University council

A university council may be the executive body of a university's governance system, an advisory body to the university president, or something in between in authority.

In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the council is responsible for all financial matters, the buildings and the appointment of the vice-chancellor. Academic affairs are the business of the university senate. In some cases the senate and council have equal status under the legislation that established the university. In other cases, such as Australia, the senate is technically responsible to the council, although the council is normally reluctant to enter into a discussion on academic issues. The membership of university councils consists of people from outside the university, often appointed by governments, along with some staff and, in some cases, students. The council is chaired by the university chancellor or a pro-chancellor or deputy chancellor.

In most pre-1992 universities in the United Kingdom, Council is the governing body. (In post-1992 universities this is the Board of Governors; in the Ancient universities of Scotland this is the Court.) According to the Higher Education Code of Governance, the primary responsibilities of Council include appointing the executive head of the institution (normally titled the vice-chancellor), delegate powers of management to them, and monitor their performance. The Council is also the principal financial and business authority and the legal authority of the university, and the members of Council are the trustees of the university, thus Council may sometimes also be known as the Board of Trustees (e.g. the University of Bristol).

Council will normally have an independent chair and (except for Oxford and Cambridge) a majority of "lay" members, not employed by the university. There is also "an expectation" in the Code of Governance that Council will contain representatives of staff and students (often the President of the Student Union) in addition to the lay members and the university's senior management. At some universities there are external ex officio members, reflecting their institutional history (e.g. the Dean of Durham at Durham University).

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