ACC Board of Trustees Roles & Methods

Role of the ACC Board of Trustees

The Board represents the College's owners.  The trustees of the College are elected at large by the people of Austin, Leander, Manor, and Del Valle Independent School Districts to ensure, by providing appropriate high-level guidance and leadership, that the College acts to meet community needs.  Much of the time of both the Board meetings and of individual trustees is spent consulting with community members about their needs and the College's success in addressing them.

The Board does not manage the College.  Almost all specific decisions and rules used in College operations are made by the administration and faculty.  These normally do not require Board approval at any point (unless they are very costly), although they must be consistent with the Board's policies and Board-approved planning documents.  The total set of Board policies is relatively concise (a few dozen policies typically about 300 words in length).  This policy model concentrates on giving the administration critical mandates and limitations, not detailed instructions.

The Board hires only one staff member, the College President, who in turn chooses the rest of the administration and directs the operation of the College.  Board approval is required for increases in the size or salaries of the administration, and for changes in overall salary scales.  The Board also hires some external advisors (e.g., legal counsel, auditors), but they have no supervisory authority over College staff.

The Board sets the College's basic priorities.  Long-term goals and priorities are stated in Board policy, and the Board reviews and approves the plans to achieve them in the annual budget and the biennial institutional strategic plan.  In addition to the "what to do" priorities, Board policy also specifies a set of "what to not do" priorities in areas such as discrimination.

Click here to see a list of major Board initiatives over the last five years.

Methods used by the ACC Board of Trustees

The Board focuses on issues of strategic importance where a community perspective is needed.  The primary motivation for the various elements of the governance style used by the ACC Board is to permit it to concentrate its limited time on the places where it can make the most difference on behalf of the community.  These are typically those related to defining the priorities for proposed program and service improvements and to ensuring that community values (such as fair pay and employment practices) are respected.

The Board uses a "set goals, then delegate, then evaluate" style.  It gives the Board officers (for Board matters) and the administration and faculty (for operational matters) broad authority to act to achieve the declared goals with little need for specific Board approvals.  The evaluation of Board and College officers is on the basis of what results they produce while staying within the constraints of the concise set of Board policies.

The Board acts only by majority votes in public meetings of the whole Board, as reflected in the written minutes and policies it approves.  There are no informal or "unwritten" Board decisions or policies.  All Board directives currently in force are posted in the policy/directive section of this web site.  Trustees as individuals have no authority over College operations.  The ACC Board does not use subcommittees, but instead deals with all items it considers on a full-Board basis.

The Board sets its own meeting agendas.  Since the Board meets only twice per month (for 3 to 4 hours), meeting time is a very limited resource.  Each six months, the Board adopts plans setting priorities for policy development, community linkage, and review of operational plans and results.  The scheduling of meeting time to address these priorities is decided by the Board Chair in consultation with other trustees.  There are also a limited number of operational decisions which still require Board approval (large purchases, major changes in the scope of instructional programs, and salaries); these are scheduled by the Board Chair in consultation with the College President.

The Board makes its own policies. Because Board policies (which total only about 25 pages) are primarily based on the Board's determination of community values and goals, they can be developed and maintained by trustee initiatives. The policy-development model invented to support this activity is one of the contributions of the ACC Board to the national discussion on community-college governance.

The Board seeks external perspectives.  Time is set aside in each business meeting for communication from the public, the college's employee associations, and student leaders.  These groups are also often invited to take part in Board "work sessions" in which particular topics are discussed.  The Board also schedules in-depth meetings with specific community sectors, and trustees participate on an individual basis in a wide range of community organizations and activities.

Roles of Officers of the ACC Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees elects three officers from among its members to coordinate various aspects of Board activities. These officers are elected each June (or when a vacancy exists) and serve at the pleasure of the Board. In order to bring various perspectives to the roles, the positions are rotated, with no trustee serving in the same office for more than two of any four years. While the officers may sometimes meet with each other and with the President to exchange information about their areas of responsibility, the officers do not make decisions as a group. Decisions are always the responsibility of either an individual officer or of the Board as a whole.

Roles of the Board Chair.  In addition to overall responsibility for Board activities where not otherwise assigned, the Board Chair has these specific responsibilities: [i] setting the agenda of Board meetings in accordance with priorities adopted by the Board, [ii] determining the information to be provided in the agenda materials, [iii] presiding over Board meetings, [iv] overseeing the Board's policy-development process, and [v] coordinating the Board-President relationship. As with all trustees, the Board Chair does not have any authority over or responsibility for specific operational decisions within the College on business or academic matters -- those all fall under the responsibility of the College President.

Roles of the Board Vice-Chair. In addition to presiding over Board meetings in the absence of the Board Chair, the Vice-Chair of the Board is responsible for coordinating the community-linkage activities of the Board. This includes liaison with any Board advisory committees, arrangement of systematic community consultation according to a plan approved by the Board, and ensuring that trustees are informed of opportunities for participation in College events.

Roles of the Board Secretary.  The Board Secretary is responsible for overseeing the records of the Board. This includes certifying the minutes of Board meetings and determining how the decisions and activities of the Board are presented by the College, including such things as this Board web site. The Secretary is also responsible for overseeing Board-level activity in monitoring compliance by the administration with Board policy and directives. (Note that most College rules are made by the administration and faculty; the Board has no involvement in making or enforcing those rules, although they must be consistent with Board policy.)

You can use this link to send a message to all ACC Trustees.