Hi. I'm Professor Yvonne Harrison now at the University at Buffalo, welcoming you to the second course in a series of courses on developing leadership and improving governance in nonprofit organizations. In this video, I will review course 2, introduction to nonprofit organizational governance and boards of directors. I'll begin with the learning outcomes and leadership competencies emphasized in the course, and the learning activities that will take place each week. I'll conclude with the assessment of learning, which will take place in the fourth and fifth week. By the end of this course, you will have developed knowledge about the legal role and authority of board members and boards of directors. You will have worked with the board of directors, or with information gathered from a board of directors, and analyzed its effectiveness. Finally, you will have applied the knowledge gained through this course, to help a board improve its effectiveness. This course is designed to introduce you to the leadership competencies required by academic programs that are accredited by NASPAA. NASPAA is the Network of Schools of Public Affairs in North America. This course emphasizes two NASPAA leadership competencies; to lead and manage within the governance process, to analyze and think critically about leadership and governance effectiveness challenges. It should be noted that this course was developed with North American requirements in mind, and we do appreciate that the nonprofit sector, nonprofit organizations, leadership and governance may not be the same in other parts of the world. It is our intention, however, that the course content will be of value to others, and that cultural differences will provide a rich forum for discussion. Now, turn to the topics and questions addressed in this course. The topic of week 1 is the board's role in strategic planning. Some of the questions we will explore this week are: what is planning and why is it important for nonprofit organizations to do it? What is strategic? What is a strategic issue, and what is strategic planning? What is the board's role in strategic planning? In week 2, the topic is the board's role in performance assessment. The key questions you will explore this week are: what is the board's role in performance assessment? Why is performance assessment important? Why do boards have difficulty meeting performance assessment responsibilities? What frameworks exist to help boards measure and manage performance? How can the effectiveness of nonprofit boards, CEO's, and organizations be improved through the performance assessment function? The topic of week 3 is, the board's role in fundraising and resource development. The key questions you will explore this week are: what is fundraising and resource development, and why is it important? What should be the board's role in resource development? Why do many boards have problems clarifying and implementing their role? What basic information should be used in a resource development plan? Within the platform, you'll find weekly lectures, videos, readings, and links to external resources that point you to important content. Once you've reviewed the content, you're ready to engage in the learning activities. Take a practice quiz. Based on the required content, the quiz is a chance to test your knowledge and further develop it. Because it is a practice assessment, your scores will not be counted into the final course grade. Post a commentary. Commentaries can be based on an insight from the readings that helped you understand a situation or event that you have experienced. Anything from the reading that you found confusing or unclear could also be posted. Remember, the basic goal is to help you connect the dots, by linking your ideas and questions on the topic, drawing on what you've learned from the readings, and applying it to your own experience. Analyze a nonprofit case. A case is based on a real world situation. Like the real world, there is usually no single correct answer to the issues they raise. The cases assigned in this course are intended to provide you with a chance to reflect and apply concepts from the course, as well as enable you to understand, and resolve practical problems in governance. Work on the course project. The course project is an academic service learning experience that provides you with an opportunity to apply the course content and your learning to help a real board develop leadership and improve governance effectiveness. Whether you gather information from a real board or you use the information that we gathered, we'll upload instructions and information that you need to complete the work associated with the course project. The end of course assessment of learning will take place in the fourth and fifth week. The first assessment of learning strategy comes from Michaelsen's method of teaching and learning, known as team-based learning. TBL is used to test mastery of course concepts, using readiness assurance tests and application exercises. In the fourth week, we'll open two multiple choice, readiness assurance tests, or RATs, as we will humorously refer to throughout the course, for you to complete. One RAT will assess knowledge based on reading comprehension, and the other will test knowledge application based on a case. In the fifth week, we will encourage you to discuss the RATs in the forums and to take them again, should you wish to change any of your answers based on the information exchanged. We chose this method of assessment, because it is associated with student learning, including concept comprehension, student motivation, communication, accountability, problem-solving, and superior academic performance. The second assessment of learning is the board effectiveness assessment reflection, which we will humorously refer to as the BEAR. In a nutshell, the BEAR is a short written reflection on the nonprofit board and organization you are working with. You are asked to define nonprofit leadership and governance, and the criteria for evaluating board effectiveness. Your BEAR should address the following questions: What is nonprofit governance? What are the key governance concepts? What is board effectiveness, and how do you measure and assess it? Help your board understand governance effectiveness by illustrating the key governance concepts within a conceptual framework, a chart or figure that shows how the concepts relate to each other. Be sure to include an introduction to the reflection and a description of how it's organized. In the fifth week, you'll be asked to peer review BEAR assignments. To receive a course grade, you must complete peer reviews. In this video, we've reviewed course 2, introduction to nonprofit organizational governance and boards of directors. We've reviewed the learning outcomes, the leadership competencies, topics and questions, and the learning activities you'll engage in each week. We've covered the end of course assessment of learning that will take place in the fourth and fifth week. For more information, refer to the course content.
