Universities hit out at title change plan

STANDREWS university has hit out at the “degree of control over universities” being sought by the Scottish Government.

The university was responding to questions on the Higher Education Governance Bill including a section on removing the title principal from the university head.

The consultation asked if they agreed a provision to describe the head of the university as the chief executive officer should be introduced in legislation.

A St Andrews University spokesman said: “No evidence has been presented in the paper or elsewhere that there is a problem here that needs to be resolved.

“The understanding of the head of institution’s role as having executive authority is already provided in the new Scottish code and in the SFC f inancial memorandum for higher education institutions.

“Titles should not, in any case, be a matter for political intervention, but should reflect the ethos of the diverse institutions.

“This ethos will often wish to highlight academic leadership as well as the more ‘business oriented’ leadership inherent in the CEO title.

“The very proposal of legislation for such a relatively trivial matter is a telling and very worrying indication of the degree of control over universities that is being sought.”

Universities are publicly accountable but are fiercely proud of their independence from the state. They are run by university courts which include the principal.

Dundee University said the proposal was “uncontroversial but seems entirely unnecessary”.

A spokesman said: “As the consultation document points out, the term principal is well established in Scotland — so well established, we would argue, that there is little doubt or confusion about the duties that the term implies.

“The role of the principal in terms of the leadership, administration and management of the institution is carefully laid out in the university’s charter and statutes so there can be no doubt that the principal acts as a chief executive officer.

“Introducing CEO as the formal title would both introduce confusion where there currently is none and undermine a title which has an eminent history and marks out the Scottish HE sector.

“It may very well be that the term CEO captures better the responsibilities of the role, but universities would be poorer for the term’s introduction, particularly when the term principal is so well understood.

“The f inancial memorandum with the Scottish Funding Council also clearly def ines an institution’s principal as its chief executive officer.”

The Scottish Government said the overarching aim is to strengthen governance in the higher education sector in Scotland, ensuring it remains fit for purpose.