Podcasts Education Changing Higher Ed University Governance during Crisis Situations with Dr. Cathy Trower | Changing Higher Ed 040

University Governance during Crisis Situations with Dr. Cathy Trower | Changing Higher Ed 040

Published: April 21, 2020, 3:15 a.m.

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Dr. Cathy Trower offers insights in the board\\u2019s role during a major crisis, such as the current pandemic. She discusses the importance of a partnership between the president and board chair as well as the communication channels that need to be created in a time of crisis.\\xa0

The\\xa0president of Trower\\xa0&\\xa0Trower\\xa0has more than two decades of experiencing providing governance consulting to colleges and universities as well as other nonprofits. She combines her knowledge of governance and strategic thinking along with the skill of building high-performance teams.\\xa0\\xa0

Taking a Different Role\\xa0

Higher education boards are facing significant\\xa0challenges\\xa0created\\xa0by the current pandemic. First\\xa0and foremost, boards need to remain\\xa0extremely focused during a time of crisis.\\xa0They need to realize that some items\\xa0that are\\xa0less of\\xa0a\\xa0priority\\xa0during this crisis need to be tabled. Instead, board members\\xa0should focus on the\\xa0priorities of the\\xa0institution\\u2019s president\\xa0in the current\\xa0moment.\\xa0Additionally, boards need to focus their efforts on backstopping the president.\\xa0

The\\xa0partnership between the board and the president is even more critical in a crisis.\\xa0The president needs to be communicating very clearly, primarily through the board chair.\\xa0 Boards are not meeting together often at this point, so it is critical that the chair and the executive committee, if there is one, take responsibility for\\xa0opening and maintaining clear lines of\\xa0communications and responses with the full board.\\xa0\\xa0

Essential Focus Areas\\xa0

The key areas that\\xa0boards and presidents need to\\xa0address during this\\xa0crisis\\xa0are:\\xa0

  • Maintain clear\\xa0and regular\\xa0communications.\\xa0Candor is needed so\\xa0that\\xa0surprises are minimized.\\xa0\\xa0
  • We recommend scheduling a weekly meeting at the very least between the president and the board chair during this crisis. However, the frequency can vary based on the type of institution and the partnership. In general, consistent and clear communication about what\\u2019s happening on the ground and what\\u2019s needed is of great importance during this time.\\xa0
  • Ensure\\xa0immediate\\xa0needs are met.\\xa0Early in the pandemic, the initial pressing issues\\xa0involved\\xa0moving courses online and making sure that students, faculty and staff were able to continue to handle their responsibilities in a safe manner. Now institutions need to focus on ensuring that faculty, students and families are getting what they need.\\xa0\\xa0
  • Discuss\\xa0the institution\\u2019s\\xa0financial situation.\\xa0Boards and the president need to have discussions about the current financial situation as well as projections for the fall\\xa0term. Higher education institutions are\\xa0currently\\xa0trying to secure early enrollment commitments. However, students and families are not sure\\xa0about\\xa0enrolling\\xa0in the\\xa0fall\\xa0just yet.\\xa0Some institutions are trying to use\\xa0Zoom and other technology to build bonds with prospective students\\xa0in place of the in-person campus visits.\\xa0Trust also needs to be built now between higher education faculty and staff in conversations with students to help them build a relationship with the institution.\\xa0

Finding Innovative Ways to Govern\\xa0

Some boards\\xa0have\\xa0established\\xa0a coronavirus taskforce that includes the president or his/her designee, some board members, some senior staff and potentially some faculty. These task forces are\\xa0charged with\\xa0considering what the institution should be thinking about\\xa0currently\\xa0and ways that faculty, board members and community members can be mobilized to provide assistance, i.e., risk and scenario planning.\\xa0

In addition, boards also should look\\xa0at their committee structures because work is available for various committees that are part of\\xa0the\\xa0regular governance\\xa0structure. They need to think\\xa0strategically\\xa0about the committee\\u2019s work.\\xa0For example, compliance/risk, finance, and academics/student life\\xa0committees\\xa0should\\xa0be looking at\\xa0the same areas using\\xa0different\\xa0lenses.\\xa0Therefore,\\xa0creating\\xa0a cross-committee task force can\\xa0ensure\\xa0a common conversation\\xa0that puts everyone on the same page, which can help to push out\\xa0topics/discussions to the appropriate committee(s).\\xa0

While the executive committee offers a great starting point for this type of work,\\xa0we\\xa0also recommend\\xa0expanding involvement beyond\\xa0this group of individuals.\\xa0Trower\\xa0recommends creating a subset of the committee and then adding some faculty in order to get their input.\\xa0Students also could be involved.\\xa0

This type of taskforce should be\\xa0tasked with\\xa0thinking about\\xa0big picture issues. For example,\\xa0what is going to happen in the summer\\xa0and fall in relation to staff?\\xa0How is the institution going to ensure equity?\\xa0How can the board\\xa0ensure that\\xa0minimal\\xa0lay-offs\\xa0happen? How can the institution take care of employees through all of this?\\xa0

Accelerated Change\\xa0

Higher education has\\xa0traditionally\\xa0been\\xa0very slow to change.\\xa0It will be interesting to see which\\xa0institutions can make faster and better\\xa0shifts related to what is coming up because of the pandemic. Online education is only part of it.\\xa0\\xa0

Additionally,\\xa0there are so many financially fragile institutions who were struggling prior to the pandemic, and it\\xa0will accelerate many institution\\u2019s financial\\xa0difficulties, requiring more institutions\\xa0to merge and close.\\xa0Higher education has always looked at a merger or acquisition as a failure on the part of the acquiree, and\\xa0some institutions will choose to close instead of be part of a merger.\\xa0\\xa0

This\\xa0perspective\\xa0needs to change and\\xa0leaders need to\\xa0think about what\\u2019s best for the students.\\xa0

Finding the Silver Lining\\xa0

The board or its task force should also look at the hidden benefits created by this current situation, such\\xa0as\\xa0the creation of innovative partnerships\\xa0with other organizations, galvanizing the faculty\\xa0to be part of the solution,\\xa0and thinking about staffing in different ways.\\xa0\\xa0

Additionally, the work of the board should be considered\\xa0in new ways, e.g., is the board serving\\xa0as\\xa0an\\xa0advocate for the institution among stakeholders and within the community.\\xa0\\xa0

Alumni involvement\\xa0also\\xa0is needed\\xa0in this time.\\xa0Institutions that have been proactive in alumni engagement are more likely to reap the benefits\\u2014whether that\\u2019s financial or support--during this downturn. However, institutions that have neglected their alumni\\xa0may\\xa0not fare\\xa0well.\\xa0\\xa0

This will be a moment when many alumni\\xa0will make a choice whether\\xa0to give to support their alma mater\\xa0or not, and they\\xa0want to hear a strong message from the president and board chair about what\\u2019s happening in the institution, what the plans are for the future, and how the institution is going to use this\\xa0current situation\\xa0to make itself better, stronger and more nimble.\\xa0

Strategic Thinking\\xa0

Agility is\\xa0important. The board needs to be nimble and push the institution to be more\\xa0nimble.\\xa0This requires\\xa0getting\\xa0board\\xa0clients to think forward instead of looking backwards. If the board can\\xa0embrace a forward-looking approach\\xa0instead of only\\xa0considering last year\\u2019s data and today\\u2019s crisis de jour, this will position the board to be more adaptive. This, in turn, carries over to the institution. The boards that are more poised to be able to deal with\\xa0metaphorical\\xa0whitewater rapids and headwinds are going to do better in this current situation.\\xa0\\xa0

Boards also can build out a risk\\xa0/ scenario planning\\xa0map that looks at the likelihood of\\xa0crisis\\xa0events and projects the impact on the institution.\\xa0Institutions that have these types of\\xa0planning\\xa0are able to quickly put the coronavirus into their calculations and determine what needs to be done.\\xa0As boards shift items around in the\\xa0plan, the institutional focus becomes clearer.\\xa0\\xa0

The task force along with the president also should triage everything that is going on. They\\xa0determine what situations are\\xa0critical\\xa0in nature\\xa0and what can be pushed out\\xa0to a later date.\\xa0

Learning from What Happened\\xa0

At the end of the crisis, there needs to be an evaluation process to\\xa0allow the board and the institution to learn from what happened. This often requires venturing into uncharted territory. While uncomfortable, this is at the heart of\\xa0dealing with\\xa0adaptive challenges.\\xa0This\\xa0approach\\xa0requires taking steps, learning from them, and then doing course corrections without beating oneself up when something doesn\\u2019t work.\\xa0

Boards also need to\\xa0evaluate the holes in\\xa0the expertise of their members\\xa0that were uncovered\\xa0during\\xa0this crisis. Varied types of expertise need to be a planned part of selection to the board so that there is a diversity of abilities and knowledge. If the board doesn\\u2019t have a specific area of expertise that is needed during this\\xa0current\\xa0black swan\\xa0event, it\\u2019s important to reach out to the task force or the alumni to find someone who does.\\xa0

Three\\xa0Recommendations for Higher Education Leaders\\xa0and Boards\\xa0

Dr.\\xa0Trower\\xa0suggested\\xa0three\\xa0takeaways for higher education leaders\\xa0and board members:\\xa0

  • Listen to the institution\\u2019s president and be there if the president needs you. There needs to be regular and clear communication between the president and the board chair.\\xa0\\xa0
  • Focus on what needs to be communicated to the rest of the board. Board members want to be involved and can start reaching out directly to the president. However, this is not the time to do this. Therefore, it\\u2019s up to the board president to create a clear communication channel that allows board members to get regular updates.\\xa0\\xa0
  • Determine how to galvanize the talent available to be of the most helpful and create the most value.\\xa0

Bullet Points\\xa0

  • In a crisis, the partnership between the board chair and the president is critical. These two individuals need to communicate regularly and clearly about what is happening.\\xa0
  • The board chair needs to be the primary contact for the rest of the board about what is happening. Board members should not be contacting the president at this time.\\xa0
  • Institutional boards and presidents need currently need to be focusing on how to help students, faculty and staff have what they need.\\xa0\\xa0
  • The board and the president needs to analyze the institutional financial situation. They need to consider that fall enrollment commitments may not come in until this situation settles.\\xa0\\xa0
  • This crisis offers innovative ways to govern. For example, a task force can help the institution think through the various angles related to coronavirus, including financial implications, academic/student life and risk management.\\xa0
  • This crisis is going to require boards and institutions to be more agile. That is going to be a major change for higher education.\\xa0
  • Many institutions that are financially struggling may have to consider closing or merging. They need to keep the students at the forefront of this decision.\\xa0
  • Alumni involvement is critical at this time. Alumni who have been involved can help the institution survive this crisis.\\xa0\\xa0
  • Strategic planning and risk planning are critical and can help the institution focus on what\\u2019s important.\\xa0\\xa0
  • Boards and presidents need to spend time after this crisis is over to learn from what happened and how it was handled. This will help the institution be better able to adapt in future crisis situations.\\xa0

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