Accredited Director Education Program

As part of ISS' commitment to helping companies improve their corporate governance, ISS accredits director education programs that foster improved corporate governance practices.

Today, more than ever, corporations are increasingly concerned about the quality of their corporate boards and the impact their governance practices may have on performance. With the spotlight on corporate governance and company boards being held accountable for their business decisions, directors face new challenges as they seek to fulfill their fiduciary obligations to shareholders. ISS is committed to helping companies improve their corporate governance. As part of this commitment, ISS accredits director education programs that foster improved corporate governance practices. By accrediting selected director education programs, ISS hopes to expose directors to today's best practices in corporate governance. Only director education classes that meet or exceed ISS's standards receive accreditation. Each curriculum is evaluated based on the promotion of strong corporate governance practices.

Look for the ISS Accredited Director Education Program logo when choosing an educational program for your corporate board.

Since its initial release in June 2002, ISS' Corporate Governance Quotient (CGQ) has become the industry standard for rating companies on their governance structure and practices. We have accredited more than 20 leading programs including the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Stanford Directors' Summit, and the Wharton/SpencerStuart Directors' Institute.

Directors attending an ISS Accredited Director Education Program will not only gain valuable insights, but ISS will take this continuing education into consideration when evaluating the company's CGQ score.

What is required to become an ISS Accredited Director Education Program?
>>Only director education classes that meet or exceed ISS' standards receive accreditation.

Director education programs that qualify for ISS accreditation must meet the following standards:

• The program must be open to all directors.
• The program must consist of a minimum of 8 hours of instruction.
• The curriculum must focus on improving a company's corporate governance practices. Programs should address topics such as board oversight of management, the work of the key board committees, board performance evaluations, succession planning, responding to shareholder proposals, entrenchment devices, financial literacy, transparency, drafting and disclosing of board guidelines, and executive and director compensation.
  • Excludes D & O liability
  • Excludes a recitation of new legal requirements
• The Sponsoring Group seeking to become accredited and submitting application materials must include one or more of the following:
  • a university
  • an educational foundation established for the purpose of promoting best practice corporate governance standards
  • a membership group such as the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) or the American Society of Corporate Secretaries (ASCS).
• We invite participation by service providers to professionals such as bankers, lawyers, and auditors, but such groups must team with a Sponsoring Group as defined above.
• No more than 25% of the speakers may be service providers to companies.
• At least 25% of the speakers must be current or former directors of publicly traded companies.
  

What is the process to becoming accredited?
>> In order to expedite the accreditation process, make sure that you include all of the necessary information with your request.

Once you have identified that your program meets the standards listed above, download and fill out the form posted in the Director Education Resource Center on the right side of this page. You may email the form with your agenda, program dates, curriculum materials and faculty biographies to paul.wanner@riskmetrics.com.

A review panel will evaluate your program and get back to you within two months. There is no fee to become an ISS Accredited Director Education Program.