[SEETLLD AGWG-P21]
REVIEW OF SCOTLAND'S COLLEGES
WORKING GROUP: ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE
ASC BOARD MEMBER TRAINING PROGRAMME
Purpose
1. To provide members with information on current ASC training for Board Members.
Background
2. The Audit Committee report of the 2004/05 audit of Inverness College, published in July 2006 recommended that:
"the current Executive review includes an examination of the national training programme to ensure that it adopts consistent national standards and records, while meeting local needs. The Committee also recommends that central records of training undertaken by each Board member should be maintained locally and submitted yearly to the Scottish Funding Council"
3. The Executive's response advised that:
The Review of Scotland's Colleges will examine the effectiveness of the current national training programme and College Boards will be asked to maintain a record of training completed by each Board member. The SFC, the ASC and the Department will examine the most appropriate format for the annual submission by Colleges to the Funding Council of details and assurances relating to individual board member training
4. ASC Board Member Training Programme
The Association has developed a sector-wide programme to support colleges' own training and development activity. Board training organised by ASC is designed to help, explain and put in context the environment in which Scotland's colleges operate.
ASC's role in delivering training and development activity was the result of consideration by its 'Chairpersons Forum' which meets three times a year to discuss policy and current topics on strategy and governance of the sector. Recent Guest speakers at the Chairpersons Forum have included the Auditor-General for Scotland, Robert Black, the Chairman of the Scottish Funding Council, John McClelland and Aileen McKechnie, Head of Further and Adult Education Division. All 'incorporated' and 'associate' college members are entitled to send representatives to - and to raise issues at - meetings of the Forum.
Board members from all of Scotland's incorporated colleges have participated in events organised by ASC. ASC's programme of training events has included:
- Four separate introductory events designed to give boards members a detailed overview of Scotland's Colleges and post-school education in Scotland. Fifty-five board members attended these events in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Inverness during February and March 2004.
- Five events which concentrated in more detail on issues of finance, audit, merger of the Funding Councils, Review of Funding for Learning and school-college links. These events included speakers and contributions from the Funding Council, Universities Scotland, Scottish Executive and Audit Scotland. Ninety-three board members attended these events.
- The first ever national conference for college board members in Scotland, which took place in March 2005 in Glasgow. A total of 149 delegates attended the conference with 116 board members present. Speakers included:
· Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Allan Wilson MSP
· Chairman of the Committee of University Chairmen's Governance Group, Dr Andrew Cubie CBE
· Chair of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council, Esther Roberton
· Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority Anton Colella
· Director of Strategy and Finance for Lloyds TSB Scotland Professor Donald MacRae
A training event focusing on estates issues held at the newly completed St Brycedale campus of the Adam Smith College in Fife in April 2005. This event included contributions from Jenkins & Marr (architects) as well as the Chairman of the Funding Council's Capital Investment Committee, Ian Murning. Thirty-six board members attended this event.
In autumn 2005 ASC organised a further series of broad-based seminars aimed in the main at newly appointed board members in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Dumfries-shire. Ninety-four board members attended these events.
Future planned events include
Board development events focusing on audit and finance issues took place in Glasgow and Inverurie in June and September respectively. A total of eighty-five board members attended these events. Ian Adam (Chair of SFC Audit Committee) and Martin Fairbairn (SFC Director of Governance & Management Appraisal & Policy) presented and participated in these events.
ASC and SFC are currently developing a board development programme for 2006-2007.
Induction And Development Activity By Colleges
As indicated above, individual colleges undertake their own training programmes for board members. This activity is also delivered through regional groupings of colleges. The main elements contained in local programmes is set out below:
- Introduction seminars for new members;
- Strategic Planning and Risk Assessment Workshops attended annually by Board Members ;
- "Continuing induction" - Examples would include the delivery of presentations by members of the senior management team or department heads about a function of the college or on topics of sector interest;
- Awareness raising events for prospective board members;
- Contributions by external speakers from the Funding Council, ASC, the Scottish Executive and other organisations;
- Specialist presentations eg on options for renewal of estates
Some Board Members also have to comply with their own professional CPD requirements to enable them to function as a college board member. For example chartered accountants, even if retired, have to meet the Incorporation of Chartered Accountants in Scotland's rules on CPD.
Action
5. Members are invited to discuss the current national training programme on the understanding that they will be asked to consider this issue further having received the accountability and governance research findings at the end of the month.
ASC Executive
September 2006