Business Plan 2010–2020 Executive Summary Peter McCaffery April 2010 Executive Summary The University of Cumbria was created in August 2007 as an agent for transformational change in the educational, social, cultural and economic life of the region. As such, we have high aspirations for our students, our communities and ourselves. The new ten-year Business Plan sets out how we will achieve them. The plan describes the steps we are taking to right-size and right-shape the University to achieve savings of £10m by August 2010 and to establish a platform for our future financial sustainability through: the establishment of a new academic organisation; the re-alignment of our professional services; the streamlining of our academic portfolio; the re-profiling of our estate; and the review of further education. Driven by our new academic strategy—to put students first; to excel in scholarship; to set ourselves up for success, and to be a community university with worldwide horizons— the new Business Plan explains how, by building on the historic strengths of our legacy institutions, we can still fulfil our founding mission, even though we are—and will be— operating in a far more challenging economic environment than at our formation. Externally, we will work with partners to: • Increase and broaden participation in higher education to make the most of the skills and abilities of the people of Cumbria and North Lancashire • Increase collaboration with employers in ways that meet their skill requirements and needs • Support civic bodies in enhancing community leadership • Provide a range of services that meets the needs of small and medium-sized businesses • Establish initiatives aimed at retaining young talent in the region • Develop customised programmes that support working professionals • Meet the needs of the Cumbrian rural economy • Increase and broaden access to cultural activities throughout the region • Engage with every school and college in Cumbria through the “low carbon Cumbria” initiative • Establish an International Study Abroad Programme • Develop the campus in West Cumbria including Gateway West at Energus and Furness • Establish a National Centre for the Outdoors at Ambleside Internally, we will: • Create the best possible opportunities and conditions for our students to succeed • Meet the requirements of a wide range of employers for high-quality graduates: i.e. the new professional Cumbria Graduate who can raise standards of performance in the workplace • Establish an academic portfolio of courses that is truly demand led, cost effective, offers comparative advantage, genuine quality and meets individual, regional and national needs • Improve the capacity and capability of the senior management of the University • Ensure effective governance in line with established good practice • Enhance the capacity and capability of our finance function, our financial stewardship and the monitoring of financial performance, through our agreed key performance indicators “Support and ensure all members of academic staff have national excellence in one of the four scholarships: teaching, discovery, application or integration” • Implement and support the development of effective performance management and financial management in all faculties and services across the University • Generate additional income through the expansion of enterprise activity and the recruitment of international students • Reduce the size of our estate and improve its suitability and utilisation • Adhere to our guiding principles in new ways of leading and managing: – Student achievement through genuinely empowered staff – Staff achievement through individual responsibility and effective leadership and support – University success through committed staff and scholarship • Support and ensure all members of academic staff have national excellence in one of the four scholarships: teaching, discovery, application or integration • Establish research niches of international excellence with regional significance in a number of selected areas: e.g. forestry; wildlife conservation; environmental sustainability; health and wellbeing in rural communities; medical imaging science; leadership development; sustainable engineering • Develop a critical path to achieve research degreeawarding powers by 2015 “To deliver this vision requires us, of course, to challenge ourselves to be the best that we can be.” Our development priorities The Business Plan also identifies the essential priorities, or investment needs, that we must address too: • The enhancement of our academic offer to enable us to meet regional needs: e.g. nuclear-related education; radiological protection; health and environment; business development in the supply chains of energy and environmental technologies; marine; health; tourism; and logistics • Our engagement with local communities, including our partnership with Carlisle City Council, in providing complementary sports facilities, services, and academic provision in the proposed redevelopment of The Sands Centre • The enhancement of our ICT infrastructure • The development of blended learning and e-administration to transform the student experience online, on campus and in the workplace • The provision of high-quality teaching space at Fusehill Street and Lancaster • A resolution to the delivery of FE in the Eden Valley that is financially robust as well as academically sound University of Cumbria 2020 By 2020 we should, indeed, be a university that is truly both of, as well as for, Cumbria—a distinctive, and distributed, regional university with worldwide horizons—that has realised our vision: “To be a centre of international excellence in the education and training of teachers, health service professionals and the creative arts; to provide learning opportunities for all in the county who may benefit, and to be one of the most admired universities in the country for working with partners to regenerate our region and beyond. We will be a source of pride for our students, our staff and the communities we serve.” To deliver this vision requires us, of course, to challenge ourselves to be the best that we can be. We must aim to achieve excellence in everything that we do, and to prosper in a turbulent environment. To become one of the most admired universities in this regard, we will need to continuously improve what we do, and how we do it. Professor Peter McCaffery Vice Chancellor University of Cumbria