From Silos to Effective Governance: One Community College's Journey with Enterprise Risk Management was presented at the EACUBO Annual Conference in Providence, RI. Tom Gorman, Director, Education & Government at Accounting Management Solutions, partnered with Helen Celements, Comptroller at North Shore Community College, to deliver the presentation.

1. From Silos to Effective Governance:
One Community College’s Journey with
Enterprise Risk Management
Helen Clements Tom Gorman, CPA
Comptroller, Fiscal Affairs Director, Education & Government
North Shore Community College Accounting Management Solutions

2. Agenda/Objectives
• Background information on NSCC
• History of ERM at NSCC
• Overcoming Obstacles
• Student & Enrollment Services
• Development of key risk indicators
• Education & Communication

3. Definition of Risk
Risk is:
“…any issue that impacts an organization’s ability to meet
its objectives. Five types of risk include: strategic,
financial, operational, compliance, and reputational.”
NACUBO, Developing A Strategy to Manage Enterprise Risk in Higher
Education
Enterprise Risk Management

4. Definition of ERM
ERM is:
“a process, effected by an entity’s board of
directors, management and other personnel, applied
in strategy setting and across the enterprise,
designed to identify potential events that may affect
Enterpriseand manage risks to be within its risk
the entity, Risk Management
appetite, to provide reasonable assurance regarding
achievement of entity objectives.”
COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management

5. NSCC Mission
North Shore Community College is a source of hope and
opportunity and a regional leader for social and economic
change.
Blending tradition and innovation, liberal arts and career
preparation, intellectual development and cultural and
personal growth, we foster a diverse and caring community
of learners where all are welcome and each is challenged.
We offer lifelong education responsive to changing
community needs, a global economy, evolving technology
and the shifting roles faced by individuals and institutions.
Our greatest contribution to the commonwealth is the
success and achievement of our students.

6. Background on NSCC
• Three campus locations –
• Danvers – suburban setting
• Lynn – urban setting
• Beverly – corporate & community education
• Approximately 14,000 students
• 131 faculty
• Operating budget of $51 million
• 42% of students receive federal student
financial assistance
• Open-access admissions policy

7. History of ERM at NSCC
• Began in 2007
• Initial round of risk assessments
• Common roadblocks
• Effort stopped - other priorities
• Initial effort was limited primarily to VP-level
• Lack of widespread understanding, communication
and buy-in

8. Inventory of Departments
The initial risk assessments involved the following:
Strategic:
• VP of Student and Enrollment Services
• VP of Administration & Finance
• VP of Academic Affairs
• VP of Institutional Advancement
• VP of Human Resources and Payroll
Tactical:
• Emergency Response Plan
• Bookstore
• Receiving

9. Example of Initial Risk Assessment
• [Insert Excel file]

10. An assessment of the
assessment…
• The risk assessments and supporting documentation should
Strategic Plan articulate to the College’s strategic plan.
• The College should evaluate and select an ERM framework to
Framework guide their assessments.
Consistent Documentation
• The documentation prepared by the depts. does not consistently
follow the templates provided by the Comptroller’s office. E
Key Risk Indicators
• KRI’s will help departments focus on monitoring the impact of
events on the strategic plan.
R
Monitoring Activities
Results of Initial Assessment
• The activities should be specific and measurable
• Training should be performed at ALL levels of the College to
M
Training ensure a consistent understanding.
Objectives • The departmental risk assessments should consider all
significant objectives.

11. An assessment of the
assessment…, cont.
• Broader sense of awareness of risk and risk management
techniques
• Must include involvement of ENTIRE organization (top to
bottom, side to side)
• Break down silo approach to risk management
• Effective implementation of ERM must
Enterprise Risk Management understand the
existing culture of the organization and embed risk
management into and leverage off existing assurance
processes

12. Strategic Plan – The place it all begins
• Strategic Plan was updated in 2009
• Linkage between the Strategic Plan and the risk
assessments could be strengthened
• Better align resources to mitigate risks linked to
strategic objectives

13. Overcoming Obstacles
• Included references to ERM in state-mandated
internal control plan
• Presentation to President’s Administrative Council
• Building consensus at VP level to move forward
Moving from inertia to action

14. Student & Enrollment Services
Includes:
• Admissions
• Student Services
• Financial Aid

15. Student & Enrollment Services
STUDENT & ENROLLMENT
SERVICES
Vice President
STAFF ASSISTANT
DEAN OF ENROLLMENT RETENTION AND STUDENT
STUDENTS SERVICES STUDENT SUCCESS FINANCIAL SERVICES

16. Student & Enrollment Services
ENROLLMENT
SERVICES
ADMISSIONS &
ENROLLMENT & RECORDS
RECRUITMENT/OUTREACH
Director
Director
Academic Academic
Counselor Counselor Academic Veterans Services
Associate Registrar
Coordinator Coordinator
Academic
Clerk IV
Counselor
Administrative Administrative
Clerk IV Assistant II Clerk IV
Assistant II
Clerk IV Clerk IV
Clerk IV Clerk IV
Clerk IV Clerk IV
Clerk IV

17. Updated Risk Assessment Process
• Focused on individual interviews
• Group interview with clerks from across all 3
components of SES
• Summarize key risks
• Develop key risk indicators
• Validate and reconfirm

18. Summary of Key Risks
Key risks focus on:
• Operational risk
• Compliance risk
• Reputational risk
• Financial risk

19. Summary of Key Risks, cont.
The key risks identified include:
• Open admissions policy allows greater access but
places a burden on student support services
• Physical security of campus buildings
• Non-compliance with federal, state and institutional
policies and procedures
• Loss of accreditation (at entity and program-level)
• Changes to federal regulations (e.g. ATB)

20. Response to Key Risks
Action in response to the risk of non-compliance with
federal, state and institutional policies and procedures
includes:
• Established a finance committee of the Board
• Created compliance committee
• Established protocol for coordination of external
audits
• Established “one-stop-shopping” model

21. Development of Key Risk Indicators
Key risk indicators include:
• Internal data sources
• External data sources
• Financial metrics

22. Education and Communication
• Board-level communication
• Campus-wide communication
• Development of risk awareness training as part of
employee orientation
• Working within existing structure – Compliance
Committee

23. Next Steps
Build on initial success
• Identify next department
• Develop enhanced training programs
• Expand access to resources

24. Your Turn
Think about ERM at your institution.
What obstacles did you face?
How did you overcome them?

25. Contact Information
Helen Clements
Comptroller, Fiscal Affairs
North Shore Community College
hclement@northshore.edu
Tom Gorman, CPA
Director, Education & Government Client Practice,
Accounting Management Solutions, Inc.
tgorman@amsolutions.net
Twitter: @HigherEdCFO
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