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Annex E Recommendations on accountability and governance
Ministerial Powers of Intervention with Colleges
1. Ministerial power of direction Recommend that the Scottish Executive and partners keep the issue under review, in line with the commitment given by Ministers to the Enterprise and Culture Committee.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
2. Other statutory and non-statutory interventions Recommend no change to the powers of statutory or non-statutory intervention in the affairs of colleges (other than the actions recommended elsewhere in this report).
Succession Planning
3. Succession planning Recommend that guidance on succession planning, drawing on good practice in colleges identified by DTZ, is disseminated by ASC to the college sector.
ACTION: ASC
Recruitment
4. Remuneration of Board members Recommend that Board members should remain unremunerated. Recommend that further consideration is given, however, to improving other ways of rewarding and valuing Board members.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
5. Nominations committee Recommend that the Principal should not sit on the Nominations Committee.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, ASC
6. Organisations should offer more than one candidate for the Board to choose from Considered, but recommend no change. 'Good practice' however should be highlighted in ASC guidance.
ACTION: ASC
7. Retain student and staff representation at current level Recommend that the current level of student and staff representation (one academic staff, one support staff) remains unchanged [but see later recommendation on 'Support for student Board members']. Recommend that consideration be given to the development of a standard service level agreement for student sabbatical officers for those colleges that have them in order to establish a common understanding of the duties of a sabbatical officer.
ACTION: NUS Scotland, ASC
8. Tenure of Board members Recommend that the Funding Council, along with other stakeholders, continues to review the tenure of Board members, taking account of recent changes to policy on public appointments. This should take place alongside a comprehensive review, initiated by the Scottish Executive, aimed at simplifying Schedule 2 to the 1992 Act. Recommend that Boards be given more flexibility to appoint ordinary board members for a period less than four years.
ACTION: SFC, Scottish Executive, ASC, STUC, NUS Scotland
9. Recruitment to Boards Recommend Boards, in making appointments, should take account of full the range of criteria expected (eg skills, experience, equality, diversity).
ACTION: Scottish Executive, SFC, ASC
10. Recruitment process Recommend no change to current ability of Boards to appoint their own members, or to the procedure for appointing the Chair.
Induction
11. Board induction arrangements Recommend that good practice guidance be developed by the ASC as an integral element of a wider training and development framework.
ACTION: ASC
Training and Development
12. Ongoing development of Board members Recommend development of a good practice framework by the ASC. Recommend that Chairs should have a role to review training needs of members. Recommend that SFC, working with other stakeholders and taking account of the success of SPARQS, develop a support mechanism for staff Board members building on, but avoiding duplication of, existing arrangements.
ACTION: SFC, working with ASC and STUC
Board Structure and Meetings
13. Structure Recommend that Boards be encouraged to review their structures and processes to optimise impact of members, noting that the contribution of members is voluntary and limited.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, SFC, ASC
14. Size and composition Recommend no change to current size. Recommend no change to requirement that 50% should have a commercial/professional etc background, but that the Scottish Executive give Boards clarification of the potentially wide interpretation of that provision (eg that it can include local authority sector, charity and community sector, etc).
ACTION: Scottish Executive
15. Role of staff and student members Recommend that training arrangements should emphasise the role of student and staff members (ie full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
ACTION: NUS Scotland, STUC, ASC
16. Training for staff Board members Recommend that all Boards should have a formal training programme for staff Board members, with a focus on core governance skills and behaviour.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, ASC, STUC
17. Restricted sessions at Board meetings Recommend that Boards should exclude members only in exceptional circumstances (consistent with the statement of Board member responsibilities). Recommend that guidance be issued on this issue.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
18. Encouragement of co-option Recommend that Boards be encouraged to make greater use of their ability to co-opt members to committees of the Board, including members of staff, with a view to improving succession planning, broadening representation, providing expertise and learning from other colleges.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
19. Information to Boards Recommend that Boards seek to ensure the enhancement of the quality of information presented to boards, taking account of relevant issues identified in DTZ's report.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
Board Performance
20. Sharing good practice Recommend that ASC establishes a broad based 'community of practice'-style group for accountability and governance issues, tasked with the identification and sharing of good practice. [NOTE The STUC view is that the group should be established by the Scottish Executive rather than the ASC.]
ACTION: ASC
21. Poor performance Recommend that Boards should have in place arrangements for evaluating their own performance, including that of individual members, committees and the Chair.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, SFC, ASC
22. Academic quality Recommend that all Boards are closely involved in issues of academic quality, taking account of existing successful examples in other colleges and specifically in the approval and monitoring of quality assurance and improvement strategies.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
Risk Management
23. Good practice Recommend that good practice in risk management be disseminated by the ASC, also highlighting the key role of the audit committee and other specialist committees. [NOTE The STUC consider that dissemination should be undertaken by the SFC or Audit Scotland, rather than the ASC.]
ACTION: ASC
24. Risk registers Recommend that Boards be encouraged to use a separate risk register for each significant capital project. Registers should also be kept under regular review.
ACTION: ASC, SFC
Financial Management
25. Annual financial cycle Recommend no change in annual financial cycle.
26. Board member training Recommend that Board members receive appropriate financial training.
ACTION: ASC
27. Treatment of pension liabilities Recommend that the Funding Council review the implications for colleges.
ACTION: SFC
Accountability
28. Possible statutory designation of college Accountable Officers Recommend no change to current arrangements.
29. Role of college Accountable Officers Recommend that SFC issues clarification on the role of 'Accountable Officers'.
ACTION: SFC
Board Member Engagement
30. Good practice Recommend good practice be disseminated to colleges by the ASC, drawing on DTZ research evidence and the ROSCO desk research. [NOTE The STUC consider that all stakeholders should be involved in dissemination, and not solely the ASC.]
ACTION: ASC
31. Visibility of Board members To improve the connectedness and visibility of Board members to external and internal stakeholders, recommend that visits, events and other communication opportunities should be employed.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, SFC, ASC
32. Awareness of staff and student views Recommend that events such as internal focus groups and conferences should involve Board member participation wherever appropriate.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, SFC, ASC
Student Representation on Boards
33. Support for student Board member(s) Recommend that Boards be encouraged to consider the creation of sabbatical posts. Recommend that Boards be encouraged to invite a second student nominee to attend Board meetings to provide support to the existing student Board member. Recommend Boards approve dedicated administrative support to the student association and its President.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, NUS Scotland, SFC, ASC
34. Integration of student members Acknowledging that student representatives have much shorter terms than other Board members, recommend that Boards bring the student member up to speed with all relevant issues as soon as possible.
ACTION: Scottish Executive, NUS Scotland
Staff Governance Standard
35. Development of staff governance standard Recommend that the issue be remitted to the Scottish Executive's Roundtable Forum.
ACTION: Scottish Executive
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