Why Should Education Boards Use a Board Portal?

It’s all too common that an education board can fail to function like regular businesses.

Sure, colleges and universities – for instance – have historically monopolized the education industry. Now, however, the landscape is changing—and online learning platforms are providing genuine competition. Plus, the younger population is now hesitant to take on student loans (if they’re even available in the first place) to pay off increasingly unaffordable tuition.

It’s time for the boards of education to start functioning more like traditional businesses. Meaning, they must become a more active party in strategizing and decision-making. This would be a drastic departure from relying on senior institutional managers to make significant decisions prior to perfunctory board approvals.

Becoming a higher-functioning, proactive board starts with a transformation in mentality. Though this kind of paradigm shift is drastically bolstered by utilizing tools that promote those positive board changes.

For instance, employing the use of a board portal makes for seamless, highly secure collaboration between directors.

So, let’s take a closer look at the positive impact a portal could make on an education board:

A Portal Puts Meeting Materials All in One Place

Between budgets, fundraising, and dealing with campus crises (e.g., sex scandals, academic cheating), each board of education’s meetings might present a wealth of critical talking points.

With any given board member’s busy schedule, it’ll be supremely challenging to stay on top of each subject. So, when potentially crucial topics are broached, they might not be adequately prepared—specifically when they don’t have easy access to meeting materials.

When education boards have a portal, the ins-and-outs of those high-priority issues are made available at the click of a button. This way, there’ll be no discrepancies in members receiving the necessary information. No email bounce-backs or other issues where people don’t receive materials like memos or briefs, etc.

Such a practice also ensures more efficient communication. With all the necessary facts in one place, everybody is receiving the same message—mitigating any potential room for confusion.

An Education Board Portal Makes Everybody Accountable

A primary advantage of seamlessly accessible materials is that, barring extenuating circumstances, nobody has an excuse for being uninformed on the issues.

Meaning, with a board portal, every member is more accountable for being a productive, active contributor during meetings. No more sitting around passively with zero input on any impactful topic matter.

The onus is no longer on the person responsible for hunting members down to give them the materials—it’s on the directors themselves to do the required reading.

Saving Time and Money While Providing Optimal Transparency

Budgeting is one of the most pivotal issues facing any educational board or trustees of higher education institutions.

Carefully crafting a budget as a board necessitates transparency amongst members. But creating board books for every meeting is entirely too wasteful, as it is both time-consuming and resource-sapping in nature.

Fortunately, by implementing the use of a portal, educational boards can publish their books online. Thus, providing optimal transparency for members and trustees whenever they wish to access the numbers.

If you’re involved in a board of education, it’s time to consider investing in a board portal to bolster collaboration and overall efficiency. Contact us today to find out more!