The Harrow College (Government) Regulations 1999

(Regulation 2)

SCHEDULE 2 ARTICLES OF GOVERNMENT

1. 1. Interpretation

2. 2. Conduct of the Institution

3. 3. Responsibilities of Corporation, Principal and Academic Board

4. 4. Academic Board

5. 5. Delegation of Functions and Committees

6. 6, 7 & 8. Appointment and Promotion of Staff

7. 9. Conduct of Staff

8. 10. Academic Freedom

9. 11. Suspension of Staff

10. 12 & 13. Dismissal of Staff

11. 14. Grievance Procedures

12. 15. Students

13. 16. Financial Matters

14. 17. Rules and Bye-Laws

15. 18. Copies of Articles of Government, Rules and Bye-Laws

16. 19. Amendment of Articles of Government

17. 20. Date of Articles of Government

Interpretation

1.  In these Articles of Government–

(a) “the Academic Board” means the body constituted in accordance with article 4,

“the Articles” means these Articles of Government,

“the Corporation”, “the Secretary of State”, “staff member” and “student member” have the same meaning as in the Instrument of Government,

“senior post” means the post of Principal and such other senior posts as the Corporation may determine for the purposes of these Articles,

“the staff” means all staff of the institution,

“the Students' Union” means any association of the generality of students formed to further the educational purposes of the institution and the interests of students as students;

(b) unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to–

(i) a numbered article is a reference to the article so numbered in these Articles, and

(ii) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the article in which the reference appears; and

(c) words importing one gender shall import all genders, the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa (unless the context otherwise requires) and the headings are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction of these Articles.

Conduct of the Institution

2.  The institution shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Education Acts (as defined in section 578 of the Education Act 1996), any subsequent Education Acts, any relevant regulations, orders or directions made by the Secretary of State and subject thereto, in accordance with the provisions of the Instrument of Government, these Articles, any rules or bye-laws made under these Articles and any trust deed regulating the institution.

Responsibilities of Corporation, Principal and Academic Board

3.—(1) The Corporation shall be responsible–

(a) for the determination of the educational character and mission of the institution and for oversight of its activities;

(b) for the effective and efficient use of resources, the solvency of the institution and the Corporation and for safeguarding their assets;

(c) for approving annual estimates of income and expenditure;

(d) for the appointment, grading, suspension, dismissal and determination of the pay and conditions of service of the holders of senior posts and the Clerk to the Corporation;

(e) for setting a framework for the pay and conditions of service of all other staff.

(2) Subject to the responsibilities of the Corporation, the Principal shall be the Chief Executive of the institution, and shall be responsible–

(a) for making proposals to the Corporation about the educational character and mission of the institution, and for implementing the decisions of the Corporation;

(b) for the organisation, direction and management of the institution and leadership of the staff;

(c) for the appointment, assignment, grading, appraisal, suspension, dismissal, and determination, within the framework set by the Corporation, of the pay and conditions of service of staff other than the holders of senior posts;

(d) for the determination of the institution’s academic activities, and for the determination of its other activities;

(e) for preparing annual estimates of income and expenditure, for consideration and approval by the Corporation, and for the management of budget and resources, within the estimates approved by the Corporation;

(f) for the maintenance of student discipline and, within the rules and procedures provided for within these Articles, for the suspension or expulsion of students on disciplinary grounds and for implementing decisions to expel students for academic reasons.

(3) Subject to–

(a) the provisions of these Articles,

(b) the overall responsibility of the Corporation, and

(c) the responsibilities of the Principal,

the Academic Board shall be responsible for advising the Principal on the standards, planning, co-ordination, development and oversight of the academic work of the institution, including arrangements for the admission, assessment and examination of students and the procedures for the expulsion of students for academic reasons.

Academic Board

4.—(1) There shall be an Academic Board of no more than 30 members, comprising the Principal (who shall be chairman) and such other numbers of staff and students as may from time to time be approved by the Corporation. The Principal may nominate a deputy chairman from among the members of the Academic Board to take the chair in his place. The period of appointment of members and the selection of election arrangements shall be subject to the approval of the Corporation.

(2) The Academic Board may establish such committees as it considers necessary for the purpose of enabling it to carry out its responsibilities provided that each establishment of a committee is first approved by the Principal and the Corporation. The number of members of any such committee and the terms on which they are to hold and vacate office shall be determined by the Academic Board and any such committee may include persons who are not members of the Academic Board.

Delegation of Functions and Committees

5.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this article, the Corporation may establish a committee of the Corporation for any purpose or function, other than those assigned elsewhere in these Articles to the Principal or to the Academic Board, and may delegate powers to–

(a) such a committee,

(b) the Chairman of the Corporation, or

(c) the Principal.

(2) The number of members of a committee established under this article, and the terms on which they are to hold and vacate office, shall be determined by the Corporation.

(3) The Corporation shall establish a committee, to be known as the Search Committee, to advise on the appointment of members of the Corporation and such matters relating to membership and appointments as the Corporation may remit to them. The Corporation shall not appoint any member of the Corporation (other than the Principal) unless it has first considered the advice of the Search Committee in relation thereto. The Corporation may make rules specifying the procedures for the conduct of the Search Committee and a copy of any such rules, together with the remit of the Search Committee and its advice to the Corporation, shall be available for inspection by any member of the public during normal office hours.

(4) The Corporation shall establish a committee, to be known as the Audit Committee, to advise on matters relating to the Corporation’s audit arrangement and systems of internal control. The committee shall consist of at least three persons and may include employees of the Corporation other than those in senior posts, and shall operate in accordance with any requirements of the Further Education Funding Council for England.

(5) Any committee established by the Corporation (other than a Special Committee referred to in article 12) may include persons who are not members of the Corporation.

(6) The Corporation shall not, however, delegate the following–

(a) the determination of the educational character and mission of the institution;

(b) the approval of the annual estimates of income and expenditure;

(c) ensuring the solvency of the institution and the Corporation and the safeguarding of their assets;

(d) the appointment or dismissal of the Principal;

(e) the appointment or dismissal of the Clerk to the Corporation; and

(f) the modification or revocation of these Articles.

(7) The Corporation may not delegate to the Principal the power to determine an appeal in respect of the dismissal of a member of staff under Article 13(3) unless the Principal has previously delegated his power to dismiss a member of staff to a holder of a senior post under Article 13(1).

(8) The Corporation shall ensure that a written statement of their policy regarding–

(a) attendance at committee meetings by persons who are not committee members, and

(b) the publication of the minutes of committee meetings,

is made available during normal office hours at the institution to any person wishing to inspect it.

(9) The Principal may delegate any of his functions to the holder of any other senior post.

Appointment and Promotion of Staff

6.  Each member of staff shall serve under a contract of employment with the Corporation.

7.—(1) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy or expected vacancy in a senior post the Corporation shall–

(a) except in relation to the first appointment of a Principal following the operative date, advertise the vacancy nationally; and

(b) appoint a selection panel consisting of–

(i) (where the vacancy is for the post of Principal) at least 5 members of the Corporation including the Chairman of the Corporation and/or the Vice-Chairman, or

(ii) (where the vacancy is for any other senior post) the Principal, and at least 3 other persons who are members of the Corporation.

(2) The selection panel shall–

(a) determine the arrangements for selecting applicants for interview;

(b) interview those applicants; and

(c) where they consider it appropriate to do so, recommend to the Corporation for appointment one of the applicants interviewed by them.

(3) If the Corporation approve the selection panel’s recommendation, that person shall be appointed.

(4) If the selection panel are unable to agree on a person to recommend to the Corporation, or if the Corporation do not approve their recommendation, the Corporation may require the panel to repeat the steps specified in paragraph (2)(a) to (c), with or without first re-advertising the vacancy.

(5) A member of staff may be required to act as Principal or in any other senior post in the event of a vacancy or the temporary absence of the holder of the post, and shall have all the duties and responsibilities of the Principal or holder of such other senior post (as the case may be) during such period.

8.  The Principal shall have general responsibility for selecting for appointment all members of staff other than appointments to senior posts.

Conduct of Staff

9.  After consultation with the staff, the Corporation shall make rules relating to the conduct of the staff.

Academic Freedom

10.  In making rules under article 9, the Corporation shall have regard to the need to ensure that academic staff of the institution have freedom within the law to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or any privileges which they may enjoy at the institution.

Suspension of Staff

11.—(1) The Chairman of the Corporation or, in the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman may suspend from duty, with pay, the holder of a senior post for misconduct or other good and urgent cause. The Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall report such suspension in writing to the Corporation within two working days or as soon thereafter as practicable.

(2) The Principal may suspend from duty, with pay, any member of the staff other than the holder of a senior post, for misconduct or other good and urgent cause.

(3) Anyone who is suspended from duty under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be entitled to receive from the Principal or, in the case of the holders of senior posts, from the Chairman or Vice-Chairman, written notification of the suspension, setting out the grounds on which the decision to suspend has been taken.

(4) Procedures for the suspension of staff under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be specified in rules made by the Corporation after consultation with the staff. The rules shall include provision that–

(a) any person who has been under suspension for three weeks or more may appeal in writing to the Corporation against the suspension, save that no such right of appeal shall lie if the person is the subject of a reference to a Special Committee under article 12(1) or has been notified of a proposal to dismiss pursuant to article 13(2);

(b) any appeal made under sub-paragraph (a) above shall be considered as soon as is practicable;

(c) a suspension against which an appeal is made shall continue to operate pending the determination of the appeal.

Dismissal of Staff

12.—(1) If the Chairman, or in his absence the Vice-Chairman, or a majority of the members of the Corporation, consider that it may be appropriate for the Corporation to dismiss the holder of a senior post, then the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or Corporation as appropriate shall refer the matter to a Special Committee of the Corporation, which shall be convened as soon as is practicable to examine the case for dismissal and to make recommendations to the Corporation.

(2) The person whose dismissal is to be considered by the Special Committee shall have the right to make representations to that Committee, including oral representations, for which purpose he may be accompanied and represented by a friend.

(3) The Special Committee shall prepare a written report for consideration by the Corporation, a copy of which shall be sent to the person to whom it relates.

(4) The Corporation shall consider the recommendations of the Special Committee and take such action as they consider appropriate, which may include the dismissal of the person concerned. The person concerned shall have the right to make representations to the Corporation with regard to the recommendations of the Special Committee, including oral representations, for which purpose he may be accompanied and represented by a friend.

(5) The Special Committee shall consist of at least 3 members of the Corporation. The Chairman of the Corporation, the Vice-Chairman, the Principal and the staff and student members shall not be eligible for membership of the Special Committee.

(6) The Corporation shall make rules specifying procedures, including appropriate time limits relating thereto, for the conduct of the Special Committee and other aspects of the procedure set out in this article.

13.—(1) The Principal may dismiss any member of the staff of the institution other than the holder of a senior post; and if the circumstances are such that he is entitled to do so by virtue of the conduct of that member of staff, that dismissal may take immediate effect without any need for prior notice.

(2) Unless the circumstances described in paragraph (1) prevail, a member of staff, other than the holder of a senior post, shall have the right to make representations (including oral representations, for which purpose he may be accompanied by a friend) to the Principal or to any person appointed to investigate the matter and to make recommendations, as the Corporation may decide, before any decision to dismiss him is taken.

(3) Where a member of staff, other than the holder of a senior post, has been dismissed pursuant to paragraph (1) or a notice of dismissal has been issued, that member of staff may appeal against the dismissal or notice of dismissal, as the case may be, to the Corporation. In the case of an appeal against a notice of dismissal, the dismissal shall not take effect until the appeal has been determined.

(4) Procedures for the dismissal of staff by the Principal and for the consideration of appeals against dismissals and notices of dismissal, including appropriate time limits relating thereto, shall be specified in rules made by the Corporation after consultation with the staff.

Grievance Procedures

14.  After consultation with the staff the Corporation shall make rules specifying procedures according to which staff may seek redress of any grievances relating to their employment.

Students

15.—(1) Any Students' Union shall conduct and manage its own affairs and funds in accordance with a constitution approved by the Corporation and shall present audited accounts annually to the Corporation. No amendment to or rescission of that constitution, in part or in whole, shall be valid unless and until approved by the Corporation.

(2) The Corporation, after consultation with representatives of the students, shall make rules with respect to the conduct of students, including procedures for suspension and expulsion (including expulsion for an unsatisfactory standard of work or other academic reason).

Financial Matters

16.  The Corporation shall set the policy by which the tuition and other fees payable to the Corporation are determined (subject to any terms and conditions attached to grants, loans or other payments paid or made by the Further Education Funding Council for England).

Rules and Bye-Laws

17.  The Corporation shall have power to make rules and bye-laws concerning such matters with regard to the government and conduct of the institution as they shall think fit. Such rules and bye-laws shall be subject to the provisions of these Articles.

Copies of Articles of Government, Rules and Bye-Laws

18.  A copy of these Articles, and of any rules and bye-laws, shall be given to every member and shall be available for inspection upon request during normal office hours at the institution to every member of staff and every student.

Amendment of Articles of Government

19.  These Articles may be modified or replaced in accordance with section 22 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

Date of Articles of Government

20.  These Articles shall apply to–

(a) the Corporation, on the date of establishment; and

(b) the institution, on the date on which it is first conducted by the Corporation.