College Governance

The UWCSEA Board of Governors comprises of up to 21 Governors and Members. The Board includes respected business and industry leaders, educators, entrepreneurs and professionals. 

The Board consists of three groups of Governors:

1. Board Elected Governors and Members – The majority of Governors are appointed by the Board itself through a rigorous selection process. Many Board Elected Governors are parents of current students of the College. To ensure the Board benefits from independent thinking, there may also be non-parent Governors.
2. Ex Officio Governor and Member – the College President

3. Community Elected Governors – These Governors and Members are elected directly by their constituencies and include two parent-elects and two academic staff-elects, one from each campus.

It is important to note that no Governor is paid any remuneration for services rendered in their capacity as Governor and their role is entirely voluntary.

The maximum number of Governors is 21 with the minimum of 16.
 
The Board has five standing committees:   

• Education and Talent, which sets and oversees education and talent management strategies;
• Finance and Infrastructure, which oversees the College’s finances and its physical and digital infrastructure;
• Governance, which is responsible for nominations and governance matters;
• Audit and Risk, which oversees audit and risk matters; 
• Engagement and Foundation, which is responsible for improving the engagement and outreach of the College locally and globally, including the UWCSEA Foundation (This committee also oversees the investment and disbursement of the funds of The UWCSEA Foundation and thus has a minimum of one [and a maximum of four] Independent Directors of The UWCSEA Foundation sitting on this committee); and
• Committee of Chairs, which functions as a coordinating and management committee among the Chairs of the Board and Committees. 

There are also Board approved ad-hoc working groups set up to address specific issues; each with its own Terms of Reference and scope of works.  These ad-hoc working groups either report to a committee or to the Board directly.  Once their work is complete, the ad-hoc working group is dissolved.

Governors periodically re-evaluate the committee structure to ensure it is effective, strategic and forward-looking. 
 
The Board meets a minimum four times each year. Each Governor is also a member of at least one committee. The Committees also meet four times per year. 

Board Elected Governors are recruited through a robust process that responds to clearly defined skill requirements necessary for the Board. Most candidates are first appointed as Advisers to Board Committees, following the relevant policy guideline in place; New Board Elected Governors are usually only selected from that pool of Advisers who have previously served on a Committee. Appointments are based on an assessment of the following factors:

• Professional skills and fit with Board requirements
• UWCSEA Competencies
• Technical Competencies
• Governance Competencies
• Connections to Communities
• Board Effectiveness and Capacity
• Behavioural Competencies
• Impact on Diversity
• Nexus with UWCSEA; Conflicts

Governors serve a maximum of two, three-year terms. Only the Chair may serve up to one additional year of service, should they be appointed as Chair during their tenure (a maximum of 7 years in total).

When Governor or Adviser vacancies arise, the Governance Committee, in collaboration with the relevant Committee Chair, (if applicable), sets out the role specification and a timeline to appointment.  Roles are then shared throughout the various networks within the community, including advertising in eBrief, on the College website, through LinkedIn etc. with a closing date for applications.  

Once candidates have been shortlisted, there are interviews with a panel (composed of a minimum of one Governance Committee member, the respective recruiting Committee Chair and one other panellist [from either the Governance Committee or the respective Committee for which the recruitment is being undertaken]).  Once the panel have completed the interviews the feedback is submitted to the Governance Committee who recommend the appointment of the successful candidate to the Board, subject to reference checks and third party external background checks.

Upon approval of appointment to the Board, a comprehensive Induction Programme is commenced for all Advisers and Governors. The induction includes information about the College and the Board, an induction session with the Board Secretary, and meetings with the Chair of the Board, the relevant Committee Chair, Head of College and other Governors as well as the appointment of a Board mentor to provide advice as the new appointee settles into the role.  Ongoing training is available throughout the Governor’s tenure on the Board with an expectation of a minimum of 8 hours training to be complete per year, supported by the College.

Upon completion of the initial induction, Governors are asked to sign a Code of Conduct which sets out expectations and responsibilities of Governors.

The College and the Board holds the Governors and Advisers to a high standard. A self evaluation and 360 peer review is conducted at the end of each term (three years for Governors and two years for Advisers). Governors and Advisers complete a self evaluation which is then shared for 360 feedback with fellow Governors, Advisers and members of the College Leadership Team, against the following criteria:

• Contributions to strategic Board initiatives
• Board Effectiveness and Capacity
• Behavioural Competencies
• Impact on Diversity

The evaluation feedback is collated and shared with the Governance Committee who consider the resulting information and make recommendations to the Board, (for example, to serve a second term of three years as a Governor on the Board, or to serve a second two year term as an Adviser), based on the feedback received on each individual Governor and Adviser. The feedback is also shared with the relevant Committee Chair who, in turn, feeds this back to the individual under evaluation to help identify areas for further training or development.

The Board carries out formal Board effectiveness reviews (per the relevant policy), externally every five years and internally every year. This information is used to assist in the planning and strategising for the following year’s agenda contributing to the continued commitment to increased transparency and accountability.