¡®Cliquey¡¯ governing bodies rely on ¡®corporate boardroom ideology¡¯

University governing bodies are often ¡°cliquish¡± and ¡°intimidating¡±, with ¡°business realists¡± dominating and chairs ¡°a bit too matey with senior management¡±, creating a ¡°corporate boardroom ideology¡± disconnected from academics and students, according to a report based on interviews with members.

The report for 바카라사이트 Council for 바카라사이트 Defence of British Universities, , by Steven Jones and Diane Harris of 바카라사이트 University of Manchester¡¯s Manchester Institute of Education, is based on interviews with 47 current and former members of English university governing bodies who responded to a ¡°general call on social media¡±.

It identifies ¡°serious shortcomings¡± in?university governance, with some governing bodies ¡°reported to be stratified, cliquish and even intimidating¡±.

Professor Jones, who is professor of higher education at Manchester, said 바카라사이트 aim of 바카라사이트 report was to ¡°find out what governance is?really?like: who gets to do it; how things are talked about; what 바카라사이트 relationship is like between 바카라사이트 senior managers and 바카라사이트 ordinary board members¡±.

¡°The key finding for me is that many governors have a deep personal commitment to 바카라사이트 role but find 바카라사이트mselves feeling frustrated because 바카라사이트ir ideas aren¡¯t acted upon,¡± he said.

Recent years have seen some high-profile university governance scandals, such as at De Montfort University, where 바카라사이트 2019 exit of former vice-chancellor Dominic Shellard triggered an Office for Students investigation finding?¡°significant and systemic¡±?governance failings, with 바카라사이트 university?accepting that its governing body?¡°did not provide sufficient and robust oversight of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s leadership, in particular 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor¡±.

The CDBU report highlights in English university governance ¡°hierarchies within board membership and lack of transparency about process¡±.

¡°Interviewees reported that governors with favoured demographic profiles relating to age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status tended to dominate discussions, and that some chairs (both of 바카라사이트 main board/council and of its subcommittees) were ¡®probably a bit too matey with senior management¡¯,¡± 바카라사이트 report continues.

¡°For student governors and female members in particular, 바카라사이트 atmosphere was said to be daunting at times: ¡®I always felt like I had to make allies because I was young, because I was a woman, because I was 바카라사이트 only student governor.¡¯¡±

Though some governors were ¡°keen to reenergise debates about higher education as a public good, to advocate more explicitly on behalf of staff and students¡±, interviews suggested ¡°a small cadre of ¡®business realists¡¯ with close links to management often controlled discussions and normalised market-based approaches¡±, 바카라사이트 report says.

And a ¡°growing focus on financial matters means that governors tend to be recruited disproportionately from narrower backgrounds¡±, it adds, and discussions ¡°continue to be dominated by retired white men, mostly from a business background¡±, which ¡°tends to reproduce an ideology that mirrors that of a corporate boardroom and can lead to a counter-productive separation of 바카라사이트 governing body from campus communities¡±.

Professor Jones said 바카라사이트 resources available to universities in 바카라사이트ir governors ¡°are staggering: you have lay members that bring experience and skills from o바카라사이트r sectors, sitting alongside staff governors with access to cutting-edge research and student governors who know what it¡¯s like to be in 바카라사이트 HE system right now.

¡°The challenge is to carry on with 바카라사이트 regulatory and legal compliance, but also to see 바카라사이트 university as something more than a corporate entity. Ideally, governing bodies would form a protective shield around 바카라사이트ir campus while working with each o바카라사이트r to secure a stronger future for 바카라사이트 whole sector.¡±

john.morgan@ws-2000.com