• 3. Mandatory board member training and development, including but not limited to financial oversight and effective committee structure

Effective institutional governance is key to a high functioning college or university. Institutional boards are responsible for strategic planning and oversight and approving the mission of the institution. Boards set institutional goals and objectives, policies for operations and charge a chief executive with the task of carrying them out.

As the institution's fiduciary entity, perhaps the most critical responsibility of a governing board is financial oversight. An institution simply cannot achieve its mission without sufficient financial resources. With rising costs associated with virtually all aspects of doing business, limitations in the availability of state resources and affordability concerns for students and families, it is more important than ever that institutions exercise sound fiscal stewardship. For institutions like KSU, these concerns are paramount because they serve a high percentage of low-income and first-generation college students who struggle to find resources to pay for college.

For KSU specifically, these issues were exacerbated by a lack of oversight and mismanagement of institutional funds beginning in 2017, which resulted in a $23 million cash shortfall in fiscal year 2022. CPE's Financial Assessment of KSU completed in November 2022 found that the KSU Board of Regents would have been better equipped to prevent this crisis with standard financial reporting provided to the board on a regular basis.

Senate Bill 265 (2022) reconstituted KSU's Board of Regents, and all appointed regents were replaced with individuals who were not connected to the University when the financial crisis occurred. While this provides a fresh perspective by a group of extremely qualified and dedicated citizens, many are new to institutional board service and need background and training to optimize their effectiveness.

Objectives

• Complete Association of Governing Boards (AGB) training on Foundational Aspects of Trusteeship.
• Receive comprehensive reports from all functional units of the University to better understand institutional operations from both the academic and business perspective.
• Conduct a review of the current board committee structure as compared to those at peer institutions, as well as best practices for effective university board committees.
• Determine the optimal board committee structure and composition and outline the charge of each committee.
• Establish an Audit and Compliance Committee and define its relationship to the internal auditor.
• Establish a regular meeting calendar annually for both the full board and board committees.
• Receive approval of KSU's new board member orientation programs per KRS 164.020(25)(c).
• Create a Regent professional development policy and plan.
• Make Regent attendance at the annual CPE Trusteeship conference mandatory.
• Complete CPE-facilitated training on the history of the University as a state entity that covers its recent financial crisis.

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