Business Operations

CEO Notebook  

  • Budget
  • | Technology

Going All-In for Technology ROI

Is your school making the most of its technology budget? How do you know if faculty, students and staff are fully utilizing new resources?
3 min read
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  • Budget
  • | Facilities

Condition, Condition, Condition: Highlights of the 2015-2016 Facilities Budgeting and Staffing Survey Report

From the archives: NBOA’s 2015–2016 Facilities Budgeting and Staffing Survey Report illustrates independent schools’ struggles to maintain their biggest assets.
2 min read
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  • Risk Management
  • | Safety and Security

Risk and Compliance: Leadership’s Role in Creating a Culture of Safety

A four-step strategy for preventing sexual abuse in independent schools.
4 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/11/Legal-Matters-Nov-Dec-2016.jpg
  • Key Technology
  • | Risk Management
  • | Technology

To Text or Not to Text? Recommended Practices for Staff-Student Communications

Texting is where students live. For staff-student communications, schools must develop policies that balance safety with reality.
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Admission
  • | Facilities

Five Critical Factors for Your School's Future

Independent school leaders often ask me for advice regarding what they should be thinking about to help ensure a financially healthy future. It's a tough and important question, with an answer that's difficult to distill
3 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/09/Your-Money-or-Your-Data-Sept-Oct.jpg
  • Risk Management
  • | Technology

Your Money or Your Data

Ransomware is one of the next big threats to school data. “The bad guys are smart but lazy. If I had a choice to go after a school or a bank, I’d go after schools that are woefully unprepared for the skills I bring.”
12 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/09/QA-Sept-Oct-2016.jpg
  • Accounting
  • | Facilities

Q&A with Melissa Orth

The chair of NBOA’s Board of Directors reflects on the not-for-profit difference, the CFO-head of school partnership and the omnipresent topic of financial sustainability.
10 min read
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  • Human Resources
  • | Safety and Security

A Delicate Balance: Should You Hire a Dedicated Risk Management Officer? This item is protected.

Growing numbers of schools consider adding a dedicated risk manager. “It’s not that the CFO is doing less. It’s just that there is so much to keep up with and do that no one person can do it all.”
10 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/07/Travel-Assurance-Jul-Aug-2016.jpg
  • Safety and Security
  • | Trips

Travel Assurance

Rising anxieties over international travel programs have schools stepping up due diligence, buttoning up procedures. “The reality is, there but for the grace of God goes any school.”
12 min read

Projections  

  • Crisis Management
  • | Safety and Security

Counter to Our Missions

Independent schools must be resolute in providing the safest of havens where those wishing to do harm are quickly identified and weeded out.
4 min read
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  • Employee Benefits
  • | Facilities
  • | Tax

Housing Benefits and Taxation: a Misunderstood Area

Tax-free or subsidized on- or off-campus housing is among independent schools’ most generous fringe benefits for select staff, as well as among the most misunderstood in terms of potential tax liability.
7 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/05/Legal-Matters-May-Jun-2016.jpg
  • Compliance
  • | Facilities

OSHA's Jurisdiction over Independent Schools This item is protected.

Yes, your school is subject to OSHA regulations. And “common sense” precautions may not be legally compliant.
5 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/05/Leveraging-the-Land-May-Jun-2016.jpg
  • Facilities
  • | Financing

Leveraging the Land

Seeking new long-term revenue sources without losing sight of their missions, independent schools get entrepreneurial in digging into their real estate. “Land is an asset you can’t get back.”
11 min read
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  • Maintenance
  • | PPRRSM

The Perils of Procrastination in Facilities Management

Establishing or reallocating capital funds for PPRRSM is one of the greatest intergenerational gifts an institution can make.
6 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/05/Taming-the-Bandwidth-Dragon-May-Jun-2016.jpg
  • Facilities
  • | Technology

Taming the Bandwidth Dragon

Boarding schools in particular are straining to keep up with demand for high-speed Internet access. These strategies can improve connectivity without breaking the bandwidth budget.
8 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/05/Allergy-Safe-Meal-Plans-May-Jun-2016.jpg
  • Food Service
  • | Risk Management

The New Allergy-Safe Meal Plan

How are independent schools handling allergens in their dining operations to prevent tragedies, abide by the law and serve food that is both healthy and affordable?
12 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/05/Income-Property-May-Jun-2016.jpg
  • Contract
  • | Facility Rental

Income Property: The Fine Print on Facilities Rentals

With facilities rentals, a good contract — among other details worth minding — can help schools maximize potential benefits while minimizing risks.
8 min read

Projections  

  • Budget
  • | Facilities

Cementing Our Value

For most independent schools, there is no better marketing expenditure than investing in facilities.
3 min read
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  • Facilities
  • | Financing

Making Space for Innovation

As schools consider adding innovative new learning spaces, business officers must evaluate possibilities through the lens of their budgets and strategic goals.
13 min read
https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NBOA/UploadedImages/c781eb1f-9fca-4408-b2f8-9bceec57f0af/NetAssets/2016/03/The-Inside-Job-Mar-Apr-2016.jpg
  • Accounting
  • | Technology

The Inside Job: Mitigating the Risk of Fraud This item is protected.

As technology advances, so does the proliferation of more complex fraud schemes—sometimes involving staff.
11 min read