B - Governance Process
The Northern College Board of Governors receives a great deal of information in order to fulfill its purpose. The classification of this information into one of three main types informs the Board what actions may be required and helps improve meeting and governance efficiency.
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B - Governance Process
Background
The Northern College Board of Governors receives a great deal of information in order to fulfill its purpose. The classification of this information into one of three main types informs the Board what actions may be required and helps improve meeting and governance efficiency.
Policy
In performing its role in policy governance, the Board of Governors is responsible for deciding what information it needs to receive in order to assess its performance and the performance of the College.
The Board Information System is comprised of three types of reports, including:
Type 1 - Decision Information - Decision information is used to make decisions, for example:
- To create a policy.
- To approve the submission of a new program to the Ministry for funding..
- To establish the qualities it desires in a President & CEO.
This type of information will be used solely to make Board decisions. It is not judgmental; any measure of performance implied is only incidental to the purpose. This information is meant to be prospective in that it looks to the future and is used to discuss some aspect of the future, i.e., to develop policy or make policy decisions.
Type 2 - Monitoring Information - Monitoring information is used to gauge whether previous Board directions have been satisfied. It is judgmental in that it intentionally measures performance. It is retrospective in that it always looks to the past. The monitoring information required will be a systematic survey of performance against criteria related to specific Ends and Executive Limitations policy criteria.
Type - 3 Incidental Briefing Information - Incidental briefing information is useful for providing ongoing information to Board members about the organization (i.e. building knowledge of the organization and the sector). Information used neither to make decisions nor to monitor falls into this category.
All information that the Board addresses should fall into one of these three categories and be reported using a standard template (attached to this policy).
Policy #:
B-18
Approved:
2012-06-12
2023-11-07
Motion:
75-11-23
Board Information System
Northern
N Northern
COLLEGE
Topic of Report:
Date:
Submitted by:
Report Purpose:
REPORT TEMPLATE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
RECOMMENDED MOTION
Board Information System - Policy B-18 (2022)
Decision Report
Monitoring Report
Incidental Briefing Report
Other:
• Policy Development, Revision, Approval
• Ends Policy
• Governance Process Policy
• Board-President Relations Policy
• Executive Limitations Policy
Page 1
Policy #:
B-18
Approved:
2012-06-12
Revised:
2023-11-07
Motion:
75-11-23
Source: https://www.northerncollege.ca/uploads/2025/07/B18_Board-Information-System.pdf