The Changing Agenda of Governance:

Allan SchofieldKey Associate, Leadership Foundation

as@highered.powernet.co.uk

Presentation

1 Some Trends in HE Governance.

2 Clarifying the Primary Roles of the Governing Body.

3 Some Problems in HE Governance.

4 Developing Challenges to Governing Bodies.

5 Determining Future Board Effectiveness – the LF/CUC Framework.

1. Some Trends in HE Governance

• Greater diversity in governance: private providers; the different jurisdictions; Privy Council flexibility; etc.

• Substantial innovation: smaller boards; fewer committees; lead governors; performance orientation; powers to remunerate; possible two tier approaches etc.

• Board effectiveness: we now know pretty much what we mean by effectiveness.

• The student voice: how to make student engagement in governance work.

• Challenging the assumption of an institutional focus on governance: the downside of ambiguity about accountability.

2. Clarifying the primary roles of the governing body - I

• Differences of view remain about governing body roles in HEIs (McCormick, von Prondzynski, HEFCE, etc).

• Effectiveness goes well beyond governance codes and statements of responsibilities – important as they are.

• Effectiveness is about ‘how governing bodies work’ as well as ‘what they do’.

• The need for clarity about primary roles underpins all aspects of governance eg structure, board engagement, understanding accountability in practice, etc.

• Boards need to understand the differences of view about role amongst their membership.

2. Three Primary Purposes of Governance in HEIs - II

3. Some Problems in HE Governance - I

Caveat: Most HEIs are at reasonably well governed , some excellently.

3. Some Problems in HE Governance - II

• The naïve or optimistic board.

• The dominated board.

• The governing body that doesn’t want to govern.

• The uninformed governing body.

• The governing body that doesn’t understand HE.

• The governing body that doesn’t understand itself.

3. Some Problems in HE Governance - III

• The naïve or optimistic board.

• The dominated board.

• The governing body that doesn’t want to govern.

• The uninformed governing body.

• The governing body that doesn’t understand HE.

• The governing body that doesn’t understand itself.

But these are found in all kinds of boards and is just part of governance!

4. Some Developing Challenges to Governing Bodies

• Coming to terms with the new reality of HE.• Developing healthy board dynamics in times of

tension.• Coming to terms with the implications of students as

customers.• Exercising shared leadership through governance.• Avoiding ‘group think’ with smaller boards and being

too close to the executive.• Getting institutional engagement in governance. • Accepting that the external environment is

unpredictable, inconsistent, but...?

5. Determining Future Board Effectiveness – the LF/CUC Framework - I

• 2011 LF/CUC project produced a framework to identify the factors influencing board effectiveness in HE.

• 16 volunteer governing bodies of HEIs validated the framework in conducting their own effectiveness reviews.

• For details see www.lfhe.ac.uk/governance/ reviewinggovernance/project.html.

• The framework supports effectiveness reviews but doesn’t do the job for HEIs! It is not a checklist and is not to be used mechanistically.

• Its use requires openness and transparency from governing bodies and an executive.

5. The Effectiveness Framework - II