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Core Requirement - 2.2 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. Neither the presiding officer of the board nor the majority of other voting members of the board have 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. (Governing Board)

Judgment of Compliance:    Compliance

Narrative/Justification for Judgment of Compliance:

Legal Authority: Southwest Tennessee Community College is a member institution of State University and Community College System of Tennessee and is thereby governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). Both the system and the Board were established by Tennessee public law. The charter of the Tennessee Board of Regents is derived from Chapter 838 of the Acts of the 87th Tennessee General Assembly in 1972 and Chapter 181 of the Acts of the 93rd Tennessee General Assembly in 1984 as noted in Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) section 49-3237 et seq. Tennessee Board of Regents Bylaws [1] and TBR Policy 1:02:01:00 [2] state that the primary purpose of the Board:

“Establish, govern, manage, and control the State University and Community College System of Tennessee. The Board of Regents views itself as the responsible agency for the purposes and proposals of the system subject only to legislatively mandated review.”

TBR Bylaws specifically identify Southwest Tennessee Community College as one of the thirteen community colleges and six universities under TBR governance.

Policy and Financial Responsibilities: Both the TBR Bylaws and TBR policy 1:02:02:00 [3] describe specific “Duties of the Board” to include organizational, academic, financial, and other governance functions. As an active policy making body for colleges, the Board prescribes curricula and requirements for degrees and diplomas and establishes policies regarding campus life and fiscal affairs. As the manager of all System resources, the Board is required to approve institutional operating and capital budgets and establish fiscal policies. The Board’s policy-making and financial management are defined clearly in its list of duties:

1.  “General: The Board of Regents shall be responsible for the operation of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee as provided by the laws of the State of Tennessee. The Board shall be responsible for the government, management, and control of the system
    

2.  “Specific: The Board is empowered:
   
   a. To employ the Chancellor, define his or her duties, and, within budgetary limitations, fix his or her compensation.
   
   b. To select and employ presidents of the institutions and to set their salaries and terms of office.
   
   c. To confirm or establish policies and procedures for the appointment of administrative personnel, faculty, and other employees of each institution and school and fix their salaries and terms of office.
   
   d. To prescribe curricula and requirements for diplomas and degrees.
   
   e. To approve the operating and capital budgets of each institution and school and otherwise set policies for their fiscal affairs.
   
   f. To establish policies and regulations regarding the campus life of the institutions and schools, including, but not limited to the conduct of students, student housing, parking, and safety.
   
   g. To assume general responsibility for the operations of the institutions and schools, delegating to the presidents and directors such powers and duties as are necessary and appropriate for the efficient administration of their respective institutions and schools and their programs.
   
   h. To receive donations of money, securities, and property from any source on behalf of the institutions and schools of the System which gifts shall be used in accordance with the conditions set by the donor.
   
   i. To purchase land subject to the terms and conditions of state regulations, to condemn land, to erect buildings and equip them for the institutions and schools subject to the terms and conditions of legislative appropriations.
   
   j. To be vested with title to property transferred from the State Board of Education and to property donated or purchased subsequent thereto.
   
   k. The Board shall have such other powers not prescribed by law, as are necessary to carry on the provision of Public Chapter 838 and Public Chapter 181.
    

3.  “Review: In fulfilling its responsibilities for the governance of the System, the Board shall perform continuous review and evaluation of its purposes, duties, Bylaws, policies and operations, and shall affect such changes necessary to ensure effectiveness and responsiveness to the needs of the System and the State.”

The Board meets regularly on a quarterly basis. All policy and financial matters are resolved in public meetings and published on the TBR website (www.tbr.state.tn.us) through the “Board Members” link to the Board minutes. Examples of recent policy decisions made by the Board at their June 2003 meeting are:

Agenda Item - a review of the proposed 2003-2004 operating budget for the System. The budget, which totals $1,606,982,000, was approved. A copy of the System budget for 2003-2004 is attached to the official Board minutes.

Agenda Item – a proposal to establish low-producing program review to be conducted every three years. This initiative is an outgrowth of the Defining Our Future goal to eliminate or consolidate academic programs with a low number of graduates. After questions and discussion, the proposal was approved. [4]

Membership and Autonomy: TBR Bylaws emphasize that the System serves all citizens of Tennessee and not special groups. The Bylaws state explicitly that one purpose of the Board of Regents shall be:

“To assure more effective lay and public direction and System policy guidance thus preserving citizens’ control of postsecondary education in Tennessee.”

To assure broad-based representation and leadership, the eighteen-member Board includes fourteen members appointed on rotating terms and four ex officio members designated by statutory authority. Twelve public members are appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the State of Tennessee Senate. One member of the Board is a student appointed for a one-year term, and one member is a faculty member from a Board institution appointed for a one-year term.

The four ex-officio members include Tennessee’s Governor, Commissioner of Education, Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

TBR policy 1:02:04:00, “Selection and Terms of Board Members” [5] establishes guidelines for the selection, representation and terms of board members that insure a wide representation of ideas and views and restricts a minority group of board members from controlling the board. To broaden the representation of Board membership, members represent the nine congressional districts, the two leading political parties, alumni of institutions, System faculty and students, and “at-large” perspectives. The current membership of the Board includes the following persons:

1st Congressional District	Leslie Pope, Johnson City	Term: 2001-2007
2nd Congressional District	Frank Barnett, Knoxville	Term: 2001-2007
3rd Congressional District	Edgar R. Bowers, Harriman	Term: 1999-2005
4th Congressional District	J. Stanley Rogers, Manchester	Term: 2000-2006
5th Congressional District	Tom H. Jackson, Nashville	Term: 1998-2004
6th Congressional District	Noble Cody, Cookeville	Term: 2000-2006
7th Congressional District	Demetra Godsey Boyd, Clarksville	Term: 1998-2004
8th Congressional District	Jonas G. Kisber, Jackson	Term: 2002-2008
9th Congressional District	Maxine A. Smith, Memphis	Term: 2000-2006
At Large	Robert Jack Fishman, Morristown	Term: 1998-2004
At Large	W. Keith McCord, Knoxville	Term: 1998-2004
At Large	William H. Watkins, Jr., Memphis	Term: 2002-2008
Faculty	Katherine Byrd, PSTCC	Term: 2003-2004
Student	Matthew B. Chapman, MTSU	Term: 2003-2004
Ex Officio (Statutory)	Phil Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee (Chairman)
Ex Officio (Statutory)	Ken Givens, Commissioner of Agriculture
Ex Officio (Statutory)	Lana Seivers, Commissioner of Education
Ex Officio (Statutory)	Richard D. Rhoda, Executive Director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission

Conflict of Interest: Five Board policies and eleven Tennessee State Laws are cited in TBR Policy 1:02:03:10, “Conflict of Interest” [6] as the basis for strict regulations and restrictions to avoid conflicts of interest among Board members, TBR employees, and TBR institutions. The detailed policy and its accompanying procedures and disclosure forms are implemented throughout the System. Specific concern is expressed in Section 3 for two types of conflict:

“A ‘conflict of interest’ occurs when the personal interests, financial or otherwise, of a person who owes a duty to the Tennessee Board of Regents and its constituent institutions (Regents and all employees) actually or potentially diverge with the person’s professional obligations to and the best interests of the TBR and its institutions."

“A ‘conflict of commitment’ occurs when the personal or other non-work related activities of an employee of the TBR and its constituent institutions impair the ability of that employee to meet their commitments of time and energy to the TBR and its institutions.”

To enforce policies and laws, TBR requires all members of the Board and many key institutional leaders to submit disclosure forms. [6] TBR and institutional Disclosure Review Committee evaluate written disclosures. All possible conflicts of interest related to family members, business affiliations, gifts, educational benefits, use of staff, intellectual property, real property, purchases, or other concerns are subjected to review and sanction.

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