It may be a matter of pouring old wine into new bottles, but the report on “Governance for a New Era” issued by the American Council for Trustees and Alumni does provide good advice for university trustees.

Will they take it? The evidence that trustees will respond is rather weak, especially to ACTA’s overarching message, which is: Trustees “must regularly assess the cost/value proposition of academic and non-academic programs in setting their goals.”

In other words, trustees are supposed to consider and actually define their mission and priorities and review the school’s educational content to see if those are being fulfilled.

Trustees should set the “educational strategy,” however much the faculty doesn’t like it. Now, it is true, the report says, that “faculty should always have the first word when it comes to the curriculum, and their expertise must have a central role in shaping policy on academic quality.” However, “faculty cannot be the last and determining voice regarding academic value, academic quality, and academic strategy.”

The report recommends that trustees:

  • Outline educational outcomes desired (such as their views on the required level of mathematical knowledge or whether students should know a foreign language)
  • Review the general education program (i.e., core curriculum) and its effectiveness in preparation for post-college life
  • Annually assess what programs have been dropped or added, along with the criteria that have been used to make those choices.

Those sound good to me, and we can hope.