FEFC calls for diligence, not just quality

Further education college governors need to be more active in seeing that managers take action to address weaknesses and raise standards, further education quality watchdogs said this week.

Colleges must work harder to ensure that governors receive clear and accurate information on which they can base rigorous judgements about the performance of their institution and its management, according to a Further Education Funding Council report.

Despite these concerns, governors' monitoring of the quality of education and training in colleges is steadily improving, and many governing bodies have established standards committees to assist them in this task, the report adds.

Commenting on the report, FEFC chief inspector Jim Donaldson said: "Most governing bodies have steered their colleges successfully through years of considerable change. For many, the focus of their work has broadened from an initial emphasis on ensuring the financial viability of the college to include consideration of the quality of the education and training for which they are responsible."