Board Governance Policies

Approved/revised: September 23, 2003

A.2.4 Executive Limitations       

  POLICY

  A.2.4.1 General Executive Constraint

The President shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision or organizational circumstance which is either, illegal, imprudent or in violation of commonly accepted business and professional ethics.

Accordingly, the President shall not:

1.    Deal with students, staff, volunteers and the community unfairly.

2.    Discourage an open climate in the decision-making process. 

3.    Deviate materially from the Board's Ends priorities, risk fiscal jeopardy or fail to show a generally acceptable level of foresight in budgeting any fiscal period or the remaining part of any fiscal period. 

4.    Provide information and advice to the Board that has significant gaps in either timeliness, completeness or accuracy. 

5.    Fail to adequately maintain, or unnecessarily risk, assets. 

6.    Provide compensation and benefits for staff that deviate materially from the market.

7.       Award purchases or other contracts that create a conflict of interest. 

8.    Impede the mission, values, vision, or prohibit the achievement of the ends of the institution.

9.    Allow employees to conduct themselves in such a manner that they enter into a conflict of interest with the employer.

A.2.4.2 People Treatment

The President shall not:

1.   Operate without personnel procedures which clarify employment rules, provide for effective handling of grievances and protect against wrongful working conditions.

2.   Discriminate against anyone for expressing a dissenting opinion.

3.   Fail to acquaint staff and students with their responsibilities and rights.

4.   Fail to operate in a manner consistent with the College's values.

5.   Fail to provide a mechanism for reducing stress and uncertainty during organizational change.

A.2.4.3 Budgeting/Forecasting

The President shall not cause or allow budgeting which:

1.   Contains too little information to enable accurate projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items, and disclosure of planning assumptions.

2.   Plans the expenditure in any fiscal year of more funds than are conservatively projected to be received in that period.

3.   Does not have a broad base of input.

  A.2.4.4 Financial Condition

Unless direction has been given by the Board through the approval of the annual budget or through a specific motion, the President shall not:

1.     Expend more funds than have been received in the fiscal year.

2.     Make any purchase or commit the organization to any expenditure of greater than $100,000 without the co-signature of the Board Executive Committee.

3.     Make or allow to be made:

i) any purchase where prudent steps have not been taken to avoid conflict of interest.

ii) any purchase of a capital item over $1000 without having obtained comparative prices, except where extenuating circumstances require immediate action.

iii) any purchase without taking reasonable steps to ensure that the quality of goods acquired is suitable to the end use of the product or service.

iv) any capital purchase over $10,000, except in the normal course of operations and where projections for the purchase have been approved in the current capital budget.

4.     Allow any statutory requirements or filings to be overdue or inaccurately filed.

  A.2.4.5  Communication and Counsel to the Board

The President shall not:

1. Neglect to submit monitoring data required by the Board (see policy on Monitoring Executive Performance) in a timely, accurate and understandable fashion, directly addressing provisions of the Board policies being monitored.

2. Let the Board be unaware of:  changes in the assumptions upon which any Board policy has previously been established and relevant trends, anticipated adverse media coverage, actual or anticipated legal actions, and material external and internal changes.

3. Fail to advise the Board if the President is aware of concerns that the Board is not in compliance with its own policies on Governance Process and Board-President Relationship, particularly in the case of Board behaviour which is detrimental to the work relationship between the Board and the President.

4. Present information in unnecessarily complex or lengthy form.

5. Fail to provide necessary support for official Board or committee communications.

6. Fail to report in a timely manner an actual or anticipated noncompliance with any policy of the Board.

  A.2.4.6  ASSET PROTECTION

The President shall not:

1. Fail to insure against theft and casualty losses or against liability losses to Board members, staff or the organization itself.

2. Subject plant and equipment to unsafe use, improper wear and tear or inadequate maintenance.

3. Unnecessarily expose the organization, its Board or staff to claims of liability.

4. Receive, process or disburse funds under controls which are insufficient to meet the test of prudent fiscal management.

5. Fail to ensure that assets are protected in a cost-effective manner against misappropriation.

6. Fail to ensure that assets are disposed of in an appropriate manner.

7. Fail to ensure that adequate records are kept to comply with the internal control needs identified by the College's auditor.

8. Fail to ensure that the Board authorizes from time to time by motion signatories for the Institute's bank accounts, such signatories to normally include either the President or the Bursar and one other authorized staff member (not from the financial services department or the President's Office).

  A.2.4.7  COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The President shall not:

1. Change his or her own compensation and benefits.

2. Establish current compensation and benefits which:

i) Deviate materially from the geographic or professional market for the skills employed.

ii) Create obligations over a longer term than revenues can be safely projected.

3. Allow employees to be hired without being made aware of appropriate benefits available to them, and the Colleges expectations of them.