Managing a further education college

The Colleges of Further Education, along with the Polytechnics and the Colleges of Education, form the public sector of the binary system of higher education. These are all Local Authority colleges with Governing Bodies set up according to Instruments and Articles of Government approved by the Secretary of State for Education and Science. The government of these colleges is similar, and the DES has been very active in encouraging more autonomy for the institutions. As an example, DES Circular 7/70 outlines the functions to be exercised, respectively, in relation to a College of Further Education, by the LEA, the Governing Body, the Principal, and the Academic Board.