In accordance with the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) HE Code of Governance, which states that universities must conduct an independent review of governance effectiveness every three years, in 2023, Council commissioned an Independent Effectiveness Review by AUA Consulting. This Review concluded that significant assurance could be placed in the University’s governance arrangements and that there were no matters from a governance perspective which required attention, that the Council was conducting its activities in accordance with the HE Code, and that the conduct of this Review had demonstrated the University’s commitment to continuous improvement in its governance arrangements in line with best practice as set out in the HE Code. The reviewers also recognised that the University had implemented a number of improvements since the last effectiveness review in 2019. While some improvement and enhancement opportunities were identified by the 2023 review, should Council decide not to implement them all at this time this would not undermine the robustness of the University’s governance arrangements.
The report is to be published in due course but it can be requested from the University Secretary, Ms Louise Woollard, who can be contacted via email (L.A.Woollard@swansea.ac.uk).
The next review of governance effectiveness is scheduled to be conducted during the 2025-26 academic year.
Swansea University is committed to continued alignment with relevant codes of governance and implementing recommendations from HEFCW, the new revised CUC Higher Education Code of Governance (September 2020) and the Governance Charter and Commitments, following the independent review of governance in Wales, led by Gillian Camm in December 2019.