University Governance
What the Board of Trustees is responsible for, how it works, and how it differs from the executive that runs the university day to day.
The Board of Trustees is the body that carries responsibility for Bayan University as an institution — for its purpose, its integrity and its continuity. It governs; it does not manage.
What the Board is responsible for
- The mission and long-term direction of the university, and testing whether the institution is actually following them
- Appointing the President, and holding that office to account for the running of the university
- Approving the university's strategy, its annual plan and its budget
- Assuring itself that academic standards are being upheld, that finances are controlled, and that legal obligations are met
- Approving the opening, merging or closing of a college or department
- Safeguarding the university's assets and its name
How the Board differs from the executive
The Board decides whether and why. The executive — the President, the deans, the heads of department and the administrative offices — decides how, and does the work.
That separation is not a formality. The Board does not teach, admit students, set a timetable, mark a paper, appoint a lecturer to a course or hear a student appeal. A trustee who intervened in an individual case would compromise the very body that may later have to review how that case was handled. Questions of that kind belong with the office that can act on them, and the Board will redirect them there.
How the Board works
- Trustees meet as a board to a written agenda, and decisions are minuted.
- Where a subject needs closer attention, the Board works through committees that examine it and report back with a recommendation.
- The executive reports to the Board on performance, risk and finance, and the Board questions those reports rather than receiving them.
- Members serve in a personal capacity and declare any interest that could conflict with a decision, withdrawing from it where it does.
Membership
This page describes the office, not the people in it. The composition of the Board at any time is a matter of record held by the university's secretariat, and a list of serving members will be published here when the university issues it — no list is given in the meantime, because a name published in error is worse than a name withheld.
To ask who currently serves, or to write to the Board, use Contact and mark your message for the Board of Trustees.