Governing Board Equity in Student Success Project

Overview

With a goal of improving student retention, graduation, and employment rates – especially students from low-income, rural, and historically marginalized race/ethnicity backgrounds - the initiative consists of two integrated governing board-related and equity-focused components to be applied in Kentucky. These components include:

• The Governing Boards Equity in Student Success Academy
• The Retention Performance Management Process – Governing Board Focus

The Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy

The Academy is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of the college board members and senior administrators as they build capacity for oversight of institutional initiatives that lead to equitable student success and completion outcomes.

The Academy provides an ongoing professional development program that will better prepare governing boards to:

• Understand the centrality of equity in student success in the future of their institutions, economy, and society;
• Understand the respective roles and responsibilities of board members, administration, and faculty in shared governance for student success;
• Develop a solid understanding of policies and practices that contribute to student success and the connections between equity, student success, financial vitality, and other areas of board responsibility (enrollment, athletics, financial aid, campus climate, etc.);
• Consider how equity in student success affects the reputation of the institution and its accreditation;
• Ask better critical questions about student success and equity and come to shared definitions so all stakeholders will be “speaking the same language”;
• Ensure that their boards are structured in ways that elevate issues of equity and student success and maintain sustained commitment, even in the face of CEO or CAO transitions;
• Consider key board level metrics and institutional best practices for equity in student success and how to interpret/use this information;
• Provide sample dashboards and encourage boards and leadership teams to create a set of metrics related to equity in student success that are regularly reviewed and discussed; and
• Generate and share new ideas for how boards and senior leaders can work together to address aspects of institutional culture that facilitate or inhibit equity in student success; for boards, gain a better understanding of the challenges presidents face in enhancing equity in student success and how they can be more effective thought partners in overcoming these challenges.

Eligibility and How to Participate

The Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy is open to all postsecondary education governing boards and senior-leadership teams in Kentucky. Institutions may come from all sectors: two-year, four-year, public, and private. Seven Kentucky institutions will be selected to participate in the intensive RPM process.

Suggested participants include: Board Chairs, Board Members, Board Professionals, Presidents/CEOs, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Officers, and representation of faculty leadership.

• The kick-off event for the Academy was held on September 14, 2021. Supporting documents and recordings from those sessions can be found here.
• In order to be among the first to receive an application to officially participate in future Academy sessions, complete the contact form for The Governing Board Equity in Student Success Project at: https://www.jngi.org/governing-board-equity-in-student-success-academy.

The Retention Performance Management Process – Governing Board Focus

The Retention Performance Management (RPM) – Governing Board Focus process is a further deeper, student success, performance improvement experience facilitated by the Gardner Institute for a subset of seven institutions involved in the Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy. Retention Performance Management is a two-year, evidence-based, task-force-driven institutional strategic retention planning and implementation process that includes:

• A year-long evidence analysis and strategic planning process leading to an institutional Equity in Retention planning retreat and the subsequent development of a strategic retention plan; and
• A year-long implementation, assessment process during which the institutions will pilot their plan and assess (and revise) the plan based on the evidence.

While each institution will identify key campus leaders to participate in the RPM process, governing board members will be involved meaningfully in this process and engaged in planning for how governing boards should structure their work to ensure equity in student success remains a strategic, evidence-based priority. These pilot institutions will also be invited to present to their colleagues about the process and outcomes of this experience in the twice-annual Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy convenings.

Eligibility and How to Participate

This intensive consultation will be provided to seven institutions selected by the project leaders from a variety of institutions in Kentucky.

---

Those with questions about the Governing Board Equity in Student Success Academy should contact Melissa Bell.

The project is a joint effort of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (Gardner Institute), the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and Ascendium Education Philanthropy.