There is an air of self-confidence among the corporation boards of further education and sixth-form colleges, says the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and governors think they could do even better with less red tape.

“Our work reveals reassuringly high levels of governor commitment and fulfilment,” said Peter Davies, the agency’s development adviser, commenting on his report, The changing face of governance, due out this month.

It is based on a questionnaire to which 248 colleges in England and Wales responded.

“The evidence indicates that most college corporations have now developed a critical and challenging approach, and are certainly not mere rubber stamps,” he said. “Relationships between governors and managers are usually supportive, but a more challenging style of governance has put management teams on their mettle, to the ultimate benefit of the students.”

Despite the report’s findings, there is a feeling among principals that, too often, they carry the can for poor inspection reports, with many being singled out as scapegoats and forced to resign.

This concern has increased since the recent departure of several principals after inspections by the Office for Standards in Education and the Adult Learning Inspectorate.

“The principal is accountable to the governing body,” said Peter Pendle, general secretary of the Association for College Management, which represents around half of the principals of general FE colleges. “The governing body has appointed that principal and the governors are responsible for appraising him or her, so they are equally culpable.”

He says the increasing complexity of college governance is placing added pressure on boards, whose members are unpaid volunteers. More could be done, he says, to improve the training of governors.

The research shows nearly half of colleges said more than three-quarters of their governors had attended development and training sessions during 1999.

Governors have requested more sessions to help them to handle curriculum planning, benchmarking and target-setting, and dealing with the Learning and Skills Council.

Governors’ activity has been shifting away from business administration and towards the educational character and performance of colleges. This has meant governors need a better understanding of educational issues, as well as increased contact with students and lecturers, the report says.

It is the increased attention to educational delivery, rather than business administration, which governors say is hampered by red tape - much of it related to accountability.

There is a widespread feeling among the more successful colleges that the LSC is breathing down their necks because of the failings of others.

Chris Hughes, the LSDA’s chief executive, said: “Now that colleges and governors feel they have got to grips with the business of running colleges, there is a clear shift of priorities towards educational issues with a greater focus on the curriculum, teaching and learning.”

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