Board Responsibility for Equitable Student Success

Board Roles and Responsibilities

Engaging regularly with the institution’s major constituencies

  • Boards will be visible, accessible, and responsive to students, staff, faculty, presidents, alumni, and the community in a fashion that aligns with their roles. 

Action Items

  • Work with the president to set key meetings.
  • Solicit reports or regular updates and encourage opportunities for conversation and social interaction at board meetings.

Metrics and Assessment Tactics

  • Agenda items  ​
  • Minutes  ​
  • Campus survey​
  • Board survey​

Questions to Pose

  • What major constituencies require interaction with the board?
  • Are chief development officers, HR officers, and others who are essential to equity in communication with boards?  ​
  • How do we learn about the experiences of current students?​  

What does success look like?

Boards have a working knowledge of the organizational chart and key players.

Boards understand student needs.

Boards know who is accountable for what and to whom.

An Institutional Example:

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) logo

Virginia Commonwealth University

The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors established a Committee on Commemorations and Memorials to conduct extensive listening sessions and examine and make recommendations regarding Confederate names and symbols on or adjacent to campus, then took action to decommission them.​

Sources:
VCU Committee on Commemoration and Memorials Forum for Public Comment
Extraordinary Board Leadership: The Inspiring Stories of the 2022 Nason Award Winners