For many universities and colleges internationalisation - in all its forms - is increasingly important. However, as with many organisations doing business overseas raises numerous challenges as well as opportunities, and major international initiatives should not be undertaken lightly.
Accordingly, in terms of international work a governing body has all the 'standard' responsibilities to undertake: approving strategy and measuring performance; assuring financial health and control; and so on. Because an activity may be taking place thousands of miles away it is no less the responsibility of the governing body than if it were taking place on campus.
However, there are perhaps several key responsibilities in this area:
To meet these responsibilities a governing body is likely to need specialist advice. In many institutions this will come from the international office, but there are also numerous bodies providing specialist advice in particular areas of internationalisation - see more information.
Further information can be found in Chapter 8 of Getting to Grips with Internationalisation.