This booklet for trustees of institutions of higher education offers guidelines concerning the distinction between policy making and administration and the relationship of policy making to administration. It stresses the importance of keeping policy making and administration separate and of communication and consultation between the chief executive and the board. A difference between active and "activist" trustees is noted, with activist trustees described as lacking confidence in academic administrators and their fellow trustees. The booklet goes on to offer general guidelines concerning the following areas: (1) the escalating pressures on all boards, but public ones in particular, calling for stronger board leadership in policy setting; (2) practices trustees may employ to set policy successfully, even in the glare of media and political attention; (3) different approaches to policy setting for system boards as opposed to single-campus boards, and for private boards as opposed to public ones; and (4) options for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and their implementation. Each section also lists some questions to consider. (DB)