The Changing Relationship between Institutional Governance and Management in the United Kingdom: A Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Perspective

The changing relationship betweeninstitutional governance and management in the unitedkingdom arising from the second report of thecommittee on standards in public life, the UnitedKingdom National Committee of Inquiry into HigherEducation, and from significant increased governmentexpenditure on higher education is examined. Theframework of accountability within which highereducation institutions operate is related to thesereports. The Scottish Higher Education FundingCouncil's (SHEFC) perspective of the role of thegoverning body is examined and contrasted with bargh,scott and smith's research on governing bodies. BothSHEFC's perspective and Bargh et al.'s researchare also contrasted with, and related to, a number ofNational Audit Office (NAO) reports and also toProfessor sizer's investigation and the nao reportinto allegations of misconduct at glasgow caledonianuniversity (1998). Finally, the paper drawsconclusions on the changing relationship betweengoverning bodies and managements, on the requirementon governing bodies to demonstrate that they areappropriately constituted and operate effectively ascorporate bodies, and on how these are reflected inthe SHEFC code of good practice and good practicebenchmarks.