A case study exploring changes in governance for an FE college with multiple income streams resulting from the Education Act 2011.
The catalyst for the project was legislative change (Education Act 2011) together with college funding, eligibility and support for learners, changes to demographics, and issues of financial viability. The governors set out a list of targets for their structure to enable, with options debated at an away-day based on emerging sector knowledge, research on different models, and reviews of recent changes in governance structure.
The case study identified that, for a college with a broad remit such as the one involved in the case study, to continue to grow in all current markets requires a move awat from data monitoring and towards strategic development and assurance, to protect and preserve the role of governors, to develop closer ties between SLT members and governors regarding strategic development, and to rely as much as possible on the scrutiny and assurance from governors' commitees to meet their monitoring role. The researchers recommend using pre-existing information on governance, freedoms and case studies to aim for a model that fits the college strategy, and not vice-versa. Data was gathered from interviews/surveys.
Emerging Governance Models