| 3.2 Governance As an independent organisation and a charity, UCAS is owned by its institutional members, to which it is accountable, and is governed by its Board of Directors. For the purpose of the Charities Act (1993), the directors are also the trustees of the Company.
This close relationship is a central and greatly valued part of the way in which the Company operates. UCAS is responsive to the needs of its members, helping them to conduct admissions efficiently and effectively, whilst always respecting the autonomy that higher education institutions hold in the matter of choosing their students. Beyond these formal accountabilities, UCAS is also responsive to its student customers, for whom it provides not only admissions services but also key information to inform choices about higher education.
Although the Board of Directors delegates the day-to-day management of the Company to the Chief Executive, it has also set up, with a view to adhering to governance best practice, the following Board committees:
- The Governance Committee - which regularly reviews the structure, size and composition of the Board and makes recommendations on the appointments to the board's Audit, Remuneration and Financial Performance Committees
- The Audit Committee - which reviews the annual consolidated financial statements of the Company and makes recommendations on the appointment of external and internal auditors. This committee also reviews the Company Risk Register and audit reports obtained to provide assurance on the controls operated by the organisation
- The Remuneration Committee - which considers the remuneration of senior members of UCAS staff and the salary policy for the whole Company
- The Financial Performance Committee - which assists the Board in monitoring the effective financial management of the Company
As a further form of governance, the Company regularly submits itself for evaluation against a series of nationally recognised awards. This is done with the intention of seeking external endorsement of the standard of Company activities and management practices. Awards currently held are:
- ISO 9001 certification for quality management, as developed by the International Standards Organisation
- Charter Mark - a national standard of customer service excellence (awarded in 1998, 2001 and 2005)
- Investors in People (IIP) status - a national standard that recognises action and excellence in training and developing staff to achieve business goals (awarded in 2002 and 2005)
- ISO 27001 Information Security certification from the British Standards Institution
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Gold Award for occupational health and safety for the third successive year
- Gloucestershire E-business of the Year for 2006 - awarded by The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo
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