TEI councils are responsible for the development and good governance of their organisation. They must balance upholding the autonomy and academic freedom of their organisation with being publicly accountable.

TEI councils are expected to take a strategic and leadership role in guiding their organisations to ensure they continue to improve their performance and are responsive to change and opportunity.

Effective councils provide clear strategic leadership and set and monitor the achievement of challenging targets. They have well-informed members with a good understanding of stakeholders and their institution’s strengths and areas for improvement. Effective councils challenge the management team about the institution’s performance as well as self-reviewing or reflecting on their own performance on a regular basis.

Being a council member is an opportunity for people with the right skills and experience to make a significant contribution to tertiary education in New Zealand and guide decision-making that will benefit not only the institution itself, but also its learners and the wider community.

Role of TEI councils

The Minister responsible for tertiary education is responsible for appointing three to four members of each council. All other council members are appointed by the council in accordance with its own arrangements.

The composition of tertiary education institution councils

How you can contribute as a council member of a tertiary education institution

The Ministerial appointment process, and Ministerial expectations

The Minister and the TEC also expect councils to identify and manage any conflicts of interest appropriately.

How TEI councils should manage conflicts of interest

We find and short-list suitable candidates for council members and manage the appointment process on behalf of the Minister.  Our role is also to monitor and evaluate a TEI council’s capability.

We also:

• advise the Minister on governance matters including fees for council members
• provide information and support for councils to support good governance. 

For more information, read:

• Induction and professional development for tertiary education institution councils
• The Ministerial appointment process
• Governance Guide for council members of TEIs (PDF 3.4 MB)
• Resources for TEI councils

We publish a governance guide for TEI council members that includes:

• the legislative framework for TEIs and their councils
• the role of tertiary sector government agencies
• the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES)and its priorities
• TEC’s Investment Plan process for TEIs
• information about accountability and our performance monitoring of TEIs.

Governance Guide for council members of tertiary education institutions (PDF 3.4 MB)

If you are interested in becoming a TEI council member read:

How you can contribute as a TEI council member

If you are a new council member and want to understand your role and its context, we suggest you read:

• The Tertiary Education Strategy
• Universities and Wānanga legislative framework (PDF 304 KB)
• Te Pūkenga legislative framework (PDF 296 KB)
• Governance Guide for council members of TEIs (PDF 3.4 MB)