This manual provides information on trustees' roles, responsibilities, and relationships with other agencies in the state. Following a foreword and introduction, a historical overview is provided of the North Carolina Community College System, including a description of the system's guiding philosophy of total education, mission statement, objectives, and open door policy. A list is also presented of 14 significant studies that have been conducted on the North Carolina Community College System. Next, 12 elements of trustees' responsibilities are described as establish the mission and goals of the institution, appoint, evaluate, and terminate the president, ensure that the institution is well-managed, approve budgets, raise money, obtain adequate physical facilities, establish educational programs, approve long-range plans, public relations, buffer from external pressures, serve as a court of appeal for system policy, and be informed about system operations. The trustee's working relationships are then reviewed with respect to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, college presidents, administrative staff, faculty, students, state board members, system president and community college system state-level administration, and the State Attorney General's Office. Next, a job description is provided for the President of the Board of Trustees and procedures for the search and evaluation of the President are detailed. Finally, discussions are provided of financing the community college system and methods for working with and addressing legislators. Appendixes provide a code of ethics, a discussion of the legal responsibility of the local board, a sample trustee audit form, a glossary of terms and acronyms, a recommended reading list of 29 monographs and 8 journals, and a list of presidents of the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees from 1967 to the present. Contains 11 references. (TGI)