For governors

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are legally independent corporate bodies. Their governing bodies, which are known as councils or boards of governors, are responsible for setting the strategic direction of their HEI and holding it to account in a demonstrable and open way that promotes public confidence in HE.

Shared relationship management strategy

We have developed a shared relationship management strategy with HEIs’ governing bodies.

This promotes a shared understanding across the sector of the respective roles of governing bodies, institutional executives and HEFCE, and the boundaries of those roles.

E-mail alerts

We provide an e-mail alert service for all those involved in the governance of the English higher education (HE) sector.

The service gives a monthly update on HEFCE activity, covering news, publications, policy developments and information relevant to governors.

Guide for governors

The fifth edition of the Committee of University Chair's 'Guide for Members of Governing Bodies of Universities and Colleges in the UK' was published in 2009, in association with the UK funding bodies.

The guide outlines the legal status of institutions, their governance, and the responsibilities of their governing bodies.

It shares and encourages appropriate adoption of current good practice across the higher education sector.

It contains a voluntary code of practice to which, it is hoped, all institutions will be able to subscribe or explain where their practices differ.

Parts I and II of the guide, the Governance Code of Practice and General Principles, are also available as a separate publication (HEFCE 2009/02).

Good practice

We have funded several projects to develop and embed good governance practice

Key performance indicators to aid effective governance in higher education
Key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed which governing bodies could use to monitor the performance of their university or college. These KPIs were piloted in 2007-08.
Developing good practice in students’ union governance and relationships with parent institutions
A self-assessment tool was developed as part of a project to improve the governance of students’ unions.
A guide to governance in church higher education institutions
A guide covering the aspects of governance which stem from the role of universities and colleges which began as church foundations.