Customer Stories
Trinity University
Minutes AI, surveys, and announcements are among the many features this Texas liberal arts institution loves about AGB OnBoard.
Customer Stories
Minutes AI, surveys, and announcements are among the many features this Texas liberal arts institution loves about AGB OnBoard.
Industry: Higher Education
Headquarters: San Antonio
Board Management Goals
Results
OnBoard Capabilities Utilized
Previous Board Management Solution: BoardEffect
Trinity University, a top-50 liberal arts institution located in San Antonio, is known for its close-knit community and distinctive academic blend of liberal arts, business, and engineering. With a strong focus on undergraduate education and a powerful alumni and donor network, Trinity thrives as a small-town college within a major metropolitan setting.
“San Antonio is a small town in a big city, and Trinity is that same vibe,” says Christal Cooper-Fimple, Executive Coordinator in the Office of the President. “We’re kind of a little nugget of an institution. When you mention you’re from Trinity, someone always seems to have a connection. It’s incredible.”
Managing the operations of a 33-member Board of Trustees, along with seven to nine active board committees and a handful of emeriti trustees, demands a secure, efficient, and intuitive governance solution. In 2023, Trinity transitioned to AGB OnBoard to meet these growing demands.
Trinity’s shift to AGB OnBoard came after years of using a legacy platform that had grown increasingly cumbersome. “It was very complicated, and it was impossible to find things easily,” Christal says. “You had to edit each item individually and post it in multiple places. If something changed in one place and not another, there were outdated versions floating around. It was nightmarish.”
The inefficiencies weren’t just frustrating. They were costly in terms of time. “I used to have to set aside an entire day,” Christal says. “Double-checking, triple-checking every single thing on every single page. It just wasn’t sustainable.”
These challenges prompted Trinity to look for a simpler, more intuitive solution. After evaluating a few options — including those suggested by trustees who served on other boards — AGB OnBoard quickly emerged as the front-runner.
What helped tip the scales toward OnBoard was its familiarity and ease of use. “Our former board secretary had used OnBoard through AGB and was already comfortable with it,” Christal says. “That familiarity made the transition easier for us.”
The onboarding process itself went smoothly. “We had a tremendous amount of support from AGB OnBoard,” she says. “Our trustees were able to navigate the platform on their own, and the feedback was immediate: ‘This is so much easier. I can find what I need.’”
Adoption by trustees was enthusiastic. In fact, many had been pushing for the change. “A lot of them were calling for it,” Christal says. “[The previous solution] was outdated and not making updates. Trustees were feeling the pull from more modern platforms they used on other boards and could see the difference.”
That difference was felt immediately during Trinity’s first full board meeting with AGB OnBoard. “We implemented it in the spring and used it during our May meeting,” Christal says. “The feedback was overwhelming — ‘We love it, we should never go back. This is where we need to go.’”
Trustees began using AGB OnBoard’s mobile capabilities and messaging tools, making communication more dynamic and secure. “We know when we send an announcement, it gets to the people it needs to,” says Kristina Campos-Davis, Trinity’s Chief of Staff and Board Professional. “In crisis situations or time-sensitive moments, it’s been a life-saver.”
— Christal Cooper-Fimple, Executive Coordinator, Office of the President, Trinity University
Trinity’s implementation process was described as smooth and well-supported.
“The onboarding I thought went very smoothly and the transition was pretty smooth as well,” Christal recalled. “We had a tremendous amount of support from AGB OnBoard and our trustees picked it up quickly.”
Trustees who had experience with OnBoard on other boards encouraged the move and were eager for change. “They were calling for change,” Christal said. “[Their previous board management solution] was outdated and no longer making updates, and our board noticed.”
Another area where AGB OnBoard has been a game-changer is in board meeting documentation—specifically through its Minutes AI feature. Trinity’s admin and minute-takers have embraced the tool wholeheartedly.
“They’ve all had a little bit of a learning curve, but the feedback has been consistent: It’s incredibly helpful and speeds up the minutes process significantly,” Christal says. “They love the summarization features, the notes from the video recordings, and the ability to add their own custom notes afterward.”
Even as they’ve integrated AI into their workflow, the Trinity team remains focused on personalization and precision. “Because we have generational trustees with the same names, formatting is important,” Christal says. “But we’ve created templates and shortcuts to help us manage those little details efficiently.”
In addition to Minutes AI, Christal points to AGB OnBoard’s agenda builder as another powerful time-saver. “I love the drag-and-drop functionality,” she says. “Admins send me a Word doc agenda, and I can drop it straight into OnBoard. It gives them flexibility to draft the way they want, and I can finalize it quickly.”
That balance between flexibility and structure has made AGB OnBoard an ideal fit for a high-functioning board like Trinity’s. “Overall, it’s been a great system for us and we’re very happy with it,” Kristina says. “We look forward to getting our entire group up to speed on more of the features.” For a university that values excellence in every facet of its operations, AGB OnBoard has proven to be more than a tool. It’s a strategic advantage.
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