Scottish Government

Action for individual organisations arising from recommendations on accountability and governance

ANNEX E

Scottish Government

• Review by the end of the year the need to retain powers that permit Ministers to direct or otherwise control college activities.
• Prepare a discussion paper for the RoSCo Core Group on improving ways of rewarding and valuing Board members.
• Initiate review of schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 by end of 2007.
• Consult in due course on whether to give college boards more flexibility to appoint ordinary board members for a period of less than four years.
• Provide clarification to colleges by December 2007 on the interpretation of the provision requiring boards to have 50% of members with a commercial/professional etc background and on the exclusion of members from board meetings in exceptional circumstances.
• Provide clarification to colleges by December 2007 on restricted sessions at Board meetings.
• Review how to better engage with board members.

RoSCo Core Group

• Report to the Cabinet Secretary by the end of 2008 on the impact of the removal in 2006 of Ministerial powers of direction.
• Make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary by July 2008 on improving ways of rewarding and valuing Board members.
• Monitor progress towards the development of a staff governance standard for Scotland's colleges.

Scottish Funding Council

• Review the tenure of Board members by March 2008 with other relevant stakeholders.
• Support boards take account of the full range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity) in making appointments.
• Develop a support mechanism for staff Board members with the Association of Scotland's Colleges and the Scottish Trades Union Congress by March 2008.
• Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
• Support boards put in place arrangements for evaluating their own performance, including that of individual members, committees and the Chair.
• Encourage the involvement of Boards with quality issues and quality assurance.
• Disseminate with the Association of Scotland's Colleges good practice on risk management, including the use of separate risk registers for significant capital projects and keeping registers under regular review.
• Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
• Review how to better engage with board members.
• Issue guidance by March 2008 with the Association of Scotland's Colleges on supporting student board members.

Colleges

• Ensure principals do not sit on Nomination Committees.
• In making appointments take into account the full the range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity).
• Give chairs a role to review the training needs of members.
• Review structures and processes to optimise the impact of members.
• Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
• Have a formal training programme for staff Board members, with a focus on core governance skills and behaviour.
• Exclude members only in exceptional circumstances.
• Make greater use of their ability to co-opt members to committees of the Board.
• Enhance the quality of information presented to boards.
• Have in place arrangements for Boards to evaluate their own performance, including that of individual members, committees and the Chair.
• Involve boards closely in issues of academic quality.
• Use a separate risk register for each significant capital project and keep registers under regular review.
• Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
• Improve the connectedness and visibility of Board members to external and internal stakeholders.
• Involve members in events such as internal focus groups and conferences wherever appropriate.
• Consider the creation of a student sabbatical officer post.
• Enable a second student nominee to attend Board meetings.
• Approve dedicated administrative support to the student association and its President.
• Bring student members up to speed with all relevant issues as soon as possible.

Association of Scotland's Colleges

• Issue guidance to colleges by March 2008 on:
• • succession planning;
  • Principals not sitting on Nominations Committees;
  • nominated members;
  • appointments taking into account the full the range of criteria expected (e.g. skills, experience, equality, diversity);
  • induction;
  • Chairs reviewing the training needs of members;
  • reviewing structures and process to optimise the impact of members;
  • requirement that 50% of members should have a commercial/professional, etc. background;
  • formal training programmes for staff members;
  • exclusion of members in exceptional circumstances;
  • co-option of members to Board committees;
  • evaluation of board performance;
  • involvement of boards in academic quality;
  • risk management and risk registers;
  • member engagement;
  • involvement of members in internal focus groups and conferences; and
  • supporting student members.
• Develop with the National Union of Students Scotland guidance on a model agreement for student sabbatical officers by autumn 2008.
• Develop a training and development framework by March 2008.
• Work with Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Trades Union Congress to develop a support mechanism for staff Board members by March 2008.
• Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
• Establish a broad based 'community of practice'-style group for accountability and governance issues that includes the National Union of Students Scotland and the Scottish Trades Union Congress among those represented on the group.
• Enable members to receive appropriate financial training.
• Ensure that the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the National Union of Students Scotland are among those involved in any sector-wide dissemination events on board member engagement.
• Review how to better engage with board members.
• Develop with the Scottish Trades Union Congress a staff governance standard and to report progress to the RoSCo Core Group by June 2008.

Scottish Trades Union Congress

• Work with Scottish Funding Council and the Association of Scotland's Colleges to develop a support mechanism for staff Board members by March 2008.
• Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
• Support formal training programmes for staff Board members, where appropriate.
• Participate in any broad based 'community of practice'-style group that is established for accountability and governance issues.
• Develop with the Association of Scotland's Colleges a staff governance standard and to report progress to the RoSCo Core Group by June 2008.

National Union of Students Scotland

• Develop with the Association of Scotland's Colleges guidance on a model agreement for student sabbatical officers by autumn 2008.
• Ensure that training arrangements emphasise the role of student and staff members (i.e. full Board members with identical responsibilities to others).
• Participate in any broad based 'community of practice'-style group that is established for accountability and governance issues.
• Assist affiliated colleges and their student associations to:
• • consider whether to create student sabbatical officer posts; and
  • establish where appropriate, processes for such posts.
• Assist affiliated colleges to brief new student board members effectively.