What should we do to maintain good governance

A committed and engaged Board of Governors. The College of Engineering in Pune requires its members to contribute at least 100 hours to activities related to institutional development.

The right composition of individuals. Many members are appointed, and often hold more than one post. It is important to balance out the membership with motivated and diverse individuals. Conflict of interest is important to consider, especially if there are industry professionals on the board who might be looking for free student labor or additional contracts from the institution or members who sit on multiple Boards.

Transparency and accountability in decision-making. Minutes from the meetings should be publicly posted so that administrators, faculty, students can see what decisions were made and why.

Performance metrics. The Board of Governors should hold themselves to a high standard of performance and create benchmarks that demonstrate progress, so that institutional improvements are known and measured. The governors should evaluate their own performance.

Review of the Head of Institution. Just as it is important to undertake self-review, it is also important to provide honest feedback to the leader of the institution, so that he or she is held accountable for the day-to-day running of the school.

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