About this course: The third course in this Specialization introduces you to the factors that influence how effective boards of directors will be in carrying out their roles and responsibilities and hence the impact they have in shaping the success of the organization they govern. While this course has been developed with North American culture in mind, we do appreciate that, in other parts of the world, the nature of the factors that influence the effectiveness of nonprofit boards of directors may vary. Nevertheless,it is our hope that much of the course content will still be of value to those in other parts of the world. To learn more about this course, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://goo.gl/aAMIfl. Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit Sector; Voluntary Sector; Nonprofit Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Volunteer Organizations, Leadership, Management, Governance, Board, Board of Directors, Performance, Effectiveness Course 3 Overview: Week 1: This week's questions: What factors influence the effectiveness of board meetings? What are the formal procedures and structures within the board that impact its performance? What can a board do to intentionally improve the way it structures itself and runs its decision making meetings? Week 2: This week's questions: What do we mean by board composition and development and why is it important? Why is it difficult to change the composition of the board? How do you design the ideal mix of board members? How do you locate, recruit and develop board members? Week 3: This week's questions: What do we mean by the "culture" of the board and why is it important? How do boards develop and pass along culture? Can board cultures be intentionally changed? What is the role of leadership in shaping board culture? What do effective nonprofit leaders involved in governance do? How can leadership be managed for higher performance? Week 4: At this stage, you are asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (known lightheartedly as a BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment), and take two multiple choice Readiness Assurance Tests (known similarly as RATs). One RAT will assess knowledge and reading comprehension and the other will test application of knowledge within a practical case. Week 5: We will encourage you to discuss the RATs in the discussion forums and take them again should you wish to change any of your answers based on the information exchanged.
Created by: The State University of New York, Luther College at the University of Regina
Taught by: Prof. Yvonne D. Harrison, PhD, Associate Professor and Director
Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)
Taught by: Prof. Vic Murray, PhD, Adjunct Professor
School of Public Administration, University of Victoria
| Basic Info | Course 3 of 4 in the Improving Leadership & Governance in Nonprofit Organizations Specialization |
| Commitment | 5 Weeks, 7 - 10 hours per week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Board Operating Procedures, Structures, and Meetings
Hello and welcome to Course 3 in the series of courses on Improving Leadership and Governance in Nonprofit Organizations! The focus of this course is on the often unrecognized influences on how well a board carries out its governance role and responsibilities. The goal of the first week is to address several important questions related to two key influences on board behavior: the board’s operating procedures and structures and board meetings. Some of the key questions we will explore this week are: What factors influence the effectiveness of nonprofit boards of directors? What are board procedures and structures and why are they important? What issues challenge the effectiveness of board meetings? What can be done to increase governance effectiveness? These questions form the basis of the video lecture and content in Chapters 6 and 7 of our SUNY Open Textbook, Guidelines for Improving the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors of Nonprofit Organizations. We look forward to helping you learn more about some of the factors that influence leadership and governance effectiveness this week!
8 videos, 8 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: Specialization Welcome Video
- Video: Course 3 Overview Video
- Reading: Course 3 Teaching and Learning Overview
- Reading: Required and Recommended Texts
- Video: Course 4 (Capstone Project) Overview
- Reading: Week 1 Key Questions and Competencies
- Video: Week 1 Lecture
- Video: Week 1 Guest Interview with Will Brown on Board Engagement
- Video: Interview with Dr. Laura Schweitzer: Leadership and Governance of Nonprofit Organizations from a Practitioner Perspective
- Reading: Week 1 Readings and Resources
- Practice Quiz: Week 1
- Reading: Discuss Case Study
- Video: Conceptual Framework of the Elements of Board Effectiveness
- Video: Professor Vic Murray summarizes the design of the board assessment
- Reading: Course Project Overview
- Reading: Option 1: Working With a Real Board
- Reading: Option 2: Working With a Fictitious Board
WEEK 2
The Composition and Development of the Board
Hello and welcome to Week 2 of the third course on Improving Leadership and Governance in Nonprofit Organizations! The focus this week is on one of the most difficult challenges to board performance--creating the ideal mix of board members and training them so that they can be as effective as possible. Some of the key questions we will explore this week are: What do we mean by board composition and development and why is it important? Why is it difficult to change the composition of the board? How do you design the ideal mix of board members? How do you locate and recruit the best new board members? What are the best ways to orient and develop board members? Is your board socially and functionally inclusive? These two influences form the basis of the video lecture, special guest interview, and content in Chapter 8 of the SUNY Open Textbook, Guidelines for Improving the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors of Nonprofit Organizations. We look forward to helping you learn about another factor that may influence the leadership and governance of nonprofit organizations this week!
4 videos, 6 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: Week 2 Key Questions and Competencies
- Video: Week 2 Lecture
- Video: Week 2 Guest Interview with Pat Bradshaw on Board Diversity
- Reading: Week 2 Readings and Resources
- Practice Quiz: Week 2
- Reading: Discuss Case Study
- Video: Conceptual Framework of the Elements of Board Effectiveness
- Video: Professor Vic Murray summarizes the design of the board assessment
- Reading: Course Project Overview
- Reading: Option 1: Working With a Real Board
- Reading: Option 2: Working With a Fictitious Board
WEEK 3
Board Culture and Leadership
Hello and welcome to Week 3 of the third course on Improving Leadership and Governance in Nonprofit Organizations! The goal of this week is to address important questions related to two influences that empirical research suggests are difficult to change in boards of nonprofit organizations—the informal culture and leadership of the board (Harrison and Murray, 2014). Some of the key questions we will explore this week are: What is “culture” and why is it important? What shapes board cultures and can you intentionally change them? What is leadership in the organizational and governance context? What do effective leaders involved in nonprofit governance do? Why are some leaders ineffective? How can leadership be managed for effectiveness? These two influences form the basis of the video lecture and content in Chapter 9 and 10 of the SUNY Open Textbook, Guidelines for Improving the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors of Nonprofit Organizations. We look forward to helping you learn about two more factors that may influence the leadership and governance of nonprofit organizations this week!
4 videos, 6 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: Week 3 Key Questions and Competencies
- Video: Week 3 Lecture
- Video: Week 3 Guest Interview with David O. Renz on Governance Beyond the Board
- Reading: Week 3 Readings and Resources
- Practice Quiz: Week 3
- Reading: Discuss Case Study
- Video: Conceptual Framework of the Elements of Board Effectiveness
- Video: Professor Vic Murray summarizes the design of the board assessment
- Reading: Course Project Overview
- Reading: Option 1: Working With a Real Board
- Reading: Option 2: Working With a Fictitious Board
WEEK 4
Individual Concept Testing and Application
Hello and welcome to Week 4! The goal of this week is to assess course learning. The end of Course 3 assessment of learning begins with the requirement that you to take two Readiness Assurance Tests (RATs) and submit your Board Effectiveness Assessment Reflection (BEAR). During the testing process, don't forget to make a note of your answers to the RAT and RAT Application Exercise questions. You will need them to vote and discuss your responses in the RAT forums next week.
Graded: Readiness Assurance Test (RAT)
Graded: RAT Application Exercise
Graded: Board Effectiveness Assessment Reflection (BEAR) Course Project
WEEK 5
Group Concept Testing and Application
Hello, and Welcome to Week 5! The goal of this week is to discuss and complete the end of Course 2 assessment of learning. It begins with peer discussion of the individual Readiness Assurance Test (RAT) and RAT Application Exercise (case) you took last week plus peer review of the three BEAR assignments you have been assigned to evaluate this week. It concludes with re-taking the RAT and RAT Application Exercise Tests and returning the three BEAR assignments you peer-reviewed last week.
2 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: RAT and RAT Application Exercise Discussion and Polling Instructions
- Video: RAT Peer Discussion and Polling Instructions
- Video: RAT Application Exercise Peer Discussion and Polling
Graded: RAT Post Peer Learning Forum
Graded: RAT Application Exercise Post Peer Learning Forum
FAQs
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Coursework
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The State University of New York
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Luther College at the University of Regina
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
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My overall experience with this Specialization, in general, and this 1st Course, in particular, is very positive.
On the positive side, I really like the fact that the Courses are practice-oriented and provide not only theoretical frameworks, but also insights from experts, practical guidance, and evidence-based best practices.
Also, the idea of applying Team-Based Learning (TBL), in the forms of Readiness Assurance Tests (RATs) and scenario-based RAT Application Exercises, for assessing participants' learning, is excellent!
However, there are a couple of downsides, that's why I'm not giving a 5 star positive feedback.
The first problem is that not all of the required readings are freely available via the Coursera platform, or elsewhere online. I appreciate the excellent quality of the chosen materials, but, if it becomes compulsory to spend more than US $100 for buying books, then the total cost of this Specialization elevates quite a lot, given that I had to pay €162 for it. On my opinion, there should be at least a note in the description of both the Specialization and the Courses about these requirements, in order to make an informed decision before enrolling.
The second downside has to do with Course 1 and Course 2 overlapping materials. I'm referring to guest interview videos. That's mainly a problem of the 2nd Course, as there are almost no guest interviews in this Course, and the one interview provided is already available in Course 1. I understand that the topics discussed apply to the topics of both Courses, but, still, I find it an unnecessary repetition.
The last problem is about the dates that the Courses are run. Course 1 runs during a given period, Course 2 is on demand, but it makes sense to attend it before Course 3, that also runs during a given period, which overlaps with the period of the 1st Course. Sorry, this makes it very difficult to attend everything and to seriously focus, as it's always about running for deadlines, especially when one has to produce three (3) Board Effectiveness Assessment Reflection (BEAR) papers :( .