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Trustee Protocols

Pursuant to authority delegated by the Board of Governors to the boards of trustees in Board of Governors Regulation 1.001, University Boards of Trustees Powers and Duties, trustees are responsible for the oversight of all university operations, implementing and maintaining high-quality education programs, and approving the university’s strategic plan and budget. Trustees are also responsible for establishing cost-effective policies or regulations consistent with Board of Governors’ regulations or guidelines. University regulations are adopted in accordance with the Regulation Development Procedure for university boards of trustees.

Effective communication between the Board of Governors and university boards of trustees is essential to ensuring that each university operates efficiently and effectively to achieve its goals in alignment with the overall goals and direction of the System. To foster such communication, the Board, working in conjunction with university trustees, adopted a Communication Protocol. Because collaboration and communication are the cornerstones of the working relationship between the Board of Governors and the university boards of trustees, the initiatives outlined in the Communication Protocol should be periodically reviewed.

One of the most important responsibilities of a university board of trustees is the selection of the university’s president. Trustees from each of the 12 institutions worked collaboratively with the Board and the Chancellor to develop a regulation that encompasses best practices for a presidential search.

Likewise, evaluating a university president is a critical function of a university board of trustees. To ensure that a president’s performance from a system perspective is considered during the evaluation process, each university board of trustees chair is required to consult with the Chair of the Board of Governors during the course of the annual evaluation of the president.