Creating an Evaluation Instrument for Governing Board Chairs at Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

The goal of this mixed methods study was to design an instrument that evaluates the board chair of an institution of higher education’s governing board chair using criteria identified by current and former board members as contributing most to their perceived success as a leader, according to fellow board members. The assessment would provide feedback on the work of the board chair, providing a metric for accountability and guidance for continuous improvement.

The study uses a three-phase exploratory sequential design, using social construction as a theoretical framework. Qualitative data was collected through a literature review and semi-structured expert interviews, then analyzed and coded. During the quantitative phase, data was reviewed to develop and refine constructs and individual items. Those items and limited demographic information were combined to create a novel survey instrument, which was reviewed by a panel of subject matter experts. Revisions resulted in a 27-item survey, covering five constructs, titled the Board Chair Evaluation Tool (BCET). The BCET instrument was pilot tested and results interpreted to revise the evaluation instrument.

Despite a low response rate, a factor analysis was performed on each of the constructs and descriptive statistics were collected and reported for the respondents. The study includes a discussion of the limitations of the research with a focus on improving future response rates, as well as implications and areas for future study related to the assessment and accountability of governing board chairs.