governance good practice guide

governing board committees

Further education (FE) governing board committees are advisory, with all decisions approved or taken by the governing board. Exceptions may be made through a governing board's scheme of delegation. This sets out the areas that the governing board has decided to delegate to committees or to the principal.

Click here for information on a sample scheme of delegation.

Any committee (other than the special committee - see below) may have members who are co-opted external members, drawn from outside the governing board because of their special skills and experience.

Click here for information on governing board members.

statutory committees

Governing boards must have the following:

• an audit committee
• a search committee
• a special committee (when the need arises).

Governing boards must appoint the members of these committees.

Audit Committee

The audit committee advises the governing board on matters relating to the college's audit arrangements, the system of internal controls and appointment of auditors.

The committee's annual report is part of the system of assurance for the college's end of year evaluation and is presented to the governing board and the principal.

The committee must consist of at least three members. These must include at least one person with relevant financial and audit expertise and experience (eg a qualified accountant), and may include members of the college staff (other than those in senior posts), as well as external, co-opted members who are not members of the full governing board.

Members of the audit committee should not include members of a finance or equivalent committee, the chair or the principal/chief executive.

Search Committee

The search committee advises the governing board on the appointment of governors - and on any other matters relating to membership and appointment that the governing board delegates to it.

The committee consists of relevant members of the governing board and may include external personnel; people from the local community who can supplement the governors' knowledge and bring an objective view to the membership.

Governors cannot be appointed by the governing board until the advice of the search committee has been sought - except in the case of the principal or chief executive and elected governors (staff, students and parents).

Each governing board is expected to produce terms of reference and to make rules for the conduct of its search committee, and to publish the search committee's advice to the governing board.

Special Committee

The Articles of Government require that a special committee be established to consider the dismissal of a designated senior post holder when it is deemed necessary.
This committee must consist of at least three governing board members (excluding the chair, vice-chair, principal, staff and student members).

other optional committee structures

Governing boards are entitled to set up any other committee and appoint its members. It is advisable, however, to set up only those committees which add value to the process of governance, and to review the effectiveness of the committee structure regularly.

Governing boards are able to delegate a wide range of matters to committees, working groups or the principal - except those responsibilities which are listed in the Instrument and Articles of Government as non-delegable.

Examples of committees that some governing boards may operate with include a:

• finance committee
• remuneration committee, specifically to deal with the salary and conditions of service of designated senior post holders
• committee with responsibility for academic standards and quality of provision
• committee for human resources (HR) and employment matters.

These bodies form part of a traditional standing committee structure, where committees carry out the detailed work in order to take recommendations to the board.

It is important to have clear, formal terms of reference for committees, which emphasise their advisory nature - otherwise there may be a risk that small groups of governors could have a disproportionate influence on the work of the board. There may also be a tendency for committees to work in 'silos', with the governing board needing to take a holistic view.

Some governing boards prefer to have as few committees as possible - eg the three statutory committees only - to ensure that the governing board has good awareness of issues across the whole college structure to enable it to make decisions and determine strategy in a holistic way.

With a minimal committee structure, it is important to ensure that the governing board does not get diverted from strategy by immersing itself in operational detail, or lose sight of the monitoring role of the college's performance in its attempts to remain strategic.

Some governing boards prefer to set up time-defined, working or task groups that can carry out more detailed work on behalf of the board. This enables individual governors to contribute their expertise on specific topics. Such task groups may be wound up once their task is completed and their recommendations have been brought back to the board.

Such an approach may be combined with, and add value to, either a standing committee structure or a minimalist committee structure.

Click here for information on committees and different models of governance.