GETTING TO GRIPS WITH INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES FOR GOVERNORS OF UK HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SERIES EDITOR: ALLAN SCHOFIELD GETTING TO GRIPS WITH INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY ISBN: 978-1-906627-44-7 Published March 2013 © Leadership Foundation for Higher Education Registered and operational address: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education Peer House 8-14 Verulam Street London, WC1X 8LZ England Tel: +44 (0)20 3468 4810 Fax: +44 (0)20 3468 4811 E-mail:
[email protected] www.lfhe.ac.uk Published by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Extracts from this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial or training purposes on condition that the source is acknowledged and the content is not misrepresented. Funding was provided by the four UK higher education funding bodies, coordinated through Hefce. Acknowledgements: The Leadership Foundation is grateful to all those who have assisted in the development of this material, and in particular to those who acted as reviewers of early drafts. Contributors: Adrian Ellison, University of West London; Anna Mathews, UCISA; Jim Nottingham, Regents College; Luke Taylor, University of Bristol; Peter Tinson, UCISA; Sue White, University of Huddersfield; Steve Williams, Newcastle University. FOREWORD As the governance of universities and higher education (HE) colleges in the UK evolves, there are major implications for members of governing bodies: increasing expectations about how they undertake their role; a greater focus on measuring institutional performance with associated implications for information and strategy; the need to come to terms with the increasingly complex environment in which governance takes place; and so on. All this means that governors (particularly new ones) need to be well prepared for their roles and the challenges they face so that they can contribute effectively to their boards from the outset.