Community college board members have three overarching obligations to their boards and institutions: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience.
The Duty of Care requires that board members (variously called trustees, regents, commissioners) always work in the best interests of the college by working collaboratively to make decisions based on sound information and to use deliberative judgments in the interest of their institutions. Board members have a duty to establish implement reporting systems and regularly review reports from the CEO, to attend and participate in board meetings, to support decisions made by the board, to operate transparently, and to fairly and regularly evaluate and compensate the college CEO who they employ.
The Duty of Loyalty prevents conflicts of interest. All community college trustees are obligated to forgo their personal and professional interests when working with their respective boards for the sake of upholding this duty and protecting the interests of their college. They should pass and enforce conflict-of-interest policies, keep private institutional matters confidential, uphold whistleblower-protection policies, uphold sunshine laws, operate honestly.
The Duty of Obedience requires that all board members obey all requisite laws—local, federal, and state—as well as all board and institutional policies. As the ultimate body responsible for the well-being of the college, the board of trustees holds tremendous responsibility to set the example for all others by establishing and adhering to policies.
More in-depth resources, including educational videos, articles, worksheets and more are available to members in our governance resource library at ACCT Connect.