CHEAD is a membership organisation. Its members are colleges, faculties and departments either free standing or within a collegiate institute or university with a significant number of students following courses in art and design at a higher level. Member institutions each have a registered representative who is usually the most senior academic concerned with art and design.

CHEAD is governed by an Executive Committee who has delegated authority to implement policy. The Committe meets four times a year. Its members are elected by the membership for terms of offices of three years. In addition, the Committee can co-opt up to four members for one year.

Business meetings are held twice a year followed by the CHEAD Forum, featuring guest speakers on key agenda issues. Each year CHEAD holds a residential Annual Conference, which acts as a site for the debate and discussion of the key issues of the moment, and in recent years has taken place in Berlin, Liverpool and Cardiff, providing talks from high profile speakers such as Judy Kelly OBE, Artistic Director of the South Bank Centre and Wayne Hemingway, co-founder of Red or Dead and Hemingway Design.

The Constitution is approved by CHEAD members and is updated periodically on condition of full membership approval.

Constitution