HUMBOLDT — Two years ago the provincial auditor made recommendations to the Carlton Trail College on how it could improve its governance from its board of directors. A follow-up report said those recommendations have been implemented.
Shelley Romanyszyn-Cross, the college’s president, said she was pleased to read the follow-up report, released in December.
“The college had taken the steps that were required to address the gaps that were identified in the initial audit,” she said. “We were very happy, of course, that we did the work, we did our due diligence to ensure that we met the recommendations of that audit.”
One of the key recommendations the auditor made was to have the college recruit its board members in a more timely manner.
The seven-member board is appointed by the provincial government on the recommendation of the college.
Since the audit, the board has developed a clearer policy, with advertising for open spots published in local media last fall.
The auditor recommended the college needs to look at how often it examines the board’s skills and develop a strategy to develop the skills it’s lacking.
“We found the board assessed its existing competencies in September 2019 after the appointment of three new members in August 2019,” said the provincial auditor's follow-up report. “The board updated this assessment again in March 2020 to help it identify areas of professional development for inclusion in its 2020-21 work plan.”
The auditor also recommended the college look at how often it reassesses the effectiveness of its governance, saying that it has been doing that three times a year where once annually would work.
“Since our 2018 audit, the board updated its board evaluation policy,” said the report. “The revised policy requires the board to assess its performance annually by either co-ordinating the evaluation internally, or using an outside facilitator.”
