Association of Colleges

The last forum was held in July 2007 in London and allowed chairs to discuss the AoC review, self-regulation and the ways in which colleges can engage with MPs.

Report from July 2007 Forum

John Bingham, AoC Chair, and George Bright, author of the AoC Strategic Review, took questions on the review.

Discussion focused on:

• the need for the AoC to focus on representation and to create the right environment for colleges to flourish
• the respective roles of Chairs and Principals and the needs to use everyone’s strengths
• the future AoC role in pay negotiations

Mike Field summed up by saying that there were a number of issues for the board to take away and consider.

Tony Alderman, AoC Board Member and Chair of Barnet College, gave a presentation on self-regulation. He encouraged Chairs to keep abreast of a fast-moving agenda and said that a project team was being put into place. Many of the questions raised would be dealt with by October 2007.

Two MPs (Kelvin Hopkins and John Penrose) led the session on Parliament. As backbench MPs, they emphasised their role in asking questions and holding Ministers to account. They encouraged colleges to provide simple briefings and local examples to back up their case. They agreed that their own personal role as governors gave them valuable insight into the work of colleges.

There was a discussion in the afternoon session about AoC’s work with and for governors. Delegates agreed that AoC should not duplicate the governance work now carried out by CEL but that it would be useful to hold further events like this for chairs in autumn and spring. There was also agreement that AoC should set up its governors' committee on a temporary basis pending the outcome of the review and decisions on the AoC review.
 

AoC aims to hold a Chairs' Policy Forum twice a year.