Michelle Rakoczy

The board convened for a special meeting primarily to enter into an executive session. The purpose of this closed session was to consider finalist candidates for the appointment of a new President for North Dakota State University, in accordance with state legal codes regarding the confidentiality of such discussions. Following the executive session, the board returned to open session before officially adjourning.

The board will address various agenda items, including a spotlight on Open Educational Resources, and several budget and finance matters such as fiber optic cable replacements, facility renovations, and tuition rate requests. Policy reviews include topics on intellectual property, digital accessibility, and confidential proprietary information. The meeting will feature an executive session to discuss compliance and financial investigations. Additional business includes the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute budget, golf course reconstruction plans, and staff assignments for funding reviews. Reports from staff senates and board committees, along with updates from the chair and commissioner, are scheduled, concluding with public comments.

The committee approved a quality assessment plan involving a self-assessment with independent validation. Key discussion topics included the semi-annual NDUS management report regarding audit findings, a progress update on the confidential audit recommendation tracker, a status update on the internal audit quarterly plan for fiscal year 2026, and a quarterly status report on internal audits at the University of North Dakota. Additionally, the committee held an executive session to review the State Auditor's draft operational audit report for the University of North Dakota.

The committee meeting agenda includes discussions on SBHE policies regarding intellectual property and digital accessibility. Furthermore, the committee will review the 2026 SBHE Assessment Report, receive an update on the Dual Credit accessibility dashboard, and hold a discussion regarding artificial intelligence.

The committee meeting agenda focuses on the evaluation of various new academic program requests, including certificates, minors, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees across multiple institutions such as Bismarck State College, North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota, Valley City State University, and Williston State College. Additionally, the agenda covers the termination of several academic programs at Dickinson State University and Minot State University, alongside a discussion regarding low-producing academic programs.