Our response to the CUC review of higher education governance

We welcome the review, which aligns with both the UUK Blueprint and the UK government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. In a complex and changing environment, university governance plays a crucial role. The code must be flexible enough to respond to regulatory and legislative developments and facilitate a co-regulatory approach.

• UUK welcomes the CUC review, which aligns with both the UUK Blueprint and the UK government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.
• In a complex and changing environment, university governance plays a crucial role.
• The code must be flexible enough to respond to regulatory and legislative developments and facilitate a co-regulatory approach.
• Our work to date suggests that good governance is fundamentally about people and behaviours rather than processes, and we can learn lessons from the past, including from the Gillies report into governance and management at the University of Dundee. We encourage CUC to promote dialogue and share learning between UK nations, which have different regulatory and policy environments.
• UUK members have suggested priorities for inclusion in an updated code, which should be concise, principles-based and backed by a strong implementation plan. Wider priorities for the code include setting clear roles, articulating behaviours that demonstrate a collegiate culture with clear support mechanisms, increasing visibility of good governance, and enough flexibility to leave room for innovation.
• It will be crucial to implement the code effectively. We are calling on CUC to update support and training for governing bodies, publish good practice and evaluates implementation. UUK will support the implementation of the code by promoting it amongst our membership, engaging our members around key themes, including through our transformation and efficiency programme.

Our response to CUC governance code review