« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Action for individual organisations arising from recommendations on accountability and governance
ANNEX E
Scottish Government
- Review by the end of the year the need to retain powers that permit Ministers to direct or otherwise control college activities.
- Prepare a discussion paper for the RoSCo Core Group on improving ways of rewarding and valuing Board members.
- Initiate review of schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 by end of 2007.
- Consult in due course on whether to give college boards more flexibility to appoint ordinary board members for a period of less than four years.
- Provide clarification to colleges by December 2007 on the interpretation of the provision requiring boards to have 50% of members with a commercial/professional etc background and on the exclusion of members from board meetings in exceptional circumstances.
- Provide clarification to colleges by December 2007 on restricted sessions at Board meetings.
- Review how to better engage with board members.
RoSCo Core Group
- Report to the Cabinet Secretary by the end of 2008 on the impact of the removal in 2006 of Ministerial powers of direction.
- Make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary by July 2008 on improving ways of rewarding and valuing Board members.
- Monitor progress towards the development of a staff governance standard for Scotland's colleges.
Scottish Funding Council
- Review the tenure of Board members by March 2008 with other relevant stakeholders.
- Support boards take account of the full range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity) in making appointments.
- Develop a support mechanism for staff Board members with the Association of Scotland's Colleges and the Scottish Trades Union Congress by March 2008.
- Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
- Support boards put in place arrangements for evaluating their own performance, including that of individual members, committees and the Chair.
- Encourage the involvement of Boards with quality issues and quality assurance.
- Disseminate with the Association of Scotland's Colleges good practice on risk management, including the use of separate risk registers for significant capital projects and keeping registers under regular review.
- Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
- Review how to better engage with board members.
- Issue guidance by March 2008 with the Association of Scotland's Colleges on supporting student board members.
Colleges
- Ensure principals do not sit on Nomination Committees.
- In making appointments take into account the full the range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity).
- Give chairs a role to review the training needs of members.
- Review structures and processes to optimise the impact of members.
- Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
- Have a formal training programme for staff Board members, with a focus on core governance skills and behaviour.
- Exclude members only in exceptional circumstances.
- Make greater use of their ability to co-opt members to committees of the Board.
- Enhance the quality of information presented to boards.
- Have in place arrangements for Boards to evaluate their own performance, including that of individual members, committees and the Chair.
- Involve boards closely in issues of academic quality.
- Use a separate risk register for each significant capital project and keep registers under regular review.
- Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
- Improve the connectedness and visibility of Board members to external and internal stakeholders.
- Involve members in events such as internal focus groups and conferences wherever appropriate.
- Consider the creation of a student sabbatical officer post.
- Enable a second student nominee to attend Board meetings.
- Approve dedicated administrative support to the student association and its President.
- Bring student members up to speed with all relevant issues as soon as possible.
Association of Scotland's Colleges
- Issue guidance to colleges by March 2008 on:
- succession planning;
- Principals not sitting on Nominations Committees;
- nominated members;
- appointments taking into account the full the range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity);
- induction;
- Chairs reviewing the training needs of members;
- reviewing structures and process to optimise the impact of members;
- requirement that 50% of members should have a commercial/professional, etc. background;
- formal training programmes for staff members;
- exclusion of members in exceptional circumstances;
- co-option of members to Board committees;
- evaluation of board performance;
- involvement of boards in academic quality;
- risk management and risk registers;
- member engagement;
- involvement of members in internal focus groups and conferences; and
- supporting student members.
- Develop with the National Union of Students Scotland guidance on a model agreement for student sabbatical officers by autumn 2008.
- Develop a training and development framework by March 2008.
- Work with Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Trades Union Congress to develop a support mechanism for staff Board members by March 2008.
- Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
- Establish a broad based 'community of practice'-style group for accountability and governance issues that includes the National Union of Students Scotland and the Scottish Trades Union Congress among those represented on the group.
- Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
- Ensure that the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the National Union of Students Scotland are among those involved in any sector-wide dissemination events on board member engagement.
- Review how to better engage with board members.
- Develop with the Scottish Trades Union Congress a staff governance standard and to report progress to the RoSCo Core Group by June 2008.
Scottish Trades Union Congress
- Work with Scottish Funding Council and the Association of Scotland's Colleges to develop a support mechanism for staff Board members by March 2008.
- Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
- Support formal training programmes for staff Board members, where appropriate.
- Participate in any broad based 'community of practice'-style group that is established for accountability and governance issues.
- Develop with the Association of Scotland's Colleges a staff governance standard and to report progress to the RoSCo Core Group by June 2008.
National Union of Students Scotland
- Develop with the Association of Scotland's Colleges guidance on a model agreement for student sabbatical officers by autumn 2008.
- Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
- Participate in any broad based 'community of practice'-style group that is established for accountability and governance issues.
- Assist affiliated colleges and their student associations to:
- consider whether to create student sabbatical officer posts; and
- establish where appropriate, processes for such posts.
- Assist affiliated colleges to brief new student board members effectively.
« Previous | Contents | Next »