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About UHI
The University of the Highlands and Islands is an integrated university encompassing both further and higher education.
UHI is more than a college and more than a university. We are part of a new breed of tertiary institutions, the only one in Scotland and one of only a few in Europe.
We are a diverse and flexible partnership serving our communities and connected to their needs. Our greatest strength is the diversity and flexibility of our partnership and this empowers us to deliver more.
We offer flexible and supported learning from access level to PhD, which suits more people at more levels for more reasons.
We are proud of our unique place and deep roots in our communities and this makes our teaching and research more connected to their needs.
We have 31,000 students at the heart of our partnership and we are measured by their success.
UHI Court
The UHI Court is responsible for the overall strategic direction and governance of the university.
Its many powers and duties are detailed in the university’s articles of association. The court can delegate some responsibilities to individuals, committees or groups. Court is also referred to as the board of governors.
Court consists of up to 21 members, including students, academic and support staff, and a majority of independent members. In 2021 the university elected a new Chair as well as two staff representatives, per the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016.
You can download and read the approved minutes of the court.
The Scottish Higher Education Code of Governance requires university courts to assess the effectiveness of their chair and members, how they operate collectively and how effective their committees are on an annual basis.
In 2014 the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act made Court accountable for college and university level education in the Highlands and Islands. The Act made Court the Regional Strategic Body (RSB) with overarching responsibility for the planning and delivery of further education provision in the Highlands and Islands region via its network of assigned colleges. (The university was already responsible for higher education.) At the same time the eight colleges of Inverness, Lews Castle, Moray, North Highland, Orkney, Perth, Shetland and West Highland were designated as assigned colleges. Argyll College was subsequently assigned on 1 January 2019.