Governance and leadership

AECC University College operate within frameworks set by Government, regulators and our own internal policies and procedures. Our Governors and Executive Board ensure that external and internal objectives are met, monitored and achieved.

About
How we work

Strategy

Read the University College Strategic Plan for 2016 - 2021 which has been reviewed and approved by AECC University College's Board of Governors. The plan defines the overall vision for success and specific goals we will achieve by 2021.

View our Strategy documents

Quality 

Our quality framework outlines the policies and procedures to ensure maintenance and enhancement of the quality of our academic standards and student experience. 

Find out more about our Quality Framework

Governance structure

Here we outline our Governance structure and the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in the leadership of the AECC University College.

The University College is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is governed by its Articles of Association which were last amended in August 2017.

Our Board of Governors

The University College is directed by its Board of Governors acting under these Articles of Association. The Board has ultimate responsibility for the strategy, performance and sustainability of the institution. It approves the University College’s mission and strategy, monitors institutional performance and ensures its effective management. The current Chair of the Board is Mr Adrian Wild.

The articles of association mandate that the number of Board members (who fulfil the role of directors for company law purposes) is not less than twelve and (unless otherwise determined by ordinary resolution) not greater than twenty-five.
The Principal of the University College, the Staff Governor and the Student Union President and Vice-President are ex officio members. The rest of the Board members are independent lay members elected for their expertise.


The Board actively endeavours to maintain the skills mix required for an effective Board, and where a skills gap is identified, nominations for new Governors are sought in a variety of ways, including advertising, through National Associations, and publicising vacancies to staff and graduates of the University College.
Nominations for independent members of the Board are considered by the Nominations Committee before a recommendation is made to the Board. Appointments are for four years and may be renewed for a second term of office. All new governors receive a full induction. A Register of Interests is held by the Clerk to the Board of Governors and details the interests of members of the Board; this is renewed annually.

 

The Board meets four times a year. It has a number of standing committees which meet regularly between Board meetings:

• Audit & Risk Assurance Committee oversees the appointment of the internal and external auditors, and gives assurance to the Board on internal controls, compliance, risk management and value for money. 

• Finance & General Purposes Committee is responsible for the detailed scrutiny of the proposed budget and its subsequent management as well as for all Estates matters.

• Nominations Committee reviews Board succession planning and recommends appointments of new Governors as well as re-appointments.

• Remunerations & HR Committee considers the salary and conditions of service of the Principal, and of the Executive Group as well as having oversight of HR matters.

The management and academic committee structure is overseen by the Board of Governors and Academic Board

Gender Pay Gap Report 2019

The University College has grown to over 250 members of staff. This means that we must submit a gender pay report to the government and publish this report ourselves by 30th March each year.

The gender pay gap is the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women across an organisation. It is different to equal pay, which assesses the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value.

AECC University College is committed to the principle of equal pay for equal work for all of its staff. Whilst our gender pay gap reporting indicates that in terms of the average level of pay between our male and female employees overall is something that we need to improve on, as part of a comprehensive review of our pay arrangements recently undertaken by an independent specialist adviser, we are confident that we have no significant differences in place in terms of men and women carrying out the same/similar roles and/or work of ‘equal value’. This being reinforced by our implementation of a job evaluation scheme which allows us to consistently and transparently compare roles across the organisation and associated pay benchmarking review, an exercise which will be repeated at regular intervals.

The results shown in the 2019 gender pay gap report present us with challenging opportunities going forward. As a new University College we are progressing various workforce development plans, which include narrowing the gender pay gap as a major focus, and moving away from the historical context of the make-up of our employees.

Download the Gender Pay Gap Report 2019

Our Academic Board

The Academic Board is the University College’s supreme decision-making authority for all academic governance matters including oversight of the maintenance of standards and quality enhancement, and academic regulations, policies and procedures. Academic Board discharges its responsibilities in part through standing committees and sub-committees, and delegates authority to Assessment Boards for decisions on individual students in terms of their internal progression and award of qualifications.The Academic Board reports to the Board of Governors.

The membership and terms of reference of the Academic Board and its committees show how these responsibilities are discharged and reported. All key academic committees include student and elected staff representation.

Our institutional management and structure

Implementation of the strategy and policies approved by the Board is the executive responsibility of the Principal and the Executive team. The Principal is Chief Executive of the College with powers delegated by the Board to lead and manage the institution aligned to the College’s strategic plan. The Principal is supported by the Executive Team and a number of Management Groups: 

  • Senior Management Group
  • Premises and Estates Group
  • Clinical Governance Group
  • Clinic Advisory Group Marketing Group
  • Human Resources Policy Group
  • Health and Safety Committee

For more information on how our University College is organised and managed please view our institutional structure.

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