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23 April 2004

Progress on e-Universities restructuring

The HEFCE Board at its meeting on 22 April noted the progress made by the e-Universities on the restructuring of its activities and services.

At its previous meeting on 25 February the HEFCE Board agreed to discuss with the company which activities should be maintained and possibly transferred to other organisations. The decision was taken following a review of the company's plans, changes in the global financial market, and the fact that student recruitment had not met planned targets in the first year.

The Board decided that in future HEFCE funding should support the development of e-learning in universities and colleges, placing emphasis on public good objectives.

At its meeting on 22 April the HEFCE Board noted actions taken by the e-Universities over the past eight weeks.

These included:

  • progress in transferring project management arrangements of the e-China programme to a higher education institution (Note 1)
  • holding discussions with relevant higher education institutions about new arrangements for managing the e-Learning Research Centre (Note 2)
  • starting the process of reducing the number of staff employed by the e-Universities in departments whose functions will no longer be required
  • holding discussions with higher education institutions which run e-Universities courses, and with overseas organisations, about future arrangements.

The e-Universities is continuing to review options on the e-learning platform and is holding discussions with organisations in the public and private sector about its future use.

The HEFCE Board at its meeting on 22 April agreed to continue with the plan of scaling down and transferring activities. The Board will, however, actively keep the position under review.

Notes

1.    e-China - The Sino-UK e-Learning Programme is an intergovernmental initiative to strengthen collaboration between China and the UK by sharing experience in the use of information and communication technologies, and particularly the internet, for distance and flexible learning. The programme supports English higher education institutions to work with Chinese counterparts to develop joint e-learning programmes. The first round of the programme includes support for developments in teacher training. HEFCE has set aside £3 million for the programme, which runs over three years.

2.    e-Learning Research Centre - The aim of the e-Learning Research Centre is to establish a leading centre of excellence, with an international reputation, to support the enhancement of e-learning within the higher education sector.