Apr 19, 2024  
Policies and Procedures Manual 
    
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Policies and Procedures Manual

02:05:00 Governance and Control

Revision Responsibility: Vice President for Strategic Communications and Effectiveness
Responsible Executive Officer: President

Purpose

To describe the legal authority and operating responsibilities for the college’s governing board, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR).

Policy

I. History and Governance

Chapter 838 of the Public Acts of 1972 authorized the establishment of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, now known as the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). Elements of the new system of governance, which became effective on July 1, 1972, included the state universities and state community college, the Board of Regents and the Chancellor. The state technical institutes and vocational technical schools now referred to as Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology became part of the TBR system on July 1, 1983.

The TBR and the University of Tennessee System are coordinated by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, which was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1967 to achieve better coordinate and unity in the programs of public higher education in Tennessee. In fulfilling its responsibilities for the governance of the System, the TBR performs continuous review and evaluation of its purposes, duties, Bylaws, policies and operations, and affects such changes necessary to ensure effectiveness and responsiveness to the needs of the TBR System and the State of Tennessee.

On July 1, 2016, the FOCUS Act went into effect, expanding the governing boards for the State University and Community College System to include six additional boards of trustees, one for each university in the system. Governance of the universities shifted to separate boards of trustees while the Board of Regents remains the governing body for the community colleges and colleges of applied technology. The changes went into effect once the new governing boards convened in 2017.

II. Institutions in the System

  1. 2-Year Institutions: Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga; Cleveland State Community College, Cleveland; Columbia State Community College, Columbia; Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg; Jackson State Community College, Jackson; Motlow State Community College, Tullahoma; Nashville State Community College, Nashville; Northeast State Community College, Blountville; Pellissippi State Community College, Knoxville; Roane State Community College, Harriman; Southwest Tennessee Community College, Memphis; Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin; Walters State Community College, Morristown
     
  2. Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology: at Athens, Chattanooga, Covington, Crossville, Crump, Dickson, Elizabethton, Harriman, Hartsville, Hohenwald, Jacksboro, Jackson, Knoxville, Livingston, McKenzie, McMinnville, Memphis, Morristown, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Newbern, Oneida/Huntsville, Paris, Pulaski, Ripley, Shelbyville, and Whiteville

III. Purpose of the TBR

The purpose of the TBR is to:

  1. Establish, govern, manage, and control the State Community College System of Tennessee. The Board of Regents views itself as the responsible agency for the purposes and proposals of the System subject only to legislatively mandated review.
     
  2. Develop a system organization that will provide coordination of the system of institutions while at the same time preserving the unique qualities, integrity, and regional and community relationships of each of the institutions.
     
  3. Provide essential centralized services and uniform procedures which will increase the individual effectiveness and improve operations of each of the institutions of the system.
     
  4. Increase the ability of the institutions and the System to compete and account for state appropriations, while providing more efficient utilization of state resources provided for their support.
     
  5. Assure more effective lay and public direction and system policy guidance thus preserving citizens’ control of postsecondary education in Tennessee.

IV. Duties

The TBR is empowered to perform each of the following duties:

  1. Employ the Chancellor, define his or her duties, and within budgetary limitations, fix his or her compensation.
     
  2. Select and employ presidents of the institutions and set their salaries and terms of office.
     
  3. Confirm the appointment of administrative personnel, faculty, and other employees of each institution, and fix their salaries and terms of office.
     
  4. Prescribe curricula and requirements for diplomas and degrees.
     
  5. Approve the operating and capital budgets of each institution and otherwise set policies for their fiscal affairs.
     
  6. Establish policies and regulations regarding the campus life of the institutions, including, but not limited to, the conduct of students, parking, and safety.
     
  7. Assume general responsibility for the operations of the institutions, delegating to the presidents and directors such powers and duties as are necessary and appropriate for the efficient administration of their respective institutions and their programs.
     
  8. Receive donations of money, securities, and property from any source on behalf of the institutions of the System, which gifts shall be used in accordance with the conditions set by the donor.
     
  9. Purchase land subject to the terms and conditions of state regulations, condemn land, erect buildings and equip them for the institutions subject to the terms and conditions of legislative appropriations.
     
  10. Be vested with title to property transferred from the State Board of Education and to property donated or purchased subsequent thereto.
     
  11. The Board shall have such other powers not otherwise prescribed by law, as are necessary to carry out the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-8-101 et seq.
     

V. As of December 2017, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) added a requirement for governing boards to “define and regularly evaluate its responsibilities and expectations”. In June 2018, the TBR approved the following changes to its Bylaws to reflect the new assessment process.

  1. In order to regularly evaluate its responsibilities and expectations, the board shall conduct a self-assessment every other year, beginning in October 2018.
     
  2. In the years that self-assessments are conducted, assessment forms will be provided to the Regents to be completed and returned to the Board Secretary after the September Quarterly Meeting.
     
  3. The Board Secretary will share the completed forms with the Vice Chairman.
     
  4. A Board Assessment Report will be produced by the Vice Chairman and Board Secretary and shared with other members of the board at its December Quarterly Meeting.

The Board Self-Assessment includes questions on orientation/onboarding, general questions about the board, board meetings, committee structure, strengths of the board, areas for improvement, and an area for general comment. Specific areas questioned include the following:

Orientation/Onboarding

Members are asked about their orientation experience that included information on Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics policies along with general information to help them begin their work on the board.

General Questions about the Board

This section involves specific questions about the mission of the board and its institutions; role and responsibilities of the board member; open communication with the chancellor and senior leaders of the system; board communication between quarterly meetings; board education and development; and effective process to evaluate the chancellor; process for dismissal of a board member; and periodic evaluation of policies and procedures.

Board Meetings

Questions in this area include timeliness of receiving agendas and board materials; covering right priorities consistent with the TBR strategic plan; allowing time for meaningful deliberation; encouraging open and productive communication; purposeful campus meetings; engaging in risk assessment for the System; providing adequate financial information to make required decisions; and looking at a strategic view into the future for the System.

Committee Structure

Members are asked about committee structure reflecting the System’s priorities; ample time for discussions in the committees; whether staff communicate with the Committee Chair prior to the meetings to discuss the agenda; and if materials are provided in a timely manner.

Four Open-Ended Questions

  1. Are there topics of Importance Not Covered in Board or Committee Meetings.
     
  2. Is there any information that you do not receive, but would like to see incorporated in materials to Board members?
     
  3. What are the strengths of the board?
     
  4. What are the areas for improvement and how can these be addressed?

05/16; 10/19; 08/22