The EAUC has released its much anticipated business guide for university governors: Ten Reasons to Build Resilience into the Future of your University. It had a long gestation. The guide was developed by EAUC and Plymouth University, together with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) and the Committee of University Chairs (CUC).
It's purpose is not all that clear. The Introduction says:
"The aim of this guide is to demonstrate the business benefits that your HEI can capitalise on by making Sustainability Resilience and Opportunity a top team, top table issue, one that complements and enriches current agendas."
This is a terrible sentence; the English language is first tangled, then mangled, and finally hung out to dry.
The 10 benefits to be capitalised on are:
- Create surplus and increase investment potential
- Manage costs
- Plan ahead, mitigate risk and strenghten competitive advantage
- Drive innovation and create growth
- Create learning resources for students, research facilities for staff
- Attract and retain the most talented staff
- Enhance the student experience
- Improve the employment prospects of your students
- Catalyse local partnerships and create growth
- Be a leader
You'll need to read it yourself to see how all this hangs together; for me, the arguments range from the sound to the senseless. But the questions the report poses are more problematic. Each section has a question that the governor-reader can ask. These are:
- Is your university investing in sustainable operations as part of its financial objectives?
- If your student population grows, will you be increasing investment in the student experience or paying higher energy bills?
- What are the implications of forthcoming changes in building regulations for your university estate? How significant is the risk to you?
- In your university, is low carbon innovation and enterprise embedded to give you a lead in a competitive marketplace?
- Is your university ready to demonstrate the contribution its research has made to a sustainable future in its next REF?
- What is your university’s staff turnover?
- What message does your institution portray to prospective students about its commitment to social, environmental and economic prosperity?
- Are your graduates leaving equipped with the skills employers need for the jobs of tomorrow?
- Is your university building new partnerships to maximise economic potential?
- As a civic leader, how does your institution make the quality of life better in the community it serves?
Most of these are not helpful, and it's hard to believe that much time was invested in thinking about them. For a start, far too many prompt yes / no responses. And then, it's not obvious to whom they might most usefully be addressed. The document says they need to be asked of 'the Executive', but that's a broad church. I'd have much preferred to see a series of 'issues to be raised', rather than simplistic questions, probably with a link to a website where they are expanded on. Next time, perhaps ...
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