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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Roles and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards of Directors within the Governance Process by University at Buffalo

4.4
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60 ratings

About the Course

This course provides a more in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in the governance of nonprofit organizations. While the course has been developed with North American culture in mind, we do appreciate that in other parts of the world, the nature of the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors may not be the same. 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/SXZEZS. Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit Sector; Voluntary Sector; Nonprofit Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Volunteer Organizations, Leadership, Management, Governance, Board, Board of Directors, Performance, Effectiveness Course 2 Overview: Week 1: Some of the questions to be explored this week are: What is the board's role in planning for the organization's future and why is it important for nonprofit organizations to do it? What is strategic planning and what can boards do to carry this out effectively? Week 2: This week's questions: What is the board's role in assessing the performance of the organization? Why is performance assessment important? Why do many boards have difficulty meeting their performance assessment responsibilities? Week 3: This week's questions: What are the elements of the fundraising/resource development process? What is the board's role in ensuring the organization has adequate funding? What information should be in a resource development plan? 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....

Top reviews

VV

Feb 5, 2021

Valuable Course and insightful. It is filled with several frameworks that you can apply readily in a non-profit organization situation. Thank you SUNY, Luther College and Coursera

NN

Apr 13, 2016

I really enjoyed the curse and as a board memeber sitting on a number of Boards, I have found the course directly applicable and relevant.

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1 - 14 of 14 Reviews for The Roles and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards of Directors within the Governance Process

By Michail D D

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Jan 9, 2016

My overall experience with this Specialization, in general, and this 2nd 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 :( .

By Denise B

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Jun 4, 2018

Excellent course to enroll in if you are currently working in a nonprofit or envision yourself working in a nonprofit. It will sharpen existing skills and introduce crucial knowledge necessary in solving issues within a complex board structure while adhering to proper governance procedures.

By WAIDI G A

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Mar 17, 2016

An excellent course, it reinforced what you know and made you conscious of the many pitfalls in the way you and the board are performing presently while creating pathways to better performance for you and the board.

By ISABELLA G B

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Dec 7, 2017

This course have been very helpful to me. Very well organized, and at a good pace . For me that I am a full time employee I have been able to handle to have time for all lectures and works assigned.

By NetCastConsulting

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Apr 14, 2016

I really enjoyed the curse and as a board memeber sitting on a number of Boards, I have found the course directly applicable and relevant.

By Irfan A K

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Jan 29, 2019

An excellent course. The only gaps are a- Broken Links b-mandatory purchase of expensive books.

By Venkataraj

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Feb 6, 2021

Valuable Course and insightful. It is filled with several frameworks that you can apply readily in a non-profit organization situation. Thank you SUNY, Luther College and Coursera

By Chandler L

•

Oct 29, 2016

So great a course for NGO worker

By Michel D S

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Nov 6, 2016

The courses are easy to understand, however, they are poorly designed to work on an iPad. Also, page references for electronic books are useless. It is sometimes difficult to find the reading material in a particular book because the electronic version does not show pages.

By Jak C

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Sep 13, 2020

Some useful information and the practical exercises were good.

By Gustavo P

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Oct 30, 2018

Very helpful course.

By Birgilio R C

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Jul 31, 2023

As CEO of the non-profit organization Uso Inteligente/Smart Use in Mexico, I consider this course important for board members to know and understand their roles, scopes and responsibilities. This course has and excellent structure of information and includes ideal tools for nonprofit collaborators.

By Sergio C A

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Jun 18, 2023

Excelent course, I recomend it....it is great!

By ALBERTO P

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Mar 18, 2023

Even if you complete all the assignments in a timely manner, you can lose all the time gained by waiting for someone to grade your work to obtain the certificate. For those of us who work professionally this is a waste of time.