GP-7 Board Planning Cycle and Agenda Control

To accomplish its responsibilities with a governance style consistent with Frederick Community College Board of Trustees’ policies, the Board will develop and follow a multi-year cycle that includes all elements of the Board’s work.

1. The Board shall maintain control of its own agenda by developing an annual schedule based on the multi-year cycle.
   
   
   1. Review of the Ends in a timely fashion which allows the President to build a budget based on accomplishing a one-year segment of the Board’s most recent statement of long-term Ends.
   2. Linkage with the Ownership (the residents of Frederick County) to gain a representative mix of Owner values, perceptions and expectations, prior to the above review.
   3. Education and professional development related to development and revision of Ends. The Board will consider including environmental scanning, review of professional articles and publications, conference attendance, participation in presentations by thought leaders or experts, and activities which develop strategic foresight.
   4. Risk assessment, including probability of risks and impact of particular risks, as background context for policy review.
   5. Content review of selected Executive Limitations, Governance Process and Board – CEO Delegation policies, consistent with a multi-year schedule that includes all policies.
   6. Self-evaluation of the Board’s own compliance with Governance Process and Board – CEO Delegation policies, consistent with the schedule in the policy Investment in Governance.
   7. Documentation of monitoring compliance by the President with Executive Limitations and Ends policies. Monitoring reports will be read in advance of the Board meeting, and discussion will occur only if Board members assess interpretations as unreasonable, identify non-compliance, or identify potential need for policy amendments.
   8. Education and professional development about the process of policy governance.
   9. The Board will have planning sessions as needed or at the President’s request. The Board will schedule a Summer retreat no later than July.
      
      
2. Based on the outline of the annual schedule, the Board delegates to the Board Chair the authority to fill in the details of the meeting content. Potential agenda items shall be carefully screened. Screening questions shall include:
   
   
   1. Does the issue clearly belong to the Board or the President?
   2. What category does the issue relate to? Ends, Executive Limitations, Governance Process, Board-President Delegation?
   3. What has the Board already said in this category (i.e., via policy review), and how is the current issue related?
      
      
3. Throughout the year, the Board will work to limit the number of, and attend to Required Approvals Agenda items as expeditiously as possible. When an item is brought to the Board via the Required Approvals Agenda, deliberation, if any, will only be in regard to whether or not the President’s decision complies with relevant Board policies.