annual review 2010/11

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Contents

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Contents 2

Welcome from Professor Mike Saks 3

Around UCS: News 2010-11 4

People: Academic Expertise at UCS 6

New Strategy, Structure and Identity for UCS 8

Campus Developments: Enhancing the Estate 9

Celebrating Success: Graduation 2011 10

Research at UCS 12

Partnerships and the Local Community 13

Financial Summary 14

Welcome from Professor Mike SaksUniversity Campus Suffolk (UCS) came of age in academic year 2010/11. As will be seen from this Annual Review, UCS put in place a new strategy, reorganised its structure and upgraded its identity – whilst recruiting significantly increased numbers of students and becoming ever more student facing with high employability rates and quality standards. At the same time, it recruited numerous world class academics, further developed its campuses, celebrated the success of its graduands and honorands, and enhanced its research and enterprise profile. In all this, UCS successfully built on high quality partnerships in the wider community at local, regional, national and international level – continuing to produce a healthy institutional financial surplus.

2010/11 was indeed a remarkable year for UCS. Founded in 2007 and under the leadership of its new Provost and Chief Executive, Professor Mike Saks, UCS moved fast forward to reach new heights. It has become a leading edge model for higher education in the future with a flexible, can-do approach focused on making a positive difference to the real world and a unique structure. Its uniqueness stems in part from being an institution owned by two universities in the world top 250 – the University of East Anglia and the University of Essex. This enables UCS to share services and ideas across institutions collaboratively to mutual benefit in an unrivalled way in the sector. UCS also benefits from an inclusive Learning Network – in which exceptionally in UK higher education local Colleges across Suffolk and beyond form part of UCS itself.

A new world in higher education was ushered in by the October 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review which resulted in large cuts in higher education budgets and the support in Parliament in December 2010 for an increase in higher education tuition fees. These changes culminated in June 2011 in the publication of the White Paper entitled Higher Education: Students at the Heart of the System. This set out the aspiration of the Government to improve financial sustainability, make higher education more responsive to student choice, provide an improved student experience and increase social mobility. UCS has bought into this challenging vision, not least by offering its courses with highly competitive fees to be paid after graduation – complemented by a strong package of support for access and widening participation.

In light of the achievements of UCS in 2010/11, with an increase in applications running at four times the national average, UCS looks forward to the future in this new environment with confidence – having achieved its third successive year of substantial positive growth and development in every key aspect of its portfolio. UCS is an inspiring and exciting place, with its stunning flagship Waterfront Campus in Ipswich, its fast rising academic quality and a fervent desire to continuously enhance its profile in teaching and learning, research and enterprise. As such, it is well placed to work positively with partners to contribute to initiatives of great importance to individuals, the local community and the wider society.

3annual review 2010/11

Staff and students from Keio University

n UCS received a very successful report about its academic quality from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in its audit of collaborative provision. In the report learning opportunities and academic standards for students at the University of Essex’s partner institutions, including UCS, were given the seal of approval.

n Richard Lister was appointed as Deputy Provost at UCS, a post which is responsible for five support areas: IT, Estates, Academic Services, Partnerships and Planning, and External Relations and Marketing.

Around UCS: News 2010-11

Paintings and drawings

by Gill Thomas Executive Master ClassOfficial opening of the James Hehir Building

n The UCS School of Nursing and Midwifery welcomed the tenth annual group visit from staff and students at Keio University, one of the top universities in Japan, as part of the on-going collaboration between the two institutions. The Japanese students learnt about the UK health system through lectures and tours of practice areas during their visit, supported by School partners, including Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust and the two local hospices.

n The Waterfront Gallery, on the ground floor of the Waterfront Building, opened with an exhibition of paintings and drawings by UCS alumni Gill Thomas, winner of the UCS ‘Invitation 2009’ Alumni Award.

n UCS and Ipswich Borough Council launched a programme of Executive Master Classes, designed to develop leadership, motivational and strategic skills in order to prepare for leadership roles in the public sector.

n Ipswich MP, Ben Gummer, presented a seminar as part of the UCS business outreach programme looking at the Coalition Government’s current economic strategy, implications for public and private sector employers and the challenges faced in achieving employee motivation and engagement in difficult commercial times.

Richard Lister

n A group of final year students at UCS worked together to successfully publish an anthology entitled ‘Baby Shoes’ consisting of 18 short stories written as part of their BA (Hons) English degree course. The book was funded by the UCS School of Arts and Humanities, which was registered as a publishing house.

n UCS lecturer Hannah Abbott was appointed Chair of the Education and Standards Committee of the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP). Hannah was approached to take up the role of Chair after leading a successful review of the CODP mentor standards.

n First year FdA Music Production students at UCS Bury St Edmunds took on the challenge of recording a 60 piece symphony orchestra, Suffolk Sinfonia’s first ever performance in the new Apex concert hall.

n The £22m James Hehir Building officially opened - providing specialist teaching facilities, a new Graduate School area for postgraduate research students, and the Student Union Bar Kai.

September 2010 November 2010 January 2011

October 2010 December 2010 February 2011

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Radiography

n A group of UCS Otley students took part in a 10-day study trip to the Mankwe wildlife reserve in South Africa to see a variety of conservation projects in action.

n UCS welcomed Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to the Ipswich Campus for a guided tour of the new biotechnology laboratories in the newly opened James Hehir Building. The Chancellor paid tribute to the developments at UCS during his visit and in particular highlighted the research being undertaken by UCS which he said was “the kind of new industry that is going to help drive the British economy forward.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer

George Osborne

n Two BA (Hons) Design students at UCS Lowestoft won recognition at the prestigious annual Bradford Textiles Student Awards which celebrate fashion and creativity in colleges and universities around the country.

n The UCS External Relations and Marketing team received the Highly Commended award for Marketing Department of the Year at the annual Heist Awards, which recognise and celebrate education marketing in the UK.

n Final year UCS MBA students participated in a highly successful residential study week in the USA where they undertook an assessed consultancy project for a leading edge, hi-tech company based just outside Boston, Massachusetts.

n Statistics published by HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, placed UCS in the top third of higher education institutions in terms of the number of graduates progressing to work or further study within six months of graduating.

n A delegation from UCS attended a reception at the Azerbaijan Embassy in London, as part of an on-going programme to develop relations between Ipswich and Azerbaijan. UCS is keen to expand these links to include not only its sporting ambitions, but also its educational interests in areas such as business, culture, energy, and tourism.

n Results from the annual National Student Survey (NSS) showed that three quarters of students were satisfied at UCS, with satisfaction for first degrees overall at UCS up by 8%. UCS’s BA (Hons) History degree scored 100% for student satisfaction, while the BSc (Hons) Radiography course scored 95% - putting it top in the country.

n UCS and UCS Union introduced a new Student Charter outlining what students can expect of UCS, as well as what is expected in return. The Charter is available to download from the UCS website at www.ucs.ac.uk/studentcharter

n Throughout the year UCS’s international team attended exhibitions and visited schools in countries from China and India to Azerbaijan and Turkey to increase the international diversity of the student body at UCS.

March 2011 July 2011May 2011 September 2011

June 2011April 2011 August 2011

5annual review 2010/11

People: Academic Expertise at UCS

2011 saw the appointment of 32 Visiting Professors and 20 Visiting Senior Fellows to University Campus Suffolk, alongside new substantive professorial appointments – including Professor David Weir as Head of the School of Business, Leadership and Enterprise and Professor David Gill as Head of Division of Humanities in the School of Arts and Humanities. These outstanding individuals bring a wide range of expertise to the five UCS Schools.

Substantive appointments

Professor David Gill Professor David Gill, who is Professor of Archaeological Heritage at UCS, was a former Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome and a Sir James Knott Fellow at the University of Newcastle. He was also previously a member of the Department of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, and Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at Swansea University, where he helped to establish the Egypt Centre that houses part of the Wellcome Egyptian collection. While at Swansea, Professor Gill also played a leading role in e-learning and was involved with several projects linked to Web 2.0 technologies and the digital humanities.

Professor Gill’s main field of research is the archaeology of the Greek world, covering the Greek east under the Roman Empire.

This includes a major research project on the material and intellectual consequences of contemporary collecting. He has been working on a major post-excavation project with the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University and his Sifting the Soil of Greece: the Early Years of the British School at Athens (1886-1919) (London: Institute of Classical Studies, 2011) was published to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the School.

Professor David Gill is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and, at the same time as being appointed to UCS in 2010/11, was informed that he will be the recipient of the 2012 Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Outstanding Public Service Award and the 2012 SAFE Beacon Award for his research on the international market in illicit antiquities.

Professor David WeirProfessor David Weir, who is Professor of Business and Enterprise at UCS, has enjoyed an extraordinarily successful academic career. Amongst other roles, he has been Head of the Bradford Management School, Glasgow University Business School, Newcastle Business School, and the Scottish Business School. In addition, he was a founding member and long-time Council Member of the British Academy of Management (BAM) and has been Chair of the UK Association of Business Schools.

Professor Weir is a highly regarded academic, with a distinguished international research and publication record, as well as being a regular presenter at major international conferences. His experience of

initiating the first part-time executive MBA in a university Business School in Britain, creating strong suites of national and international programmes for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and building a doctoral and staff publication tradition will be central to further development at UCS.

In addition, Professor Weir has extensive experience of widening participation and partnership work with regional economic development partners. He believes that the core of education in all societies is the contribution it can make to individual and social wellbeing and the future happiness, wellbeing and worth of the community. In his role at UCS he will be active in creating community projects and enterprise and small business development.

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Visiting Professors and Visiting Senior FellowsVisiting Professors and Visiting Senior Fellows contribute to research, enterprise, and teaching and learning within their specialised field, ranging from giving guest lectures and presentations and offering master classes to being part of external bids in research and enterprise. In this way they also help to enhance the academic profile of UCS regionally, nationally and internationally.

Visiting Senior Fellows• Dr John Blatchly - Visiting Senior Fellow in History • Dr Peter Bradley - Visiting Senior Fellow in Public Health • Assis Carreiro - Visiting Senior Fellow in Dance • Lord Cunliffe - Visiting Senior Fellow in the Arts • Margaret Exley - Visiting Senior Fellow in Governance and Enterprise Growth • Brian Grimwood - Visiting Senior Fellow in Graphic Design • Mark Harrison - Visiting Senior Fellow in Social Action • Dr David Heatley - Visiting Senior Fellow in Telemedicine • Hugh Ilyine - Visiting

Senior Fellow in Bioentrepenuership • Dr Eamonn McCabe - Visiting Senior Fellow in Photography • Dr Claudio Marelli - Visiting Senior Fellow in Medical Technology • Mark Parker - Visiting Senior Fellow in International Insurance Services • John Patman - Visiting Senior Fellow in Strategic Technology • John Peters - Visiting Senior Fellow in Management Consulting • Pat Rockall - Visiting Senior Fellow in Leadership for Change • Dr Nicolas Rolland - Visiting Senior

Fellow in Organisational Learning and Social Strategy • Carole Taylor-Brown - Visiting Senior Fellow in Organisational Development • Dr Keith Tovey - Visiting Senior Fellow in Environmental Technologies • Dr Lynne Wigens - Visiting Senior Fellow of Nursing • Charles Wilson - Visiting Senior Fellow in International Corporate Human Resource Development.

Visiting Professors

• Professor Judith Allsop - Visiting Professor of Social Policy • Professor John Ansell - Visiting Professor of Stem Cell Science • Professor Hugh Barr - Visiting Professor of Interprofessional Learning • Professor Duncan Bell - Visiting Professor of Medicine • Professor Hugh Bochel - Visiting Professor of Public Policy • Professor Alan Boyde - Visiting Professor of Skeletal Biology • Professor John Burgoyne - Visiting Professor of Management and Learning • Professor

Michael Calnan - Visiting Professor of Sociology • Professor Alexandra Carter - Visiting Professor of Dance • Professor Bob Cripps - Visiting Professor of Maritime Studies • Professor Julia Evetts - Visiting Professor of Sociology, School of Applied Social Sciences • Professor Dieter Felsenberg - Visiting Professor of Medicine • Professor Keith Grint - Visiting Professor of Leadership • Dr Ellen Kuhlmann - Visiting Professor of Social Policy • Professor Steve McKenna - Visiting Professor of Human Resource Management • Professor Tony McNulty • Professor Gerald Mars - Visiting Professor of Organisational Ethnography • Professor Blake Morrison - Visiting Professor of Literature • Professor Luiz Moutinho - Visiting Professor of Marketing • Professor Mike Neary - Visiting Professor of Teaching and Learning • Professor Phil Race - Visiting Professor of Educational Development • Dr Gerry Rayman - Visiting Professor of Diabetes Medicine • Chris Roberts - Visiting Professor of Orthopaedics • Dr Kathleen Sherry - Visiting Professor of Anaesthetics • Dr Catherine Speed - Visiting Professor of Sports Medicine • Professor JC

Spender - Visiting Professor of Strategic Knowledge Management • Professor Bill Tancred • Professor Sylvia Van de Bunt - Visiting Professor of Servant Leadership • Dr Ramachandran Venkitaraman - Visiting Professor of Oncology • Professor John Walton - Visiting Professor of History, School of Arts and Humanities • Dr Richard Watts - Visiting Professor of Rheumatology • Professor Jonathan Winterton - Visiting Professor of International Employment Relations

Professor Judith Allsop

Professor Blake Morrison

7annual review 2010/11

8

New Strategy, Structure and Identity for UCS

The last twelve months have seen huge changes at UCS. During 2010, the UCS Board approved a new strategy and structure for the institution, which was implemented in January 2011. This saw the introduction of five new Schools: Applied Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Business, Leadership and Enterprise, Nursing and Midwifery, and Science, Technology, and Health. The Schools are supported by the Offices of Academic Development and Research and Enterprise, as well as Academic Services, Estates, Information Technology, External Relations and Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, and Planning and Partnerships.

The changes to structure were implemented as part of a new Strategic Plan for UCS, which emerged as a result of wide consultation. The Strategic Plan positions UCS for the next five years of its development, and was based on a complementary and cooperative approach with the well-established and high profile Universities of East Anglia and Essex, in addition to a range of other partners.

The Strategic Plan has many dimensions. However, the headline vision is that by 2015 UCS will be a fully functioning, cohesive, student-centred higher education institution. Part of the core vision too is that its high quality and innovative teaching and learning focused on vocationally relevant areas will be cost effective and underpinned by selected nationally and internationally recognised research and scholarship.

Following the changes introduced earlier in academic year 2010/11, in March 2011 UCS introduced a completely new brand and identity, raising the profile of the institution within the new marketplace and preparing for the challenging higher education environment ahead. The new identity was an evolution of the already recognisable UCS brand and developed key messaging statements, alongside a new visual identity. The new brand identity is aspirational, highlighting where UCS is moving to rather than where it has come from. It was developed to be an identity that reflects UCS today and in the future.

Alongside the new brand, the website was also re-launched, again to be aspirational and highlight the areas that UCS is moving into more strongly - for example international markets and research and enterprise, while maintaining a significant focus on student life and the student experience which remains central to the UCS vision.

Campus Developments: Enhancing the Estate UCS Ipswich - All change on the WaterfrontThe £22m James Hehir Building officially opened in March 2011. Its specialist teaching facilities include clinical skills, physiology and sports science laboratories and many of these now help to facilitate the research and consultancy portfolio at UCS, providing a range of scientific support services. It also contains a new Graduate School area for postgraduate research students. In addition, the James Hehir Building is home to the UCS Union bar, Kai, and to the regional Eastern Enterprise Hub which occupies the top floor.

The Waterfront Auditorium, a brand new 200-seat lecture theatre, was developed in the Waterfront Building to facilitate teaching on the largest courses, as well as hosting national/international academic conferences and events. Quiet study zones and informal learning areas integrated with social spaces have also been introduced to complement those already available in the Library, giving students greater flexibility over how and where they choose to study.

Following major project development, the Infozone opened in the Waterfront Building as a single hub offering support to UCS students – and providing information to members of the public who may be considering entering higher education.

Theta, a new Student Union run café for students, staff and the public, and a newly renovated Gallery also opened on the Waterfront. In addition, Room 1, a café operated by Whitehouse Enterprises and supported by Suffolk County Council, came into operation in the Arts Building on the northern flank of the Ipswich campus.

Estates enhancements have also occurred around the UCS Learning Network, as illustrated by:

Developments at UCS Suffolk New CollegeDuring 2010/11 landscaping works and a major Goals sporting facility, partly supported by National Lottery funding, were completed at Suffolk New College, which – in tandem with developments at UCS – have created an attractive and cohesive Ipswich Educational Quarter.

The College has also developed a new Construction and Civil Engineering laboratory to enhance the learning opportunities for both Further and Higher Education students. It comprises specialist technical equipment for testing concrete and metals and the engineering properties of soil, as well as facilities for hydraulic testing.

Improvements at UCS Bury St EdmundsSuffolk House on the West Suffolk College site has been developed as the new focus of the delivery of higher education at UCS Bury St Edmunds. Work carried out over the summer – supported by UCS – gave the building an imposing facelift and modernised much of the interior. Edmund House was also refurbished to house the new Inspire Theatre and Music Production Foundation and Degree courses.

Changes to UCS Lowestoft Funding from UCS, the Local Strategic Partnership, the Skills Funding Agency and Lowestoft College enabled the modernisation of part of the Lowestoft St Peter’s Street campus. The engineering workshop has been brought in line with industry standards to create a leading centre for engineering in the region.

A Learning Resource Centre was also redeveloped into a modern, high technology environment for study and changes to the art and design departments are making facilities and staff expertise more accessible to students, offering a more seamless progression route to degree study.

James Hehir Building

The Infozone

The new Construction and Civil Engineering laboratory at UCS Suffolk New College

The new frontage at UCS Bury St Edmunds

Learning Resource Centre at UCS Lowestoft

9annual review 2010/11

More than 1,600 UCS students celebrated their successes in a series of ceremonies in Bury St Edmunds, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich and Lowestoft in the autumn. Professor Mike Saks, UCS Provost, opened the ceremonies and personally congratulated the graduates. The awards were conferred by representatives from the University of East Anglia and the University of Essex who jointly validate all UCS degrees.

This year, two Taiwanese students became the first international students to successfully complete the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) full-time programme in one year. This was a significant achievement in a second language, but highlights the growing international aspirations of UCS.

Each year, as part of the formality of graduation, UCS welcomes a number of notable individuals to the ceremonies to present them with Honorary Awards. In addition to a range of Honorary Fellows, including Celia Anderson, Terry Hunt, Dr Akmal Makhdum, Yvonne Mason and Nigel Pickover, the following Honorary Doctorates were awarded:t

Celebrating Success: Graduation 2011

Gary AvisGary Avis is widely recognised as a Ballet Master and Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet. Born in Ipswich, he began his career at the Linda Shipton School of Dance based in the town. On completing his studies he was awarded a contract to dance with the Royal Ballet Company in Japan and also spent two seasons dancing with the English National Ballet. In 2004 he returned to the Royal Ballet, where he has become a major figure.

A leading dance actor of his generation, Gary has performed at many of the great opera houses around the world and continues to perform an incredible variety of the most demanding roles in the Royal Ballet repertory. With an international career now in its twenty-second year, he has created roles for, and worked with, many of the world’s greatest choreographers, although he is perhaps most widely known for his award winning partnership with the great British Prima Ballerina, Darcey Bussell.

June BrownJune Brown MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders. June was born in Needham Market, Suffolk before being evacuated to Wales during World War II. During the later years of the war she served in the Wrens (Royal Navy) and was classically trained at the Old Vic Theatre School.

June’s career first kicked off over 40 years ago with the TV drama The Buried Man and she has since starred in film and television productions including Doctor Who, Minder, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Sweeney and Bean. She has also been active in British theatre, both as a director and an actor. After an eight-year stint on EastEnders starting in 1985, June returned to the soap for her latest run in 1997, and received a Lifetime Achievement award at the British Soap Awards in 2005.

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annual review 2010/11 11

Simon CleggSimon Clegg is Chief Executive of Ipswich Town Football Club and one of the country’s most experienced sports leaders, with a career spanning more than twenty-five years. In 1997 he became the first Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, stating that one of his long term goals was to see the Olympic Games in the UK before he retired. After managing British athletes at twelve Olympic and Winter Olympic Games, Simon went on to lead the national campaign to persuade the Government to support a bid by London for the 2012 Olympic Games. He was a Board Director of the Bid Committee when London was awarded the Games in 2005.

Simon established the target of 4th place in the 2012 Olympic medals table at an early stage and he proudly led Team GB to achieve that goal four years early in Beijing, which is widely acknowledged as the best British team performance for one hundred years since the London Olympics in 1908. He was awarded an OBE in 2001, a CBE in 2005 and in 2008 he received the British Sports Journalist’s JL Manning Award for outstanding contribution to sport off the field of play.

William KendallWilliam Kendall is an environmentalist, entrepreneur and Suffolk organic farmer. He enjoyed a distinguished education in the fields of Law and Business and worked as a barrister and investment banker, as well as an army officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment, before becoming Managing Director of the embryonic New Covent Garden Soup Company. He led the company for nine years before selling it and subsequently led the acquisition of Green and Black’s chocolate firm, which he and partners later sold to Cadburys in 2005.

William comes from an East Anglian farming family and he and his wife farm organically in Suffolk today. He is a campaigner for better and more locally produced food and is actively involved with a number of charities, mainly connected with the environment and the arts. He writes and lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship in business. He is a Director of the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival and Aldeburgh Music. He was Convenor of David Cameron’s Quality of Life Commission on food when he was Leader of the Opposition and is Deputy Lieutenant for Suffolk.

Research at UCS

Research is central to the new UCS Strategy and is carried out primarily through the academic Schools at UCS, with the support of the Office of Research and Enterprise. Research at UCS is focused on translational, high impact research, much of which is centred on themes that reflect the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of our research activities.

Such research at UCS is broad ranging - spanning from business and enterprise and the arts and humanities to health and social care and biotechnology. Here academic staff are widely published in specialised fields, make national/international conference presentations and have attracted significant research grants from bodies including Research Councils, Government and private industry.

UCS is committed to building research excellence by focusing on selective areas of research strength - and the associated growth of our postgraduate research (PGR) community. Aside from new research-based appointments at all levels of UCS and the research development of existing staff, the year has seen a number of changes that have greatly benefited this important area from an organisational perspective.

Expanding the Office of Research and EnterpriseIn order to support research activity at UCS, the Office of Research and Enterprise has appointed further research administrators to provide professional and expert advice to the academic community at UCS on all aspects of funding and administration of research projects. This also involves support for the organisation of national and international conferences and drawing on established research advice at our partner Universities of East Anglia and Essex.

Establishing a Graduate SchoolThe creation of a Graduate School area in the James Hehir Building provides a focus for not only postgraduate study, but also additional support for the professional, personal and career development of PGR students. Run by the Office of Research and Enterprise, led by Dr Penny Cavenagh, the Graduate School is central to the organisation and management of PGR students, including establishing protocols and policy.

The Graduate School monitors PGR students in terms of progression and appeals, as well as organising Examination Boards. It also hosts events, workshops and

activities to enhance the postgraduate learning experience. These encourage interaction between students of different academic disciplines and create a vibrant and supportive postgraduate community.

Postgraduate Research DegreesThis year has seen the introduction into the UCS portfolio of the degrees of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). PGR students enrol at UCS, but register for their award at either the University of East Anglia or the University of Essex depending on subject cognacy, receiving awards and additional support from the respective University.

For further information see www.ucs.ac.uk/research

Dr Penny Cavenagh

The Graduate School at UCS

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Partnerships and the Local Community

Widening participation in higher education across SuffolkEarlier in the year, the Government announced that the Aimhigher initiative would cease to operate from July 2011. The programme, which was particularly focused on schools with students from lower socio-economic groups and disadvantaged backgrounds, was established to encourage progression to higher education. Aimhigher Suffolk encompassed a wide range of activities to engage and motivate school and college students who had the potential to enter higher education but were underachieving, undecided or lacking in confidence.

As part of UCS’s commitment to the local community, some of the previous Aimhigher Suffolk activity has continued, in addition to developing new initiatives such as the Suffolk Access Champion Scheme, which allows eligible students to receive a substantial fee waiver for running mentoring schemes with Year 10 students in their former High School. Other outreach activities include Family Awareness Days, summer schools and participation in initiatives such as World of Work Day.

New health and wellbeing research roleUCS partnered with Ipswich Borough Council to create a role to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the town. Together, the two organisations funded a research post to oversee a new strategy designed to tackle inequalities in health between affluent areas and deprived neighbourhoods – ranging from teenage pregnancy and childhood obesity to mortality rates.

Showcasing celebrated artistsUCS worked in conjunction with Colchester and Ipswich Museums and the Ipswich Art School Gallery to present ‘Class Of...’, two exhibitions that brought together the work of those who taught and studied at the Ipswich Art School, including notable artists such as Maggi Hambling, Colin Moss, Brian Eno and Leonard Squirrell, as well as UCS students today. The two exhibitions ran concurrently at the Ipswich Art School Gallery and the UCS Waterfront Gallery.

Leap goes from strength to strengthLeap, a co-ordinated approach to education, skills and training opportunities in Suffolk, is a strong collaboration of strategic partners and education providers – including UCS, Suffolk County Council, West Suffolk College,

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and voluntary sector organisations. Leap makes access to education and skills as local as possible in a largely rural county through 14 Leap Centres and approximately 100 Leap Points. It assists in raising aspirations and delivers community support to counter the barriers to education and employment.

Over the past year, Leap has run various events and activities to increase its reach and effect in local communities – for example, hosting regular open days and attending events such as the Suffolk Show, the Ipswich Maritime Festival and the Lowestoft Air Show. In May Leap joined with the Suffolk Partnership for Informal Adult Learning to organise the first Suffolk Learner of the Year Awards. The ceremony, held at UCS, demonstrated how adult learning transforms lives. As such, Leap has shown what can be achieved through partnership working. From August 2007 to March 2011, Leap helped over 57,000 people, either by phone or visits to one of its Leap Centres and Points across the county.

UCS was established to benefit the community and, as such, it is important that we continue to develop our local community engagement work. For UCS this means engaging in different activities, from educational outreach work to hosting public events such as the Christmas Fayre, running a small grants programme, and making our facilities available to local groups.

Launch of the Suffolk Access Champion Scheme

UCS Summer School

13annual review 2010/11

Financial Summary 2010-11

During 2010/11 UCS generated an accounting surplus of £2.3m. The net cash inflow from operating activities was £5.1m and net cash outflow from capital expenditure was £4.1m. A new loan facility of £8m was drawn in the year to support the capital programme. Year-end cash balances increased to £9.5m.

Since it began its operations in 2008/09,

UCS has consistently delivered year-on-

year growth in its HEFCE-funded student

numbers. This trend continued in 2010/11

with 2,887 full time equivalents (FTEs),

representing an increase of 9% over

2009/10. Further growth to 2,997 FTEs is

forecast in 2011/12, which is the limit of

UCS’s current HEFCE contract.

UCS also continued to successfully deliver its contracted student numbers within the East of England Strategic Health Authority contracts, which cover both pre-registration and post-registration education and training. The two UCS health Schools also secured additional funding to meet the demand for courses outside of the main contracts, such as Specialist Community Public Health Nursing and a Foundation degree in Healthcare Practice.

The effects of this funding together with other funding streams brought the total number of students at UCS in 2010/11 to 4,223 FTEs which amounts to 5,147 students as a whole.

The proportion of total funding generated from the following sources of income (2009/10 proportions in brackets) is as set out below:

HEFCE contract

Strategic Health Authority

contracts

Tuition Fee

Other Income

HEFCE contract 40% (41%)

Strategic Health Authority contracts 22% (22%)

Tuition Fee 28% (26%)

Other Income 10% (11%)

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The increase in the proportion of tuition fee

income from 26% to 28% is the consequence

of UCS’s increasing student population, with

a particular factor being a higher proportion of

full-time students.

UCS’s total balance sheet funds increased

to £53.84m, principally as a result of the

operating surplus generated in the year and

the net actuarial gains on UCS’s share of the

assets and liabilities of the Local Government

Pension Scheme.

The year saw the completion of the second

phase of UCS’s capital programme. This

included the opening of the James Hehir Building

on the Ipswich Waterfront which provides a

range of specialist facilities. The UCS Board

also approved capital projects totalling £2.8m

to develop higher education facilities within

the wider Learning Network at West Suffolk

College and Lowestoft College. Both projects

commenced in the summer of 2011.

Looking forward, UCS has budgeted for an

operational surplus in 2011/12. This is in

addition to planned capital investment of £1.6m

on the Ipswich campus and £2.8m in the

Learning Network.

The Government’s White Paper Higher

Education: Students at the Heart of the System

proposes a number of fundamental changes

to the future funding of universities. Whilst

it is difficult to predict the full impact of the

Government’s planned approach, the broad

objectives outlined in the White Paper, such as

improving the student experience and increasing

social mobility, are closely aligned to UCS’s

own strategies. In addition, UCS considers itself

well placed to participate in the process for

applying for additional student numbers under

the proposed ‘core and margin’ method for the

allocation of Government-funded places.

2010/11 £000

2009/10 £000

Funding

Funding body grants 14,826 14,215

Tuition fees and education contracts 18,528 16,887

Other funding sources 3,912 3,729

Total funding 37,266 34,831

Total costs 34,942 33,201

Surplus/(deficit) for the financial year 2,324 1,630

Total balance sheet funds 53,842 52,162

Student funding numbers (FTE)

HEFCE 3,323.37

Health 854.04

Other 46.22

Total 4,223.63

Student numbers by age (FTE)

Under 25 at start of academic year 2,247.05

Over 25 at start of the academic year 1,976.58

Total 4,223.63

Student numbers by mode of attendance (FTE)

Full-time 3,342.68

Part-time 880.95

Total 4,223.63

Student numbers by gender (FTE)

Male 1,329.06

Female 2,894.57

Total 4,223.63

15annual review 2010/11

University Campus Suffolk

Waterfront Building

Neptune Quay

Ipswich IP4 1QJ

Tel: 01473 338000

Email: info@ucs.ac.uk

www.ucs.ac.uk

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