Some universities and colleges couple periodic external reviews of the governing body with regular - sometimes annual - checks of committees. This may take the form of annual reporting about the governing body and its committees and the extent that they have addressed designated tasks in a planned annual programme of activities. Some governing bodies ask each of their committees to conduct a self-assessment each year, including terms of reference (are they still appropriate?), membership structure, effectiveness and even whether the committee is still necessary, with a report to the governing body on completion of the process.
In addition, some audit committees review their effectiveness, often using either the internal auditors or sometimes the audit committee review systems that are provided by many of the larger audit firms.