I've had a look at the guidance issued by MIA on the 'Latest News' thread, advising people what to do if they are dissatisfied with the reply from the college governors.
I can see the reasoning behind the advice offered, but as a former college governor myself (not at this college), I can assure people that this approach will not work, and it would be best not to waste your time on it.
This is because the governing body will almost certainly have a code of conduct or code of practice which forbids individual governors from responding individually to this kind of approach. A typical wording (taken from another college's code of conduct') would be 'Governors should not make public statements relating to the proceedings of the Governing Body or its Committees without first having obtained the approval of the Chairman. It is unethical for Governors publicly to criticise, canvass or reveal the views of other Governors which have been expressed at meetings of the Governing Body or its Committees.'
So if people bombard governors with letters, they are likely to receive replies, but they will probably all be the same reply, and probably written by the Clerk or maybe the Chairman. Basically this is to make sure the board of governors adheres to the principle of collective responsibility. For any individual governor, this means that issues are debated openly in meetings, but if the vote goes against you, you either resign, or accept the majority decision and thereafter give it your support.
