Customer Stories
Xavier University of Louisiana
Discover how this New Orleans-based HBCU modernized board meetings, boosted trustee engagement, and streamlined minutes with AGB OnBoard’s powerful platform.
Customer Stories
Discover how this New Orleans-based HBCU modernized board meetings, boosted trustee engagement, and streamlined minutes with AGB OnBoard’s powerful platform.
Industry: Higher Education
Campus: New Orleans
Board Management Goals
Results
OnBoard Capabilities Utilized
Previous Board Management Solution: Directorpoint
Located in the heart of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana is a nationally recognized historically Black college and the only Black Catholic university in the United States. With a student population of approximately 3,000, Xavier stands out for its rigorous academic standards, especially in STEM education, and its unwavering commitment to social justice.
“We are led very strongly by the mission that was established 100 years ago — to contribute to a more just and humane society,” says Kris Pottharst, Director of Board Relations in the President’s Office. “The mission is referred to almost every day in the work that we do here, which is very inspirational to me.”
Xavier’s legacy of excellence is further demonstrated by its place among the top universities for sending Black and African American graduates to medical school — and not just enrolling them, but ensuring they graduate and become practicing physicians. The university is currently celebrating its centennial year with a forward-looking spirit, expanding its facilities and continuing to thrive in a competitive educational landscape.
When Kris arrived at Xavier, the university used platforms like Blackboard, an academic-focused system that Kris and trustees found “extremely difficult and bulky” for board use. Eventually, the university transitioned to Directorpoint, which seemed more promising but fell short in practice.
“I thought [Directorpoint] was great and very user-friendly, but that thought was not shared by the trustees,” Kris says. “I don’t think it was just because the idea of a portal was new to them. It was difficult to locate documents from a user standpoint.”
Trustees struggled to access materials, and Kris found herself battling low engagement and usability concerns. Posting materials should result in more informed trustees, but only if the documents are easily located and read.
With these persistent pain points, it became clear a better solution was needed — one that balanced functionality, accessibility, and affordability.
Xavier’s search for a new board portal was extensive and deliberate. As a member of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB), Kris had frequently encountered AGB OnBoard through webinars and peer recommendations.
“The partnership between OnBoard and AGB was constantly mentioned in webinars that I attended,” she says. “That was a factor that made me absolutely include it as one of the portals that we looked at.”
Beyond name recognition, what stood out most was the high level of support and positive user experiences shared by other institutions. “I was impressed with the customer service and the support I received,” Kris says. “People in my position at universities were very positive through AGB about their experience with OnBoard.”
— Kris Pottharst, Director of Board Relations in the President's Office, Xavier University of Louisiana
Rolling out a new board platform can be a complex undertaking, but Xavier’s experience was notably smooth. “It was pretty orderly in terms of how we got it done,” Kris says. Although there was a learning curve, AGB OnBoard’s implementation team provided the necessary training and guidance.
Overall, Kris was impressed: “Even though a trainer might thoroughly explain how the new portal worked, if a week goes by, and you have to do it yourself, it is intimidating — but AGB OnBoard was right there to collegially guide me through.”
With AGB OnBoard in place, Xavier experienced a significant transformation in how trustees engaged with board materials. “More trustees use the portal, and some even explored on their own right from the start,” Kris says. “Probably 50% or 60% more trustees are using it compared to our last platform.”
A major breakthrough was in document sharing and security. “We don’t use email attachments at all now,” Kris says. “I send them a link that takes them directly to the document in AGB OnBoard. Easy and secure.”
Features like eSignatures streamlined previously tedious workflows. “I was FedEx-ing resolutions to the out-of-town secretary for signatures and back again when necessary. I love the eSign process,” Kris says. “We now have legally accepted signatures without the expense and hassle.”
The conflict-of-interest form, a legally required document, is now signed and time-stamped digitally by each trustee and a summary report is created, eliminating piles of paperwork and improving audit readiness.
AGB OnBoard also supports meeting logistics. Xavier’s board meets three times a year in-person, with Zoom sessions in between and a hybrid option available for all gatherings. Kris sets up every committee and full board meeting herself. “It’s really effective,” she says. “It’s very easy to create a domain for each meeting, insert the Zoom link, and upload materials.”
Kris particularly appreciates the ease of managing multiple committee meetings. “We have eight committees,” she says. “Each one has its own meeting with an agenda and materials posted a week and-a-half in advance, in addition to the half-day full board meeting. Each meeting is clearly organized and accessible in AGB OnBoard.”
Xavier recently began using Minutes AI, starting with a free trial in June and committing to continued use in October. The platform has already begun to lighten the load for Kris and her team.
“We have departmental staff doing the minutes for many of these committees, and I do the minutes for the full board meeting,” Kris says. “It takes so much less time. The team members are fans!”
Some initial learnings helped the team refine its approach. “We realized that AI needs to hear verbal cues like, ‘We’re now going to this particular agenda item,’” she says. “That helps avoid minutes being miscategorized as ‘unclassified discussion.’”
Despite minor growing pains, Kris is enthusiastic. “Minutes are official documents,” she says. “Committees use them as guideposts for the next meeting; auditors read them; historians of the university may refer to them years later. But they are time-consuming and an added task for busy staff. Having AI generate detailed, accurate transcripts is fabulous. If I’m not clear about an item from the meeting, I can go to the transcript, click, and it takes me to the correct spot in the Zoom video for accurate reporting.”
For Kris, several OnBoard features stand out:
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