Standard 4: Leadership and Governance
The institution’s
system of governance clearly defines the roles of institutional constituencies
in policy development and decision-making. The governance structure includes an
active governing body with sufficient autonomy to assure institutional
integrity and to fulfill its responsibilities of policy and resource
development, consistent with the mission of the institution.
An accredited institution is expected to possess or demonstrate the following attributes or activities:
The Board of Governors’ University Policy Library includes policies and procedures for the establishment of shared governance as an essential component of the university’s operation.
The principal shared governance body is the University Senate, a university-wide body of elected faculty, students, alumni, and staff and ex officio administrators. Procedures and qualifications for membership in the University Senate are clearly delineated as are its procedures of operation. The Senate’s duties and powers include being concerned “with all academic and non-academic matters pertaining to the mission of the university” and advising “the President on matters of broad educational and research policy.”
The administrative governance section of the University Policy Library outlines the governance structure and responsibilities for each academic unit and the role that faculty play in their operation.
The New Brunswick Faculty
Council, the Newark Faculty Council, and the Camden Arts and Sciences
Faculty Senate are the principal faculty governance bodies on the regional
campuses of the university and play an important role in advising the campus
leadership on academic and administrative matters. For example, the New Brunswick Faculty Council’s
Bylaws state that the council is “the
principal faculty body from which the administration will seek advice and to
which the administration will be accountable on campus-wide academic policy
issues.”
2. written
governing documents, such as a constitution, by-laws, enabling legislation,
charter or other similar documents, that:
a. delineate the governance structure and provide for collegial governance,
and the structure’s composition, duties and responsibilities. In proprietary,
corporate and similar types of institutions, a separate document may establish
the duties and responsibilities of the governing body as well as the selection
process;
b. assign authority and accountability for policy development and
decision making, including a process for the involvement of appropriate
institutional constituencies in policy development and decision making;
c. provide for the selection process for governing body members;
The leadership and governance
structure of
From its colonial inception as Queen’s College in 1766,
the institution grew to become
The law establishing Rutgers as the state university also created the Rutgers Board of Governors and reorganized the Board of Trustees: “The 1956 law created a new governing board, to be known as the Board of Governors, and provided for the continuation of the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity with certain fiduciary responsibilities over assets of the university in existence before 1956.”
The responsibilities of the Board of Governors are
delineated in the Bylaws of the
Board of Governors: The Board of Governors has “general
supervision over and is vested generally with the government, control, conduct,
management and administration of
The Board of Governors is composed of eleven voting members. Five Board members are appointed by the Governor of the State with the consent of the state Senate. The other six members are elected from the Board of Trustees. The President of the university is an ex officio, non-voting member. Other non-voting members of the Board include two faculty representatives and one student representative; both are appointed by the University Senate annually. Except for the five gubernatorial appointees, all members of the Board of Governors and Trustees serve for six-year terms. Each may succeed themselves for one additional term. The five public trustees serve five-year terms and may succeed themselves indefinitely (Board of Governors and Trustees Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – Handbook).
The institutional governance structure is delineated in the Administrative Governance section of the Board of Governors’ University Regulations and Policies and Bylaws of the Board of Governors. The central officers of the university and their responsibilities are disseminated in section 50.1.3 of the University Policy Library; these officers include President; the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs; the Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer; the Provost-Newark; the Provost-Camden; the Secretary of the University; and the Vice President and General Counsel.
The President is the Chief Executive Officer of the university and reports directly to the Board of Governors.
The Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs is the university’s chief academic and budget officer (see section 50.1.3 of the University Policy Library).The Provost-Camden and Provost-Newark are the principal university officers for their campus (section 50.1.5). The academic unit organizational and reporting structure is delineated in section 50.1.6 of the University Policy Library, and the departmental and program structure of each school is delineated in section 50.1.7. Sections 50.1.8 and 50.1.9 of the library describe the membership and organization structure for the schools of the university, with the duties and powers of the schools set forth in section 50.1.10.
The University Senate (see also element 1 above) is an elective body whose membership includes faculty, students, administrators, alumni and staff. The Senate’s duties and powers are referenced under element 1.
Faculty Councils on regional campuses of the university also play an advisory role on policy matters to the campus leadership (see also element 1 above).
3. appropriate
opportunity for student input regarding decisions that affect them;
The
University Senate and all committees of this body include significant student
representation. (see section 2.2.1.D of the
Handbook of the Rutgers University Senate)
Students are also represented in student governing associations of the
various
Students also sit on various universitywide and campuswide committees with faculty and staff that are charged with working on a particular academic or administrative matter. Recent examples where students have been important committee members include The Committee to Advance our Common Purposes, Committee to Review Policy on Academic Integrity, Communications Advisory Committee, the Student Services Initiative, etc.
The membership list of the Board of Governors and Trustees includes brief biographies.
5. a
governing body not chaired by the chief executive officer;
The Board of Governors is composed of eleven voting members and appoints the President of the university. The officers of the Board include a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, and a Treasurer. The Chair and Vice Chair are voting governors; the President of the university is an ex officio, non-voting member (NJSA 18A:65-14).
The Board of Governors is the governing body that addresses these requirements. (The new certification will be completed prior to the final Self-Study Report.)
7. a
conflict of interest policy for the governing body (and fiduciary body members,
if such a body exists), which addresses matters such as remuneration,
contractual relationships, employment, family, financial or other interests
that could pose conflicts of interest, and that assures that those interests
are disclosed and that they do not interfere with the impartiality of governing
body members or outweigh the greater duty to secure and ensure the academic and
fiscal integrity of the institution;
The Boards of Governors and Trustees have adopted a specific Conflict of Interest Policy. The policy reaffirms that the members of the Boards are already governed by New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law (NJSA 52:13D-12 et seq.); identifies potential conflict of interest situations; requires the submission of annual financial disclosure forms; and describes the procedures for disclosure and management of conflicts of interests.
8. a
governing body that assists in generating resources needed to sustain and
improve the institution;
Through its various subcommittees the Boards of Governors and Trustees assist in generating resources needed to sustain and improve the university. For example, the Committee on Budget and Finance of the Board of Governors advises the Board in preparing the annual budget and “its submission to the Governor, the Legislature and the Commission on Higher Education, on the administration of the budget, and on the financial affairs of the University generally, including the university's need for public and private funds.” The Joint Committee on Investments oversees “the investment of funds and monetary assets under the control and management of the respective Boards and advises each on the policy and procedure with respect thereto, including retention of investment advisers and oversight of the adviser’s function.”
Through a recent Board of Governor’s resolution, a gift of $6 million was transferred from the Board of Governors’ Consolidated Reserve Account to the Rutgers University Foundation for the “sole purpose of supporting the administrative work necessary to prepare for and carry out a successful capital campaign for the benefit of the University.”
The Board of Overseers of the Rutgers University Foundation has the power, authority, and responsibility to set fundraising policies and to oversee the operation of the Rutgers University Foundation.
The Board of
Managers of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station facilitates
communication to and from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and
the
9. a
process for orienting new members and providing continuing updates for current
members of the governing body on the institution’s mission, organization, and
academic programs and objectives;
The Board of Governor’s Handbook provides orientation information for new Board members. The Handbook is updated as needed so that current members of the Board are informed about the institution’s mission, organization, and academic programs and objectives.
10. a
procedure in place for the periodic objective assessment of the governing body
in meeting stated governing body objectives;
The university is under the
continuous scrutiny of its external constituencies including the press, civic
and business groups, and the public, all of whom consider
The process of which Board of Governor’s are selected (see element 2) for membership provide both internal and external modes of assessment.
11. a
chief executive officer, appointed by the governing board, with primary responsibility
to the institution; and
The President is the chief executive officer of the university and is appointed by the Board of Governors.
12. periodic
assessment of the effectiveness of institutional leadership and governance.
See the Bylaws of the Board of Governors clearly for institutional accountability to the Board. The recent review of President McCormick’s performance by the Board of Governors underscores the Board’s role in assessing the effectiveness of institutional leadership and governance.