Nominees invited for the QAA Board

15 July 2009

HEFCE is seeking a nominee from the higher education (HE) sector to represent the four UK HE funding bodies on the Board of Directors of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). The QAA carries out audit and review of the quality of the higher education in publicly funded institutions.

The funding bodies would particularly welcome applicants with knowledge and understanding of higher education in further education colleges.

The appointment will be for an initial term of up to four years.

The deadline for applications is Friday 18 September 2009.

Full criteria are set out below.

About the QAA Board

The Board of Directors has corporate responsibility for the strategic direction of QAA, and for the way in which QAA manages its business. It is responsible for policy development, and for monitoring performance against agreed targets at a corporate level. The Board has overall responsibility for the conduct of QAA's finances.

The Board has 15 members. Four are appointed by the representative bodies of the heads of higher education institutions; four are appointed by the UK funding bodies in higher education (HEFCE, SFC, HEFCW and DEL Northern Ireland); six are independent directors who have wide practical experience of industry, business, finance or the practice of a profession, and are appointed by the Board as a whole; and one is a student, also appointed by the Board as a whole.

The four funding body nominees are joint nominations in accordance with the QAA’s Articles of Association. In practice, one funding body usually takes the lead in nominating a member, but seeks approval from the others before confirming the nomination. HEFCE is leading on this nomination.

Responsibilities of the nominee and time required

As a Board member, the nominee’s primary fiduciary obligation will be to the QAA. However they will be expected to maintain an understanding of the relationships between the funding councils, in particular HEFCE, and the QAA. Members are expected to adhere to the QAA's Code of Best Practice for board members.

The QAA Board meets five times a year. One meeting takes place at the QAA’s annual Subscribers’ Conference, which is held at venues across the UK; the other meetings are normally held in either London or Gloucester. Meetings in 2009-10 will be held as follows:

• Thursday 8 or Friday 9 October 2009 (London)
• Wednesday 25 November 2009 (Gloucester)
• Wednesday 3 March 2010 (Board meeting and annual reception, London)
• Tuesday and Wednesday 1 and 2 June 2010 (Subscribers’ meeting and Board meeting, Cardiff)
• Wednesday 14 July 2010 (Gloucester).

As well as attending meetings, the nominee may be asked to take on specific responsibilities, mainly committee work or acting as Board champion for a particular area of QAA’s work.

The appointment will be for an initial term of up to four years and the postholder will be eligible for re-appointment for one further period of up to four years.

No fees are payable to members, but all reasonable travel and subsistence expenses will be paid.

Criteria

The funding bodies are particularly seeking a nominee who meets the following criteria:

• Experience of quality assurance: The nominee will need to be familiar with quality assurance methods and their application in institutions. Ideally, they will have had responsibility for quality assurance within an institution.
• Knowledge and understanding of the delivery of higher education in further education colleges (HE in FECs). Currently, the QAA Board membership does not include a representative from the further education sector. As FECs provide an important contribution to UK HE, we would be keen for the nominee to have experience in this regard. Principals or vice-principals from FECs with a significant proportion of HE are encouraged to apply.

The QAA is committed to equal opportunities for all - reviewers, auditors, staff and Board and committee members – and is in the process of developing a QAA Single Equality Scheme. We would therefore particularly welcome applications from under represented groups including women, minority ethnic backgrounds, or persons with a disability.

Appointment process

Persons interested in the nomination should prepare a statement no longer than one side of A4 which sets out how they meet the criteria, and provide any other information that they consider relevant.

The statement should be sent to Emma Creasey, HE Policy Advisor, HEFCE, Northavon House, Coldharbour Lane, BRISTOL BS16 1QD to arrive no later than noon on Friday 18 September 2009. Following shortlisting, the nominee will be chosen by a panel which will include HEFCE officers and an external representative from the Association of Colleges. The other UK HE funding bodies will have an opportunity to comment on the nominee.

The appointment will be confirmed by 30 September. If possible, we would like the nominee to attend the October Board meeting.

Page last updated 26 January 2012