Mobile Learning Opportunities for Board Members

by Kevin Smith, Director of Volunteer Education, CUNA

CUNA’s “Effective Credit Union Board Succession Planning” whitepaper, commissioned by the Community Credit Union Committee, reports that those credit unions ranked in the top 10% of governance practices had continuing education policies in place. But only 11% of those in the bottom 10% used such practices. It’s immediately clear that continuing  education for board members works. So, why doesn’t every credit union take advantage of this easy solution that produces such clear results? The trouble is that board members don’t always have the time for ongoing education. Typical board members have too much on their plates, between families, careers and community commitments, to find time for prolonged on-site training.

Fortunately, recent technological advances have given credit unions the capability to counteract these challenges. Online and mobile self-study courses and eBooks now make training opportunities available to board members wherever they go, allowing them to stay on top of their game and maintain the expertise in their field. Accessible from home computers, laptops and mobile devices, these tools cover board training topics that range from history and philosophy and even provide board members with an opportunity to meet and exceed the NCUA financial literacy requirements.

Today, you could spend all day, every day, reading about credit unions and the economic environment and still find more topics you need to brush up on. With so much constantly changing material, mobile learning has made it possible for even the busiest individuals to stay as up-to-date as possible.

Gone are the days of board members struggling to track down a trainer who’s available during the sparse blocks of time when they can make it to a face-to-face session. Now, the control is in the hands of the individual and the training they need is always at their fingertips.