student and staff governors
student and staff governorsstudent governorsA governing board must appoint two, and may appoint up to three, student governors. The governing board determines how its student governor(s) should be selected. They can be nominated and elected by fellow students or by a recognised association representing students (e.g. Student Union, Student Council). The student governor has a challenging role in that governing board members are appointed as individuals who should not hold mandates from groups. It is difficult for one or two students to be 'representative' of a large and disparate group, especially if they are trying to balance their responsibilities as governor with their studies. Student governorship should be seen as one part of a college's learner feedback strategy, within a supportive infrastructure embedded in a college's quality improvement system. A college should not look to student governors(s) to provide the sole learner voice. This should include an effective student council or student union, with a system established to allow student representatives on course boards, programme quality panels, etc. It may also include less formal mechanisms for ensuring that governing boards are listening to their learners and can benefit from their valuable, first-hand experience. In order to enable student governors to be truly effective in their role and for governing boards to benefit fully from their input, it is important that they should have access to appropriate training. staff governorsGoverning boards must appoint one, and may appoint up to three, staff members. The January 2008 Instrument and Articles of Government sets out how appointment of staff members should be made for one, two or three members. The staff governor is appointed as an individual and should not hold mandates or lobby on behalf of others. A shared understanding of the staff governor's role and responsibilities should be clarified during an induction session with the clerk, chair and principal. Areas to be covered include: arrangements for staff governors to attend meetings; reassurance that staff governors are able to raise issues without risk of penalty; those occasions when they may be asked to withdraw from meetings as specified in the Instrument and Articles of Government; issues of confidentiality, etc. Staff governors may not be chair or vice chair but – provided they are not designated senior post holders – may sit on a committee of the governing board. However, staff governor membership of the audit committee may cause problems over objectivity if the member has significant management or budgetary responsibilities. Staff governors should not be the only means by which the college taps into staff views. There will be formal mechanisms for consulting with staff and recognised trades unions. Colleges will consult with staff on changes and proposals, undertake a regular survey of staff satisfaction to be reported to the governing board under its role as employer, and there will be formal mechanisms to ensure that staff are involved in self-assessment and improvement. Both staff and student governors are a useful source for governing boards to evaluate information about the performance and culture of the college, and for checking out the impact of the governing board's decisions on the ground. To enable staff governors to operate most effectively, they should be able to access training provided by the Leadership Skills for Governance (LSG) and the UCU (Universities and Colleges Union). |
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