"MEETING THE CHALLENGE" - a development proposal for Essex and Cambridgeshire to serve East Anglia

Introduction

The Government's proposals for the future development of higher education present substantial and particular challenges for Cambridgeshire and Essex.

Inevitable concentration of provision into the "PCFC" colleges and rationalisation within that new sector would seem likely. Greater entrepreneurial emphasis will make the sector increasingly competitive for external funding, industrial sponsorship and for students.

There is Government emphasis on vocational relevance and increased partnership with employers highlighting the recognised correlation between relevant, accessible higher education and economic growth and prosperity. East Anglia, faced with the fastest existing and projected employment and population growth in Britain, needs a substantial expansion of HE provision relevant to its economic growth. In contrast with other regions, this region currently is under-provided with HE and advanced training opportunities, nor does it possess a Polytechnic which would be a natural focus for expansion. The Essex Institute will be the only multi-disciplinary college in the region which will be included in the legislation in Autumn 1987.

The effect of the Government changes will be to whittle away the HE provision in the LEA-controlled institutions. Even within PCFC, the Polytechnics will possess a marketing advantage which colleges without that title will find hard to match.

It is these issues which are addressed in the following proposals.

The Proposals

1. It is proposed that Essex Institute of Higher Education and Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology should merge to form an independent "PCFC" institution with, at the earliest possible date, the designation "Polytechnic" being granted by the Secretary of State.

2. The date of the merger to be determined, but with September 1990 as the latest target for implementation on the assumption that CCAT will be a PCFC college before that date.

The Case for The New Institution

1. CCAT and EIHE have almost totally complementary provision which, taken together, provides a broader range of NAB programme areas than most existing Polytechnics and an excellent foundation for new developments. Given the geographical distance between campuses, the scope for full time student movement during courses is limited, but the pool of expertise and resources will allow the merged institution to provide a much more comprehensive regional service than could be achieved by each college acting independently. The advantages will be most apparent in the fields of intensive professional development courses and consultancy.

2. Essex Institute anticipates being a CNAA Accredited institution during 1987/8. Accreditation plus the planned modularisation of existing and new courses in both EIHE and CCAT will increase the new institution's flexibility to respond to regional needs and to give credit for study undertaken in LEA colleges and in companies.

3. More effective use of resources and an improved level of service can be achieved including:
   • joint academic planning
   • joint resource planning
   • joint marketing
   • economy in specialist services - financial, planning, management, legal, architects, etc.
   • course validation, monitoring and review mechanism
   • careers/placement service
   • uniform and more extensive Management Information Systems
   • Directorate with specialist expertise (finance, personnel, resource management) who would provide Polytechnic-wide advice as well as having institutional responsibilities
   • rationalisation of use of buildings to provide scope for greater student numbers

4. The creation of a single large Polytechnic as a focal point for HE development in the region will bring substantial strategic advantages which will be essential in the rationalisation and re-distribution process which seems inevitable in the 1990s.

5. Given the dispersed population and employment coupled with communication difficulties in parts of the region, East Anglia is best served by some dispersal of provision. The multi-site nature of the Polytechnic will bring positive advantages. The difficulties of geographical dispersal can be overcome effectively by using modern technology and appropriate managerial and administrative structures.

6. There is a need to sustain, in addition to the Polytechnic, appropriate AFE provision, both part-time and full-time, in colleges which will be outside PCFC. The existence of an accredited "PCFC" Polytechnic could assist some retention by forming an academic association with an individual college. This would allow appropriate mechanisms for sustaining academic standards whilst in no way interfering in the administrative and financial relationship between the college and its controlling LEA.

Possible form of the Merger

The merger could take a number of forms. Given that such a proposal is probably unique in Britain but common in North America, that latter experience has influenced the following outline below which is put forward by the Director of EIHE and the Principal of CCAT as a possible basis for discussion:

• A merged single institution not a loose federation which implies one institutional representation to PCFC, one Board of Governors, one Academic Council, with executive and committees on the component campuses having substantial delegated powers over implementation of policy, allocated block budgets etc.

• A multi-campus institution which preserves the local identity and nationally-known characteristics of the constituent colleges.

• At the Polytechnic level, the governors would be responsible for:
  • overall institutional planning and policy (advised by Academic Council)
  • annual estimates - revenue and capital
  • broad allocations of agreed budgets to constituent campuses
  • negotiations with PCFC

  Academic Council would be responsible for:

  • preparing a rolling academic plan for the Board of Governors
  • monitoring implementation of agreed academic plans on behalf of Governors
  • reviewing and monitoring academic standards

  The Directorate, comprising a small central team and executive management on the component campuses, would be responsible to the Board of Governors for:

  • the effective and efficient management and administration of the institution
  • preparing annual budgets
  • recommending campus allocation of budgets
  • provision of central support services

  At campus level there would be:

  • appropriate structures for exercising substantial delegated responsibility from the Board of Governors and Academic Council
  • a member of the Directorate having responsibility for appropriate resources, courses and students

Timing

To achieve a merger by 1990 is a formidable task. It is essential that each college's detailed planning and preparation for corporate status on 1 April 1989 is done with maximum co-operation and consultation. The timetable for the transfer of the colleges from LEA control is already very short.

It is planned to seek the support of each college's Academic Board in October and of their Governing Bodies in November. Assuming the proposals are supported, it is hoped that the two LEAs can give their backing as early as possible in 1988.

5 October 1987