Rationale
With a global trend of governments providing a declining proportion of university funding, the role of the university governing board (council) in ensuring the financial viability of the institution has come to prominence. The governing board now also has a more clearly defined role in ensuring the academic sustainability of the university which is the key to maintaining the strength of the academic programs and the maintenance of student load and other sources of incomes. The governing body has a major externally-focused responsibility to negotiate with external stakeholders such as governments, industry and employer groups and a major internally-focused responsibility to oversee the academic and financial performance of the institution. In fulfilling both these broad responsibilities, the governing body must work with the senior management of the institution, through the president. There are limits on both the governing body and the management in not interfering with the activities of the other party but working together for the future of the institution. Properly managing this divided responsibility is a challenge in an environment in which governing bodies are being required to more closely oversee the work of the institution, compared to times past. <p style="text-justify: inter-cluster; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"> This workshop aims to raise awareness for participating university councils and senior administrators in carrying out their governance responsibilities. </p>
