MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Policy and Procedures Manual
SUBJECT:
PERSONNEL
Policy
705.1 - Commissioner and Board Performance Assessment and Compensation Procedure
Effective
September 28, 2001; Issued October 9, 2001
Board
policy:
Recognizing
the importance of having exceptional leadership throughout the Montana
University System, and that each of us, our enterprise, and the people it serves
benefit professionally and personally from constructive reviews of how we
exercise our responsibilities, the Montana Board of Regents establishes this
policy on the evaluation of the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Board
of Regents. In doing so, the
Board acknowledges the importance of meeting its responsibilities, with the
Commissioner, for effective institutional governance and management.
Compensation adjustments are considered subsequent to the performance
assessment process.
1. The Board shall review the
Commissioner’s stewardship annually, and subsequently decide compensation
adjustments. In the spring of each
year (and before expiration of the Commissioner’s contract) the Commissioner
shall review with the Regents the performance and activities of his office and
the University System as a whole during the past year and also goals for the
coming year. At the request of the
Commissioner, this review may be conducted during an executive session of the
Regents.
This
process shall be elaborated in a separate procedural statement and periodically
revised and brought to the Board for approval.
The heart of the process shall be a written self-assessment by the
Commissioner and will include a report on the goals and objectives from the
previous 12-month period (as previously agreed upon by the Commissioner and the
Board). It also shall include
proposed goals and objectives for the subsequent 12 months. Other questions to be addressed by the Commissioner and other
information about the university system’s condition and progress will be
agreed upon with the Commissioner in advance and will be appended to his or her
written statement. The full Board
and the Commissioner shall conduct this process.
2. The Board shall conduct a
self-study of its stewardship every three or four years.
This
process shall be elaborated in a separate procedural statement and periodically
reviewed by the Board. The heart of
this process will be written assessments from all Board members.
The Board will determine the appropriate format of the self-assessments.
The Chair of the Board and the Commissioner will have responsibility for
planning and reviewing with the full Board the specific arrangements for the
meeting where this self-study will be brought to completion. The Board may choose to use an external facilitator or
consultant.
3. At least once in every five-year
period of the Commissioners’ incumbency, or as the Board shall determine, the
Commissioner and Board of Regents shall participate in a comprehensive
joint-review process conducted by external consultants.
The estimated expense shall be included in the budget for the appropriate
year.
Assuming the Commissioner and Board of Regents are prepared to renew a long-term
commitment to one another, the two parties should mutually decide on the timing
and details of a process by which a third party can assess the institution’s
management and governance. This
process shall be elaborated in a separate procedural statement and brought to
the Board for approval. The heart
of this process shall be personal interviews with the Commissioner, Board
members, and appropriate individuals as well as solicitation of input from both
internal and external stakeholder groups, organizations and groups.
Because the special focus of the process will be on the chief
executive-board relationship and on matters of broad institutional management
and governance, one or two qualified external consultants may be retained to
ensure that the process is objective, candid, and effective.
4. In an
executive session, the Commissioner will review with the Regents the performance
of upper-level administrators during the past year and salary adjustments, which
will be proposed for the coming year.
History:
Item 6-003-R0974, Guidelines for the Review Process for the Commissioner of Higher Education and Presidents, Montana University System, September 9, 1974 and Item 4-013-R0474, Performance Review of Presidents, Montana University System (Amended), May 20, 1974 are rescinded; Item 17-003-R0777, July 11, 1977 as revised January 7, 1980, December 14, 1984, November 18, 1999 (Item 104-103-R0999); and September 28, 2001 (Draft Policy 705.1 Commissioner and Board Performance Assessment and Compensation Procedure).
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