The policy-making and administrative roles of trustees and presidents are distinguished. The level of policy at which trustees should operate is dependent on the college's size and complexity and whether it is public or private. Trustee responsibilities of soliciting funds and selecting a president are acts of implementation in pursuit of a policy. In both cases, trustees not only set the policies to be pursued but also implement the policies. The following recommendations about roles are offered: while trustees have final responsibility for setting and implementing policy, policy-making should be a shared responsibility of trustees, faculty, and the administration; the governing board is responsible for setting the appropriate level of policy at which it will operate; administrators have the primary responsibility for implementing policy; trustees are also responsible for monitoring the execution of policy; in large, complex colleges, a delegation of policy from board to administration is feasible; public institutions differ from private colleges in the extent to which policy constraints are imposed by external bodies; and whenever possible, the board should encourage the president's office to formulate policy statements for board consideration. (SW)