In most post-1992 institutions the governing body is formally responsible for determining its educational character and mission, and a new governor might legitimately ask what this is? There is no standard definition, though it is often taken to mean how the institution delivers its educational mission, in particular its fundamental values, the kind of environment it provides for students, the nature of the student body, the quality of teaching and learning, the focus on research or on widening participation.
In practice, much of the responsibility for determining educational character will rest with the academic decision making processes (for example senate/ academic board, faculty boards, and so on). Governors should respect the powers of such bodies and be careful not to get involved in the detail of such discussions, but rather to concentrate on the strategic issues about how the overall educational character can be developed. In practical terms this will most often be done through the integration of the learning and teaching strategy (or similar) into the main strategic plans, or at Awaydays or briefings.