Use the text links below to navigate the content in this section. We strongly encourage you to print these directions for reference as you work through the course.

Depending on your needs, there are two basic ways to access the material in this course.

• Through the Meeting Agenda or
• By using the Reference View

The navigation for the course is set up through major "tabs" and related subtopics.

• Navigating the Major Tabs
• Subtopics
• "Previous" and "Next" links
• Hyperlinks

When you have reviewed the information in this section about the basic structure of the course, read about the Additional Features in the Course, including how to print your lesson pages, use the videos, access the Meeting Materials and Try This at Your Bank exercises.

Meeting Agenda

If you are a new director, you'll probably begin by clicking on a tool from the list of agenda Items. In fact, you just chose the first item from the agenda, How to Use this Course.

The agenda provides links to all of the lesson areas in this course. You may go through the lesson areas in the preferred sequence – by following the numbered agenda items – or, if you desire, you may skip around in the agenda. Once you open an agenda item, you have immediate access to all content under that topic area.

To navigate among the agenda items, simply move the mouse pointer over each agenda item. When you do so, the background color of each item changes, letting you know which item is currently active. Inactive items have a white background. Click on an active item to open that lesson area.

To Return to the Agenda page

There are multiple ways you can return to the Agenda page once you are inside the course.

• Click on the course title on each page.
  
  
  
  
• Click on the “Meeting Agenda” title in the top right section of each page. You can also use this “mini agenda” to navigate to another lesson area within the course. Simply click on one of the topics with your mouse.
  
  
  
  
• Click on the “Return to Meeting Agenda Page” link at the bottom of each page.
  
  
  
  

Use the Agenda Page if:

• You are not sure where to begin.
• You would like to review course information in the preferred learning sequence.
• You need a basic understanding of any given agenda area (Evaluating Financial Performance, for example, which is covered under agenda item 1. The Call to Order).

Reference View

The Reference View shows a listing of specific topics that can be found in each of the agenda areas, along with links to the corresponding Meeting Materials and Try This at Your Bank exercises. From the Reference View, you may link directly to a specific lesson and then navigate through the course just as you would if you had accessed the lesson from the Meeting Agenda.

To Access the Reference View

To access the Reference View, click the Reference View button, located at the top right corner of the page.

Use the Reference View if:

•  You want to find a specific tool, example or topic, rather than read through a whole lesson area.

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Tabs

When you open an agenda topic, you'll notice four tabs across the top of the page. Each tab represents a separate lesson area. For each of the Agenda topics, the first tab that displays when you enter the topic area is the What You Need to Know tab, as shown here:

The darker color of this tab indicates that it is the “active,” or current, page. When you click on any of the other tabs - Join the Meeting, Review the Reports, or The Board's Response – the tab you select will change to the darker color, indicating that the new tab has now become the active page.

• What You Need to Know – The content of this tab is similar to an “executive summary.” It provides a brief overview of the material covered in the agenda area you have chosen.
• Join the Meeting – This tab allows you to watch the initial video scenario where board members from the fictional Insights Bank and Trust discuss a specific agenda item. The subtopics (additional lesson material) under this tab will help you learn more about the concepts and key points under discussion including the risks faced and sources of those risks.
• Review the Reports – In this tab, you will learn more about typical reports and meeting materials generally used during this part of the meeting as well as how to use them.
• The Board's Response – If you have gone through the tabs in sequence from left to right, you will be familiar with the risk or issue Insights Bank is facing, as well as the supporting reports and meeting materials. Now that you can identify the issues at hand and understand the relevant reports, click on this tab to watch the video or read about the board's response and see what you think. This section also includes lesson material regarding risk management.

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Subtopics

Join the Meeting, Review the Reports, and The Board's Response contain a second level of navigation which appears under the active tab. The titles in the second row represent subtopics within the current lesson area.

When you move your mouse pointer over a subtopic, the text changes from normal to bold. Compare the two subtopics shown below.

The subtopic "Board and Director Responsibilities" is not bold. When your mouse pointer crosses the subtopic, Board and Director Responsibilities it is bolded.

Just like the main tabs, each subtopic can be selected to activate or display the page containing information about that topic.

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"Previous" and "Next" links

In addition to the tabs and lesson subtopics, you can navigate through the course using the “previous” and “next” links at the bottom of each page.

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Hyperlinks

Anytime you see colored text that is underlined, it indicates a “hyperlink” that you can click with the mouse pointer for more information. These hyperlinks are not necessarily found on every page but when they are used, they are applicable to the adjacent text. Such links may bring up a glossary term, another website (the FDIC, for example) or link to a related lesson in the course (Meeting Materials & Try This at Your Bank exercises).

External websites will appear in a separate window. To return to the Insights course pages:

• Close or minimize the new browser window (by clicking the "X" or "_" symbols in the upper right hand corner of the new window) or
• Click on the original window and send the page for the external web site to the background.