{"id":6332,"date":"2015-06-03T07:28:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T07:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=6332"},"modified":"2015-06-04T07:01:15","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T07:01:15","slug":"eauc-asks-some-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2015\/06\/03\/eauc-asks-some-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"EAUC asks some questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EAUC has released its much anticipated\u00a0business guide<\/a> for\u00a0university governors: Ten Reasons to Build Resilience into the Future of your University<\/em>. \u00a0It had a long gestation. \u00a0The guide was\u00a0developed by EAUC and Plymouth University, together with\u00a0the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) and the Committee of University Chairs (CUC).<\/p>\n

It's purpose is not all that clear. \u00a0The Introduction says:<\/p>\n

\"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.\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a terrible sentence; the English language is first tangled, then mangled, and finally\u00a0hung out to dry.<\/p>\n

The 10 benefits to be capitalised on are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create surplus and increase investment potential<\/li>\n
  2. Manage costs<\/li>\n
  3. Plan ahead, mitigate risk and strenghten competitive advantage<\/li>\n
  4. Drive innovation and create growth<\/li>\n
  5. Create learning resources for students, research facilities for staff<\/li>\n
  6. Attract and retain the most talented staff<\/li>\n
  7. Enhance the student experience<\/li>\n
  8. Improve the employment prospects of your students<\/li>\n
  9. Catalyse local partnerships and create growth<\/li>\n
  10. Be a leader<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    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. \u00a0But the questions the report poses are more problematic. \u00a0Each section has a question that the governor-reader can ask. \u00a0These are:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Is your university investing in sustainable operations as part of its financial objectives?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. If your student population grows, will you be increasing investment in the student experience or paying higher energy bills?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. What are the implications of forthcoming changes in building regulations for your university estate? How significant is the risk to you?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. In your university, is low carbon innovation and enterprise embedded to give you a lead in a competitive marketplace?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. Is your university ready to demonstrate the contribution its research has made to a sustainable future in its next REF?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. What is your university\u2019s staff turnover?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    7. What message does your institution portray to prospective students about its commitment to social, environmental and economic prosperity?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    8. Are your graduates leaving equipped with the skills employers need for the jobs of tomorrow?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
    9. Is your university building new partnerships to maximise economic potential?<\/em><\/li>\n
    10. As a civic leader, how does your institution make the quality of life better in the community it serves?\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Most of these are not helpful, and it's hard to believe that much time was invested in thinking about them. \u00a0For a start, far too many prompt yes \/ no responses. \u00a0And then, it's not obvious to whom they might most usefully be addressed. \u00a0The document says they need to be asked of 'the Executive', but that's a broad church. \u00a0I'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. \u00a0Next time, perhaps ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The EAUC has released its much anticipated\u00a0business guide for\u00a0university governors: Ten Reasons to Build Resilience into the Future of your University. \u00a0It had a long gestation. \u00a0The guide was\u00a0developed by EAUC and Plymouth University, together with\u00a0the Leadership Foundation for Higher...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","category-new-publications"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}