Being a Student Governor: My Journey

By Tom Matthew, Student Governor, Exeter College

I have spent the last 18 months as a Student Governor on my college’s board; it has been one of the most inspiring and fulfilling experiences I have had.

As a student, the governing body is not something you are exposed to and something which I consequently had very little understanding of. The student governor training program provided by Unloc helped me to develop a better understanding of what it means to be an effective governor. It was incredibly useful to network with and learn from other student governors, the Unloc team and leaders from around the sector; it helped me to see the bigger picture of why student governors are a fundamentally important part of FE governance.

As a result of the training program, I and other student governors are in contact with the leadership of the Association of Colleges about how we can make sure students are at the heart of key decision making bodies within FE.

Thomas with Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, at Exeter College

It has been inspiring because I have had the opportunity to regularly sit around a table with other governors who are at the peak of their powers. One is the director of the local airport, another is a police superintendent, one was a UK representative to the United Nations (who also happened to run the Met Office for a bit,) two have OBEs, there are lawyers, economists, auditors and the list goes on. There are few other opportunities for a college level student to mix with such inspiring, hard working and influential people. For me, one of the most valuable parts of being a governor has simply been having the opportunity to spend time with and learn from the other members of the Board.

It has been fulfilling because of how many opportunities I have had to give a students’ perspective to the Board. I have been really encouraged by how seriously a students’ opinion is taken- it is as valuable as any other contribution from any other member of the board- OBE or not. I have never been asked to leave a meeting because the Board wants to discuss something super important or especially confidential; as a student governor you are respected like any other governor and your input is valued like any other governors’ input is valued. This allows you to make sure that students are at the centre of any discussion that takes place- you have real influence- that in itself is a big responsibility, but each member of the Board and the Clerk have been incredibly supportive in helping me to fulfil that responsibility.

Thomas with John Laramy, Principal of Exeter College

The one thing which I will take away from my time as a student governor is what strong, accountable, transparent and supportive leadership looks like.

I am fortunate to be part of a college which has outstanding leadership. And as someone who is interested in leadership, it has been incredibly insightful to watch leaders who are at the top of their game, doing their work. I have seen how important clarity of vision is when planning multi-million-pound projects; I have learnt about the importance of clear and regular communication from leadership to the rest of the organisation and as COVID-19 has presented plenty of uncertainty, I have witnessed what calm assuredness looks like in times of crisis. These are insights and lessons which most people may have to wait years to get. For that reason alone, being a student governor has been an immensely valuable experience, but the fact you also get to make sure students are always at the centre of discussions and you get to meet such talented people means that being a Student Governor can be an incalculably beneficial thing to do.

 

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