The Scottish higher education sector is one of Scotland’s true success stories, with four institutions currently ranked within the World’s top 200. Universities’ contributions to Scotland’s wider economic, social and cultural well-being are significant and wide-ranging. They employ large numbers of staff, develop the necessary high-level skills of the future and existing Scottish workforce, generate significant levels of overseas income and investment and carry out essential and world-leading research.

Universities Scotland described the conduct code as a “progressive code which would set Scotland’s universities at the leading edge of accountable governance amongst all of Europe”.It includes measures to provide greater clarity about the process used to make decisions on the pay of university principals.

The draft code,  has been drawn up by a team led by Lord Smith of Kelvin. Following substantial consultation and evidence-gathering across the university sector a draft Scottish Code of Good Higher Education Governance is published on this website. A further 8-week consultation period will end on 11 June 2013.