80% percent of all students now attend a public college or university. So the effective governance of these institutions should be of immense concern to all of us. But what are the characteristics of effective boards and how can trustees ensure they are fulfilling their stewardship roles responsibly? In this essay, author Phyllis Krutsch outlines those challenges and sets forth a public trustee’s perspective on the nature of strong and effective boards. Ms. Krutsch was twice appointed to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and served as chair of the Education Committee for three years.
On April 8, 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed Senate Bill 506, legislation that attempted to circumvent the taxpayers of Virginia by allowing higher education governing boards to be beholden to the narrow interests of the institutions they serve.
Earlier this month, college students from across Illinois crowded the Capitol rotunda. They were protesting the growing costs of college, for which they believed lawmakers were to blame: State funding had been cut earlier this year for a tuition assistance program called the Monetary Award Program (MAP). Put in place decades ago, MAP provides money […]
Take heart, Vol fans. And Tennessee State University Tiger fans. Be of good cheer East Tennessee State University Buccaneers and Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders. The U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings are not divinely inspired, nor are they the best predictor of what college kids will actually learn. The University of Tennessee […]
An annual survey on public attitudes toward higher education finds rising skepticism about the motives of college leaders. The survey, titled “Squeeze Play 2010: Continued Public Anxiety on Cost, Harsher Judgments on How Colleges Are Run,” finds that 60 percent of the public thinks colleges are like businesses and care mostly about the bottom line. […]
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