New HEPI Policy Note: Views on University Governance

HEPI’s new Policy Note finds striking consensus across the higher education community for more ethical, transparent and balanced university governance.

Summarising responses to the draft Code of Ethical University Governance from the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU), this Policy Note finds that 81% of the 129 submissions received endorse the principle of a new ethical code. This signals a widespread recognition that governance structures must better reflect the educational and public missions that universities serve.

The revised CDBU Code directly responds to the concerns raised in the consultation and offers practical ways to reduce power imbalances, avoid insular decision-making and bring greater transparency to governor recruitment.

For anyone interested in how universities can strengthen trust and increase transparency, the report makes for important reading. You can find the press release and link to the full text of the policy note here.

The author of this report, and the author of a second report HEPI is publishing on governance in the run-up to Christmas will be at a free webinar on governance issues running on Thursday, 11 December 2025 from 10am to 11am. Sign up now to hear our speakers explore the key issues.