2020

Planning

Consequential Questions:

  1. Are emergency response plans clear, distributed to the right people, accessible when needed, and periodically tested and updated?
  2. Are the board and president seriously engaged in enterprise risk management (ERM) to help prevent or at least mitigate a large number of potential crises?
  3. Do we have the resources necessary to conduct a postcrisis evaluation?

Source:

Crisis Leadership for Boards and Presidents: Anticipating, Managing, and Leading beyond Pandemics, Disruptions, and Ethical Failures by Terrence MacTaggart, AGB 2020

We carefully curated these staff-picked resources for you:

Crisis Leadreship Book Cover thumbnail

Crisis Leadership for Boards and Presidents: Anticipating, Managing, and Leading beyond Pandemics, Disruptions, and Ethical Failures

2020
Terrence MacTaggart

Risk Management: An Accountability Guide for University and College Boards

2020
Janice M. Abraham with Sarah Braughler, Liza Kabanova, and Justin Kollinger

Trusteeship Magazine: March/April 2021 Cover

“Governing Higher Education Systems in Perilous Times”

Trusteeship, March/April 2021
James H. Page and Barbara Brittingham

All resources.

Conference
Reflections on Board Leadership Before and After COVID-19
April 13, 2021, 4:15 - 5:00 PM ET - For many, the old caricature of a board that listens to presentations, sips cocktails, and stays home until the next meeting no longer even hearkens to memory.
Register
Trusteeship Article
A Question For Paul N. Friga, PhD
How much has COVID-19 cost higher education? Paul N. Friga is a clinical associate professor of strategy at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also cofounded ABC Insights, a consortium of universities working to …
Read Article
Trusteeship Article
View from the Board Chair: Leading in Challenging Times, Creating New Opportunities
The impact of our nation’s community colleges has never been more important than now, as our community and nation extricate themselves from the grip of the COVID- 19 pandemic. More than 100 years ago, community colleges were created as the …
Read Article
Trusteeship Article
Governing Higher Education Systems in Perilous Times
Higher education governing boards face a surfeit of challenges. For most institutions, enrollment and financial disruptions add to worsening demographic trends. Competitive pressures grow more intense every year, especially with the dramatic increase in online and remote learning. Now COVID-19 …
Read Article
Webinar On Demand
Protecting Institutions from Existential Cyber Risk
February 16, 2021 - Trustees have a duty to protect their institutions from existential cyber risk. Automating the NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides an effective vehicle for shared communication and assures them that a comprehensive view of risk is being assessed …
View Webinar
Blog Post
AGB President & CEO Update: Crisis Strategies & Exemplary Board Leadership
February 02, 2021 - The violence at the U.S. Capitol building last month was incredibly disturbing. For me, it drove home how critical it is that those in higher education advocate peace, equity, and trust across our communities and around the world. If you …
Read Article
FAQs
Crisis Leadership
Effectively lead your institution’s response to a crisis. In times of crisis, it is the board’s responsibility to ensure the right people have the right training and experience to conduct a professional emergency response. This guide provides general guidelines for developing …
Download now
FAQs
Crisis Communications
Effectively guide your institution’s communications response to a crisis. Boards have a crucial role to play when their institutions are facing a crisis. That role is different from the role of the president, but no less important. This guide provides general …
Download now
Blog Post
Developing Presidential Leadership Amid a Pandemic
January 28, 2021 - “I never imagined this degree of disruption when I sought and accepted this presidency,” observed one veteran chief executive. He went on to say “my plan was to restore the luster of this great university. I knew how to do …
Read Article
Trusteeship Article
Beyond Incrementalism
It is common knowledge that many colleges and universities have in recent years faced growing and increasingly complex financial challenges. Many have responded by incrementally cutting expenses and adding new revenue streams. But COVID-19 has rendered such incrementalism insufficient for …
Read Article

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