An institution’s estate, with its buildings and infrastructure, is a considerable resource and represents a major element of expenditure. The CUC Guide sets out the main governing body’s responsibilities in this area as follows:
"The governing body is responsible for oversight of the strategic management of the institution's land and buildings with the aim of providing an environment that will facilitate high-quality teaching and learning and research. After employee costs, those of managing estates and property represent the largest item of HEI expenditure. It requires long term planning for capital development and the effective maintenance of existing properties, while having to comply with increasingly onerous legislation.”
In total, the CUC Guide lists 18 board-level estates responsibilities, of which the most important are:
While the CUC Guide recommends institutions to have governors with property expertise, this may not always occur and in any case all governors share the responsibilities referred to above.
Many governing bodies have established estates or buildings committees to help with the many responsibilities in this area.
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