Section II: COC 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.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Compliance.

NARRATIVE/JUSTIFICATION FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

East Tennessee State University is one of the institutions governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR).  The TBR consists of 18 board members (TBR Manual, Selection and Terms of Board Members). The composition of the board (TBR Board Members.htm) includes:

• 12 public members, including one representative from each congressional district and three at-large members (appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Tennessee State Senate), with staggered six-year terms;

• four ex-officio members-the governor, commissioners of education and agriculture, and executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; and

• student and faculty representatives with one-year terms.

Duties and responsibilities of the TBR are delineated in its policy manual (TBR Manual, Duties; Bylaws; Enabling Legislation). The TBR meets at least quarterly (TBR Manual, Meetings of the Board). Minutes of board meetings provide evidence that the board is an active policy-making body with ultimate responsibility for financial resources, including those appropriated by the Tennessee State Legislature (TBR Minutes Index). The TBR is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or interests separate from the board. None of the board members or the presiding officer of the board have contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution (TBR Manual, Conflict of Interest).

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