This page provides a general outline of the way in which the University is governed.

This page is intended to help a variety of people understand how the University is governed.  Students and staff may gain some appreciation of the work that the Board of Governors (the body legally constituted, and comprising in the majority of unpaid volunteers from a range of economic sectors) undertakes in order to ensure the University is managed effectively.  Whilst students and staff are encouraged to gain a better understanding of the role of the Board, they are advised that there should not be direct contact with members of the Board in order that objectivity can be maintained and the effective working relationship between the Board and Directorate can function.  Please email the University Registrar and Clerk to the Board of Governors 
(governance@newport.ac.uk) if you have any queries relating to governance.

Prospective governors may find these pages useful in getting some sense of the commitment that lies before them if they seek to be appointed, for a 4 year period of office, to the Board.  Existing governors should hopefully find these pages useful, too, in providing a wide range of links that they may wish to explore as they come to focus their individual expertise (such as in relation to finance, human resources or estates management) to an organisation that exists in a not for profit sector that is subject to a highly complex range of legal requirements and external influences. 

The University of Wales, Newport is legally constituted as a Higher Education Corporation and operates in accordance with the Instrument of Government(pdf) as set out in the Education Reform Act of 1988.(external link)

The Instrument sets out the requirement for there to be a Board of Governors of not more than 25 members (including the Vice-Chancellor, ex officio), of whom the majority should be independent (from industry, commerce, employment or professions).   Provision is also made for membership drawn from academic staff and from the student body.  The Board has determined that its membership should total 21, of whom 12 are independent.

The purpose of the Board of Governors is set out in the Articles of Government  (pdf) and may be summarised in terms of responsibility for:

• determination of educational character/mission of the University;
• solvency of the University;
• annual estimates of income and expenditure;
• appointment to all senior posts (Directorate and University Registrar and Clerk to the Board of
  Governors); and
• the framework for pay of all other staff.

The Board holds the Vice-Chancellor and Directorate to account for the management of the institution but in a manner that, whilst objective and critical, ensures that the institution is able to progress positively in its extensive range of work that supports the University's mission.

Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Governors are available here.