Board Policy B-100.00
Board-President Relationship

Delegation to the President

All board authority delegated to staff is delegated to the president, so that all authority and accountability of staff—as far as the board is concerned—is considered to be the authority and accountability of the president.

1. The board will direct the president to achieve certain results through the establishment of Ends policies.  The board may limit the latitude the president may exercise in practices, methods, and conduct in achievement of the ends through establishment of Parameters policies.
2. As long as the president uses any reasonable interpretation of the board's Ends and Parameters policies, the president is authorized to establish all staff policies and procedures.
3. The board may change its Ends and Parameters policies, thereby shifting the boundary between board and president domains.  By so doing, the board changes the latitude choices given to the president.  But so long as any particular delegation is in place, the board and its members will respect and support the president's decisions.  This does not prevent the board from obtaining information in the delegated areas except where laws of confidentiality prohibit disclosure.
4. Only decisions of the board acting as a body are binding upon the president.
   1. Decisions or instructions of individual board members, officers, or committees are not binding on the president except in rare instances when the board has specifically authorized such exercise of authority.
   2. Individual board members may request information or assistance from the president.   Requests that require (in the president's judgment) a material amount of staff time or funds or are disruptive may be referred to the board for determination.

If any provision(s) of this policy or set of bylaws conflicts with laws applicable to Northwestern Michigan College, including the Community College Act of 1966, the Freedom of Information Act, or the Open Meetings Act, as each may be amended from time to time, such laws shall control and supersede such provision(s).