Annex A

Issues raised by the HE sector about the e-University

What are the potential liabilities of members of HoldCo?	HoldCo is a company limited by guarantee and members can be asked to contribute up to £1 to its assets.
What are the main aims and purposes of the venture as reflected in its objects? And how will it work with institutions?	The e-University will be a facilitator of e-learning, drawing on the content and academic services of existing UK higher education institutions. It will provide the supporting services that are needed by institutions to deliver e-learning across the globe and which can be provided with economies of scale centrally. These activities will mainly be conducted by OpCo but HoldCo needs to have sufficient powers in its memorandum of association to confer these on OpCo. The memorandum and articles of OpCo will be agreed by HoldCo with its joint venture partners.
When will the full financial picture of OpCo be available?	We are in negotiation with joint venture partners and as part of this are developing a detailed business plan. We envisage that HoldCo will be selecting its partners in the summer when it will have a detailed business plan. We expect that it will wish to provide its members with a summary of the plan. We note though that individual institutions may work with OpCo to provide specific programmes or services, and the financial returns to them will be the subject of individual negotiation and contract.
How will intellectual property rights (IPRs) in learning programmes be handled by the e-University?	The e-University will need to seek assurances that institutions do have appropriate rights to exploit materials, both programmes themselves and any supporting or imported materials. As part of delivering economies of scale for the sector, we envisage the e-University providing guidance on rights management, and other legal issues that arise in delivering e-learning in many countries across the globe. How institutions handle rights internally and in relation to their own employees is a matter for their senior managers. However, the Council has agreed with Universities UK to establish a working group on IPRs in e-learning programmes, alongside the e-University project, to advise institutions on best practice. We will be announcing the members and terms of reference shortly.
Will the e-University be subject to institutional quality review?	Formally, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) review will apply to the awarding body; the e-University will be the awarding body's collaborative partner. We believe though that external review is important and we will be inviting the QAA to nominate an assessor to the e-University's Committee for Academic Quality.

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