Gerald Wilson, secretary of the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department, has defended the department's decision to veto the Garrick committee's recommendation on rectors' rights as following "the weight of public opinion".
Garrick proposed that the student-elected rectors in the four ancient Scottish universities, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews, should lose their automatic right to chair the university court. The Government turned this down ahead of consultation.
Mr Wilson, also speaking at SHEFC's governance conference, said the decision was influenced by the general belief that it was important for institutions to listen to students' views.