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A Changing Agenda

This article was previously published on the Leadership Foundation website.

The Leadership Foundation's (LF) event, ‘A Changing Agenda’, for clerks and secretaries was held on the 22 January 2015. The event featured sessions on the revised CUC Code of Governance, alternative providers and the regulatory issues rising from the lack of an HE bill. Participants were also introduced to the new governor self-assessment toolkit developed by LF.

A number of the presenters referred to the uncertainties about future government policy towards higher education. This reflected the forthcoming general election and the inherent nervousness and political risks for all of the main political parties of putting forward clear policies.

Discussion of the CUC Code contrasted the very different climate in which the recent revision had been issued, to that existing when the first Code was published in 1994. Paper copies of the Code were in the process of being printed and would shortly be distributed to all institutions.

Continuing the theme of changes to the operating environment for HE, discussion around alternative providers highlighted the inconsistencies in the regulatory environments for different HE providers and the difficulties experienced by institutions in responding to rapid, and unpredictable, shifts in government policy. Increasingly, the distinction between ‘private’ and ‘public’ providers of HE was becoming blurred.

The new governor self-assessment toolkit was demonstrated. Recently developed and freely available, it enables governors to identify their personal development needs. Accessed on-line, the toolkit can be used in a variety of ways, including as part of the induction of governors or with an annual appraisal process. The toolkit allows a more personalised programme of support to be designed for individual governors.

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