Monitoring Executive Performance

Policy Type: Board-President Relations

Policy Title: Monitoring Executive Performance

Monitoring executive performance is synonymous with monitoring organizational performance against Board policies. The Board of Trustees is exclusively responsible for the long-term sustainability of Grand Rapids Community College. The Board carries out this critical function through the hiring of a president.  Together the Board and the President create a system of focus and mutual accountability using the tenets of policy governance. In this collaborative relationship the Board gives clarity on and is responsible for determining the Goals (“Ends”) over a period of time, and the president provides clarity on and is responsible for determining the “Means” i.e. strategies to accomplish the Board-defined Goals. The Board may also develop specific Executive Limitation policies which provide parameters within which the president is free to function.

All of this work is done within the backdrop of eight critical characteristics. Under the leadership of its President, these critical characteristics will describe the College as it navigates through a rapidly changing environment into a flourishing future.

• We are a learning college with a clear focus on teaching and learning.
• We are a collaborative college built on a culture of trust – in relationships and partnerships.
• We are a college that demonstrates excellence and equity.
• We are a college accessible to all.
• We are a college that uses a systems thinking framework for all planning and decision making.
• We are a college where senior leadership creates a culture of improvement using data– supported processes and procedures to drive high levels of student success and optimal organizational performance.
• We are a college where leadership teams are strategic, visionary, and collaborative.
• We are a college with strong academic, program and/or financial partners within K-12, business, organized labor, government, and the philanthropic communities.

The president is annually evaluated in these three critical areas:

• Achieving the Goals (Ends). The Ends are the Board-approved goals of the institution. Each has several indicators by which performance can be measured. These Board- approved Goals are defined by the College Strategic Plan, currently:
  • Goal #1 Teaching and Learning
  • Goal #2 Completion and Transfer
  • Goal #3 Equity
  • Goal #4 Community Impact
  • Goal #5 Infrastructure and Sustainability
• Executive Limitations. The Board establishes certain Executive Limitation policies which define the framework in which the president is free to operate.
• Organizational Accomplishments. The President will report to the Board in an agreed upon frequency and method no less than annually on organizational performance as it relates to agreed upon goals (Ends).

Performance of the President relative to Executive and Board Policies can be monitored by any method at any time. In addition, Executive Performance will be monitored by the Board at regularly scheduled times pursuant to an agreed upon method and at least once annually.