The College Council governs the College, and its Members play a pivotal role in determining the strategic and professional direction of the organisation and ensuring it is responsive to the needs and views of its membership. From 2005, the Council may be up to 40 members strong and is elected on a regional basis.
A smaller Board of Trustees, nominated by Council, has legal and fiduciary responsibility for the College. Its performance is monitored by Council.
This revised governance structure was implemented in direct response to members who wanted a College that was more representative, quicker to make decisions and more obviously relevant to their day-to-day practice.
Council Membership
The Council consists of a maximum of 40 members;
- 35 of whom are elected on a regional basis by members living or working in that region
- 4 nominated by the College’s Lay Advisory Panel
- 1 nominated by (BUCO) British Universities Committee on Optometry
Trustees
The board consists of 11 trustees:
- 4 Elected Officers, elected by Council as Officers and automatically becoming trustees
- 6 regionally elected Council members, elected as trustees by Council
- 1 lay Council member, elected as trustee by Council
Additionally, the board of trustees can co-opt up to 2 additional trustees, with Council’s approval, one of whom must be a full time member. The other co-optee could be a full member, non-voting member or member of the Lay Advisory Panel