2.2 Governing Board

The institution has a governing board of at least five members that is the legal body with specific authority over the institution. The board is an active policy-making body for the institution and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the financial resources of the institution are adequate to provide a sound educational program. The board is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or interests separate from it. Both the presiding officer of the board and a majority of other voting members of the board are free of any contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution

A military institution authorized and operated by the federal government to award degrees has a public board in which neither the presiding officer nor a majority of the other members are civilian employees of the military or active/retired military.  The board has broad and significant influence upon the institution’s programs and operations, plays an active role in policy-making, and ensures that the financial resources of the institution are used to provide a sound educational program.  The board is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or interests separate from the board except as specified by the authorizing legislation.  Neither the presiding officer of the board nor the majority of other voting board members have contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution. 

  Compliance      ___ Partial Compliance          ___ Non-Compliance

Narrative:

Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) was created by an amendment to the Louisiana State Constitution of 1974 Part VIII Section 7.1, and became the management board for “all public postsecondary vocational-technical training, and, as provided by law, institutions of higher education which offer associate degrees but not baccalaureate degrees…” in Louisiana beginning July 1, 1999. (1)  Prior to the passage of this legislation, South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) was managed by the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, currently known as the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System.

The LCTCS Board of Supervisors consists of a total of seventeen members. (2)  The Board of Supervisors oversees both community and technical colleges in Louisiana.  Two of the members are students; each serves one-year terms, one representing the community colleges and one representing the technical colleges. They are elected by the council composed of the student body presidents of their respective institutions. The student members must be full-time students at the institutions they represent. They serve from September 1 of the year they are appointed until August 31 of the following year. These members have full voting rights.

The remaining 15 members are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate from the state-at-large for staggered terms of two, four, and six years.  Following the initial appointments to the Board, appointees are appointed for six years, with one-third appointments to the Board being appointed every two years.  Members serve without pay, but receive a per diem and expenses for official Board functions.  The Board of Supervisors of the LCTCS is the seventeen member management board for SLCC:

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The LCTCS Board of Supervisors is the policy generating body which governs the LCTCS System and its member institutions.  The Board’s policies address all aspects of the College (Academic, eLearning, Student Services, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Career & Technical Information).  

There are policies related to academics, student services, eLearning, facilities, finance, human resources, and information technology. Examples of the policies most recently revised for each area include:  

Academic

• 1.044 Rank and Promotion Eligibility Framework for Permanent Full-Time 

          LCTCS Faulty Members

• 1.045 LCTCS Online Initial Policy Statements

Student Services

• 2.012 Student Referenda

eLearning

• 3.008 Guidelines and Stipulations for Offering General Education: Applied

          and Transferable

Facilities

• 4.006 Capital Outlay Requests

• 4.007 Managing Alternative Financing Projects

Finance

• 5.003 Contract Submission and Approval

• 5.028 Identity Theft Prevention Program

Human Resources

• 6.013 Policy Regarding Chancellor Evaluation and Salary Increases

Information Technology  

• 4.004 ERP Data Classification Policy
• 7.004 Remote Access Policy

In addition to other duties, the Board is responsible for institutional budget review and regularly evaluates the performance of member institutional chief executive officer(s). 

The LCTCS Board of Supervisors meets monthly with the exception of January and July.   For 2011, due to the Mardi Gras holidays, the Board will not meet in March.  The Board maintains committees for Academic and Student Affairs, Facilities and Property, Finance, Personnel, and Legislation.

The duties and responsibilities of the Board are set forth in the Board of Supervisors Bylaws adopted in November 1999. (3)

None of the board members have contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution. 

As evidenced by the Board minutes, the Board is not controlled by a minority of Board members or by organizations or interests separate from it.

All actions submitted to the LCTCS Board of Supervisors for approval are introduced by a board member, seconded by another board member and approved by a vote of the quorum of the board.

Examples of board actions and members and members motioning to vote for approval of the actions are provided below:

For additional board actions and voting records refer to the LCTCS Board of Supervisors meeting minutes in supporting documents. (4)

In addition to operational governance by the LCTCS Board of Supervisors, the Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR) serves as a coordinating board for all higher education institutions.

The LCTCS Board of Supervisors is also responsible for policy to ensure adequate financial resources.  According to the LCTCS Board of Supervisors Bylaws:

In supervising and managing the institutions under its administration, the Board shall have authority to:   Receive and expend or allocate for expenditure to the institutions under its jurisdiction all monies appropriated or otherwise made available for purposes of the Board and/or the institutions under its jurisdiction. (5)

Distribution of funding is accomplished through a mechanism established by the LA Constitution and through the Louisiana BoR.  The BoR has the constitutional authority “to formulate and make timely revision of the Master Plan for higher education [which] shall include a formula for the equitable distribution of funds to the institutions of higher education.” (1974 Louisiana Constitution, Article VIII, Section 5(D)4) (6)

Documentation: