Independent THE March 2009 Graduation 2009 UBAA University of Buckingham Alumni Association Launch pullout Swan Ball The Rt. Hon. Frank Field, MP Andreas Widmer Honorary Graduate Barbara Shenfield Award Winner The University honoured Mr Frank Field, a Labour MP, “I feel honored with a strong sense of independence, who was delighted to be this years’ to accept a degree from the only independent university in receiver of the Britain. In his speech he said: “Buckingham has relit the Dame Barbara moral candle for universities.” Shenfield Award. My post-graduate The other Honorary Graduates were, Sir Martin Evans, Admiral Sir John studies at the Brigstocke and Sir Sydney Kenridge (pictured front page). University of Buckingham were both challenging and inspiring, and I would like to express my Philip Mueller sincere appreciation to my lecturers and Edgar Palamountain Award Winner fellow students who all contributed to this great experience. Especially the small group “When I was informed that I had won the Edgar based tutorials and the accessibility of Palamountain Award for Excellence, my reaction was lecturers provided me with the ideal both delight and surprise. Of course I was delighted but I platform to further expand my knowledge, was also very surprised because I had not expected to win taking the latest findings from academic the award. It is a great honour to be judged to be primus research into account.” inter pares.” 2 Quality Assurance From the early 1980s, following the academic standards.” We wished to appeal bed-ridden patients who were desperate to elections of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald but under the QAA conventions “limited go to the toilet simply to “go in your beds.” Reagan, the Western world embraced confidence” counts as a good finding ‘supply side’ economics. This was based on (“limited confidence” amounts, officially, to The university sector in the UK has been certain economic theories including ‘rational nothing more problematical than friendly hugely supportive since our fall-out with expectations’ and the ‘efficient market’ advice) and it cannot be challenged by QAA. UUK (the vice chancellors’ trade hypothesis. Consequently, regulation external appeal. I therefore went public with union) has asked me to join the committee became a dirty word and only ‘light-touch’ the facts. that oversees its relationship with QAA, and regulation was fostered. But the last 18 I have also been asked to join the months have exposed the flaws in light- As you will see from our Wikipedia entry, on management committee of the Parliamentary touch regulation. the day of its publication I wrote an article Universities Group (where parliamentarians in the Times Higher exposing the failings of and vice chancellors address key issues in So we saw how the Financial Services the QAA report. The next week the Times higher education.) And the Times Higher’s Authority in Britain failed to monitor our Higher wrote its own article exposing further view is encapsulated by this cartoon. banks, and we saw in America how the inadequacies in the QAA report. I then wrote Securities Exchange Commission failed to two more articles, in the Guardian, attacking monitor Madoff and its own banks, and we the QAA’s methodology in general, and all saw in Haringey, in North London, how the these articles, together with the QAA’s regulatory body Ofsted gave top marks to the CEO’s surprisingly inadequate responses, Child Protection Services even as they are on the Wikipedia site. allowed babies like Baby P to die. Now we too, at Buckingham, have been touched by To be criticised for the inadequate failures of light-touch government management of academic standards when regulation, but we are pioneering the we are the British university that has least response of the British universities to this produced degree inflation is an outrage. But problem. the use of the phrase ‘management’ of standards is the QAA’s way of saying that of As everyone knows, we chose voluntarily to course there is nothing wrong with our be inspected by the government’s Quality academic standards but that we focus too Reproduced from the Times Higher 16th October 2008 Assurance Agency (QAA) because we had much on doing a good job for the students Buckingham was created to resist nothing to hide and everything of which to and too little on the bureaucracy of recording government damage, and our dissection of boast. But it transpires that the QAA itself what we do. Really! the QAA’s faults was our proudest had a lot to hide. First, its inspection regime achievement of 2008. was beyond parody: its auditors did not visit Before 1992, universities were judged on a single classroom, examination hall or outcome, and organisations such as the Our strategy is therefore two-fold. First, we laboratory; they just holed up in one room in Council for National Academic Awards will navigate this particular audit. We will create seven new committees to produce the paperwork the QAA currently requires, to Buckingham was created to resist government damage, ensure we will shortly receive the full and our dissection of the QAA’s faults was our proudest confidence of that organisation. But achievement of 2008. simultaneously we are working with UUK and with government ministers to reform Istra cottages and - throughout five working guaranteed the quality of degrees. But in QAA. We are therefore engaged at the days - never once left it. All they did was 1992 the government created the precursor national level to help construct the new read the minutes of selected committees and body of the QAA, which was captured by the regulatory framework for higher education hold stilted interviews with selected people. sector as a very light-touch regulator indeed. in Britain, which will focus on outcome, not It measures only bureaucracy, not outcome, on bureaucracy. Moreover, the five auditors were not because bureaucracy can be easily qualified to judge a university because not constructed whereas outcome depends on I thank everyone who has helped with QAA one of them held a PhD. Although one could true quality and is thus hard to achieve. - their help has been crucial and truly never judge a particular person by a invaluable - and indeed I thank the QAA particular qualification, yet - of a group of But Buckingham is the converse of an itself: regulation is a national dialogue, the five university auditors - at least four should organisation like Maidstone NHS Trust. people at the QAA mean well, and we and hold the entry qualification into the Consider that Trust: it had every bureaucratic other universities are now engaged in the profession of academic, namely the PhD. box ticked (it has a Racial Equality Policy, a necessary dialogue to help them do their job Disability Equality Policy, a Gender Equality better. Despite these inadequacies the QAA then Policy etc) yet it allowed over 90 patients to issued a report providing only “limited die from C Difficile because it would not confidence in [our] management of actually empty their bed pans; its nurses told 3 Editors News Association (UBAA) was the initiative of prouder to serve such a dedicated group of the alumni, for the alumni and run by the alumni and I can’t believe there are other alumni, with the support of the Alumni groups as dedicated as Buckingham Office. Since early last year we began graduates. working on the formation of UBAA, with the help of 18 volunteers from the alumni There will be other events this year as well body. and please look out for news of the London Summer Party on 9th June and the London The enthusiasm, ideas, meetings, plans and Annual Dinner which will this year be held downright hard work from all of the at the House of Lords on 7th May. Details Steering Committee is now about to can be obtained from Sarah Rush in the culminate in the launch of UBAA here at Development Office (sarah.rush@ Buckingham on 24/25/26 April. I will not buckingham.ac.uk). For those who have say more, as you will read about the events most kindly given to the Alumni Annual and how to register to attend (see centre Fund, you will shortly be receiving your Anne Matsuoka spread) and you will also hear from Tino invitations to the Tea Party at the House of Sarantis, Chair of the Steering Committee. Lords in May. I just want to thank all of you who have I very much hope to see you at one, or all, of UBAA launch contributed over the years and particularly these events and to working ever more over this last year, whether it be from far or closely with you all. This year will rank as one of the most near, to help create this group that will grow Anne Matsuoka exciting, and nerve-wracking, years I will the reputation of your university and bring PR/Alumni Relations Officer have spent working in the Alumni Office! us all closer together. You will have all the [email protected] help and support you could wish for from Tel: +44 (0)1280 820338 The University of Buckingham Alumni us in the Alumni Office. I could not be www.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet/ During the refurbishment State of the art equipment Fitness Centre gets facelift Thanks to the gift of an anonymous alumnus, the Tanlaw Mill Fitness Centre underwent a complete refurbishment during December. It now extends the full width of the Tanlaw Mill to give more floor space and natural light. The old equipment has now been replaced by the latest range of cardiovascular equipment and the innovative range of Human Sport cable resistance stations manufactured by Star Trac.