ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP: UPDATE FROM THE CHAIRS OF ACADEMIC

BOARD FORUMWayne Robinson

Chair, Academic Board MITChair, CABF Steering Committee

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WHAT IS THE CABF [NUHEP]?

• In November 2011, the Chairs of Academic Boards of non-university private higher education providers met and resolved to form a body to advance the broad principles of good academic governance in the non-university higher education domain.

• The agreed name is the Chairs of Academic Board Forum for non-university higher education providers-CABF [NUHEP]

OBJECTS OF THE FORUM

• To provide leadership in academic governance• To inform government agencies, the higher

education sector and other interested parties on academic governance

• To contribute to the development and dissemination of appropriate academic standards

• To encourage quality assurance and benchmarking in the Chairs’ respective institutions and industry-wide

OBJECTS OF THE FORUM

• To act as a source of independent expertise on academic governance/standards

• To provide a forum for Chairs of Academic Boards to discuss issues of significance to higher education

• To provide continuing professional education for Chairs of Academic Boards

• To facilitate collaboration on academic governance/standards between universities, industry bodies and NUHEPs.

ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP: ISSUES OF SIGNIFICANCE

• ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE• BENCHMARKING• GOOD PRACTICE IN TEACHING AND

LEARNING• A CULTURE OF SCHOLARSHIP

ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE

• In conjunction with ACPET, the CABF commissioned a survey on Academic Boards

• Highlights:– 94% of Boards ranged in size from 5-15 members– 94% have external members– 52% have student members– 68% have independent Chairs– 92% have a Charter or Terms of Reference– All have Standing Committees of various types

ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE

• Survey findings [continued]– 100% monitor academic standards and quality

assurance– 90% advise on academic aspects of strategic

plans– 96% determine academic policies and procedures– 86% are formally recognised as independent

from corporate governance– 46% of Chairs serve on the Governing body– 66% undertake some benchmarking activity

ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE

• Conclusions and Challenges– Overall, structure and process for academic

governance across the sector is credible– Performance against structure and process needs

evaluation, and– CABF will lead in provision of a template by

adopting guidelines for the sector-GOOD ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE IN NUHEPS-guidelines will be published widely

BENCHMARKING

• Benchmarking was a major topic at the CABF meeting in March 2013

• Highlights– Benchmarking a central feature of the Higher

Education Standards Framework – The lack of performance benchmarks for the

NUHEPs was recognised, especially comparative data on academic performance

BENCHMARKING

• CABF decided to establish a working party to address the question of benchmarking for NUHEPs with an emphasis on good practice benchmarking.

• The report from the working party to lead to publishing guidelines-ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NUHEPS: GOOD PRACTICE AND COMPARATIVE APPROACHES

• Additionally, to explore with national bodies, the development of a standard set of data for benchmarking purposes for NUHEPs

FOSTERING GOOD PRACTICE IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

• At the March 2013 meeting, emphasis was placed on the fact that most NUHEPs consider themselves to be teaching only or teaching intensive institutions.

• The reputation of institutions rise or fall on the quality of their teaching

• Therefore, CABF must take a leading role in fostering good practice in learning and teaching

SCHOLARSHIP AND NUHEPS

• Scholarship and especially the culture of scholarship is of paramount importance to NUHEPs.

• A few Institutions have addressed this through a ‘Scholarship and Research Plan’ and a ‘Continuing Professional Development Plan’

• For the NUHEP sector, CABF is addressing these two major aspects by,

SCHOLARSHIP AND NUHEPS

• Providing guidelines for-THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CULTURE OF SCHOLARSHIP THAT INFORMS LEARNING AND TEACHING IN NUHEPs

• Facilitating workshops/seminars/conferences that address the issue of scholarship and NUHEPs

CONCLUDING REMARKS

• CABF to act as a vehicle for discussion and debate on academic governance at a national level

• CABF to publish position papers/manuals on good practice in academic governance

• CABF to provide leadership on academic good practice through workshops/seminars/conferences

• CABF to initiate contact with major national players in the academic governance sphere