The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges recently commissioned a report which said that, due to high costs and “lazy” governance, academia has lost the trust of the public.

Michael Cipriano at The College Fix has the story:

‘Lazy’ and ‘self-serving’ board governance is ruining higher ed, commission says

Dysfunctional governance of America’s higher education institutions has made the public skeptical that their leadership is contributing to the country’s well-being, according to a report commissioned by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

Members of the association-established National Commission on College and University Board Governance gathered at the National Press Club Thursday to explain the report, citing high education costs and “lazy” and “self-serving” board governance.

University boards must lead the charge, the report says, to reconfigure higher education to recognize new student populations, altered educational delivery methods, basic changes in financing and rising expectations from the public.

“Higher education cannot expect to return to the traditions that worked happily 50 years ago, when mostly honorific boards concentrated on selecting prominent leaders and on fundraising, and in which state and federal governments did not ask many questions about performance,” says the report’s executive summary.