Together with sector partners CUC, UUK, GuildHE, IHE and AHUA, we have begun a discussion about what elements of governance are working well and what could be improved as part of a new project, The Big Conversation: shaping the future of higher education.
In our 4th Big Conversation session, jointly hosted with Guild HE, we engaged with Chairs, governors and governance professionals across the UK to examine whether higher education governing bodies are sufficiently strategic. We explored whether HE Boards are getting the balance right between spending time on important fiduciary and regulatory responsibilities. and thinking about strategic options to ensure the long-term sustainability of the institution.
It is clearly the role of the governing body to have oversight of and contribute to the organisation’s vision and strategy. To do that, Boards and senior leaders need to engage with issues early enough to consider what the alternative options are and undertake scenario planning, a topic which came up in our first Big Conversation session. They also need to think about governing with humanity, the topic of the Advance HE Governance Conference in December 2024.
So, how can the Board and Senior Executive create a vision that all stakeholders can see themselves contributing to and making happen, and how does governance contribute to robust decision making about major options which redefine the vision and strategy? Our discussions focused on three key themes:
Culture and mindset
In the first instance, the Board has to have the mindset and culture which means that they are alive and focused on how suitable their vision and strategy is for the future. We heard how the Board of the University College of Osteopathy were considering options years in advance of when they needed in order to survive and thrive.
Guidance for Boards is to think about the balance that is needed in relation to some key questions and have the right mindset when approaching them:
- protection of the institution at all costs and taking a defending position vs. having an open mind about its form and identity in a different future
- think about opportunity in the form of strategic options and scenario planning as opposed to risk and failure
- creation of red lines which can focus discussion on the right things vs. being used in a more counter-productive way creating barriers to change
- think about how language will be interpreted by different stakeholders, for example, we heard that when HSU used the term ‘merger’ with external stakeholders, the impact was described as “incendiary” in that it conjured up visions of merged courses/programmes and across professions which may threaten professional identity.
Priorities and enablers
The demands placed on a largely volunteer governance system in the sector has been increasing exponentially for several years and our approach to governance, while always enabling continuous improvement, has not changed in the same way.
There is a real dichotomy for the fiduciary, assurance and compliance work to be done whilst also enabling formative and rich exploration and analysis of strategic options such as merger. It isn’t just the cyclical nature of the agendas, but the size of Board packs and the time available which impact the ability to change. The volume of regulation in the sector can make it feel like Boards have time for little else.
Suggestions for Board engagement in exploration and analysis of options included:
- creating a short-term Board task force periodically to explore and analyse strategic options such as merger/acquisition, with a remit to bring summaries and recommendations to the Board
- remembering that the Board must be acting in the best interest of students - past, present and future - so engaging the Students’ Union in formative thinking is critical, along with other key stakeholders and PSRBs.
In merger discussion:
- thinking about the size of the joint oversight committee that you need to ensure full Board engagement and the speed and timeliness of decision making
- due diligence involves clarity of requirements, understanding of what aspects of due diligence can make or break the conditions of merger and building trust between Boards so that risk can be appropriately managed and mitigated.
Capability, learning and advice
In our provocation for this session we suggested that the Board needs scrutiny to critical thinking and challenge, providing an important role in supporting the executive, considering the interests of key stakeholders and ensuring that the institution acts according to its values, ethical code and with integrity.
But being exposed and open to learning from others is critical as:
- many private sector Boards actively drive strategic change and,
- the FE and private education sectors have several years’ experience of transformation and merger including, for example, the ROI Technological Institutes and Australian universities.
Explore far and wide where help and support can come from before the institution is in crisis and is forced into making decisions with a reduced number of options.
The last word on this point goes to the lawyers – don’t ask your lawyer for a solution, tell the lawyer what you want to achieve and let them help you to work out how. Of course, it will be more than lawyers that help you work out how, so understand what skills you need and be very specific about the role they will play and what they will deliver for you.
Advance HE would like to thank Guild HE for supporting this event and for their speakers:
- Professor Lesley Haig, Vice-Chancellor of Health Sciences University
- Mark Taylor, Partner in Shakespeare Martineau’s education team, advising on education collaborations and governance.
The Big Conversation: shaping the future of higher education
Join the Big Conversation: Summative Event – 10 September 2025
Be part of shaping the future of higher education governance.
After months of rich dialogue, expert provocations, and collaborative workshops, The Big Conversation culminates in our Summative Event on Wednesday 10 September 2025, 8:30–10:00am.
