governance good practice guide

student and staff governors

student governors

A governing board must appoint one, and may appoint up to three, student governors. It is for the individual governing board to agree the optimum number in terms of overall numbers and balance. The further education White Paper proposes that there should be a minimum of two.

Click here for further information on the White Paper.

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 (eg 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 governors should be given an induction course because it can be daunting for them to attend a formal meeting of governors and get to grips with the papers and the issues. They should also receive ongoing support from the clerk, the student services officer and other board members.

Many colleges currently appoint more than one student member to ensure that student governors do not feel isolated. Other colleges arrange for the student governor to be accompanied by a 'friend' for support. Some chairs ensure that there is a consistent agenda item for student feedback - to encourage routine and active participation by student governors during board meetings. Some colleges include their student governor(s) on a committee, to involve them more in the board's business.

Student governorship should be seen as one part of a provider'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.

The Foster Report and the further education White Paper flag up the importance of learner representation in all parts of the FE system. Students should be given a stronger voice at official level - in national, local and provider bodies.

The Department for Education and Skills (DFES) has committed the government to:

• establishing a National Learner Panel to engage learners directly in influencing national policy-making
• developing national guidance for education and training providers on how best to implement effective learner involvement strategies.

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. For details of available training and events for student governors visit the LSG programme page at www.fegovernance.org.

Click here to go to listening to the learner.

staff governors

Governing boards must appoint one, and may appoint up to three, staff members. The May 2006 Instrument and Articles of Government sets out how appointment of staff members should be made for one, two or three members.

Click here for information on Instrument and Articles of Government.

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 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).