Universities Scotland

A new initiative announced today Monday 6 May will see universities and business organisations in Scotland team up to support and encourage graduate employability in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Universities Scotland, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, student organisations and others will work together on a joint campaign which will promote SMEs as a positive career destination to graduates as well as promoting to businesses the added value that graduates can bring to SMEs.

The initiative is one of 22 recommendations in a report, Taking Pride in the Job, published by Universities Scotland. The report responds to the Scottish Government's call for an "all Scotland" approach to youth unemployment and follows a year-long programme of engagement with businesses, students and others.

University engagement with SMEs was made the centre of one of eight chapters in the report as SMEs are central to Scotland's economy. Consultation with stakeholders during the report's development uncovered real and perceived barriers that could be preventing higher levels of graduate employment within SMEs. The report finds that there are opportunities for SMEs and graduates which are not yet fully realised. Unlocking these opportunities will develop the ability for graduates to make an impact at SMEs and SMEs' ability to gain from graduates' subject specific skills and transferrable attributes. SMEs are responsible for 54 per cent of Scotland's private sector employment, so it is important that these opportunities are made clear to both parties - particularly at a time when the labour market is challenging for young people and small businesses alike. In response, Universities Scotland will work with the representative bodies of small and medium sized businesses, students and university careers staff to develop a campaign focussed at both current students and SMEs with a view to encouraging greater levels of graduate recruitment by SMEs.

Universities Scotland welcomes the draft publication of a new code of good governance for Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions today [16 April], describing it as a progressive code which would set Scotland’s universities at the leading edge of accountable governance amongst all of Europe.

Key measures within the new draft code include:

• New measures to provide greater transparency in decisions relating to the remuneration of the Principal.
• New measures for greater staff and student involvement in the formal appraisal of the Principal.
• A new requirement to include goals for greater diversity of the governing body membership and regular monitoring of progress towards such goals.
• The creation of a new role in university governance of Vice Chair with particular responsibility for assessing the Chair’s performance.
• A requirement for the constitution of a nominations committee for the appointment of lay members of the governing body and selection of the Chair to ensure staff and student engagement.
• A new requirement that vacancies for independent or lay members of university governing bodies are advertised externally. The recruitment process must address issues of equality and diversity and should involve a skills register to assist in identifying the skills needs of the institution.
• Clear responsibilities for the Chair to protect discussions at the governing body from dominance by senior management.
• Affirmation of the importance of university autonomy
• Renewed commitment to the importance of academic freedom  

Taken collectively, the measures proposed in the new code represent a significant step forward in university transparency, inclusion and accountability to stakeholders, building on what is already recognised as a solid basis of university governance.

The code remains a draft at this stage as it enters a final consultation phase lasting eight weeks. Following stakeholder consultation the code is expected to be finalised and implemented in time for the new academic year which formally starts 1 August 2013.

The code can be downloaded from the official website at: www.scottishuniversitygovernance.ac.uk

You can download the full Universities Scotland press release here.

Widening access beyond socio-economic status

Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland said:

"Universities take a broad approach to widening access which focuses on addressing under-representation of all kinds including the participation of students with disabilities and care leavers alongside those from less advantage socio-economic groups.  Universities will continue to approach their role in widening access on this broad understanding, an approach which is evident in universities' intentions as laid out in their outcome agreements on access"

The Post-16 Education (Scotland) Bill makes reference to outcome agreements on access negotiated between the Funding Council and universities.  Such outcome agreements are already in existence for academic year 2012/13.  Universities' broad approach to widening access of under-represented groups is reflected in each institution's individual published outcome agreement, and the majority of universities have provisions relating to improving access based on a range of socio-economic indicators including care leavers and those with disabilities.

Universities are monitored annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) using Performance Indicators which provide comparative data on the performance of institutions in widening access.

Widening access: HESA Performance Indicators fail to capture universities' significant step-up on access over the last year

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has today, Wednesday 21 March, published a data set of performance indicators for entrants to university from state schools and from social classes NS-SEC 4,5,6 and 7 in academic year 201/12. However, the time-lag on today's data means that it cannot record the impact of a range of significant actions taken by universities and the Scottish Government over the last year to widen access to disadvantaged students.

Since 2011/12 every university in Scotland has signed up to an outcome agreement on access including targets for progress. Additionally, the Scottish Government has funded an additional 700 places at university which are to be ring-fenced for students from the poorest neighborhoods (as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation's lowest two quintiles - SIMD40). Universities are currently recruiting to fill these places and will see more students enter university in academic year 2013/14 from a broader range of backgrounds.

Commenting on today's figures, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland said:

"The inevitable time-lag on the data means that today's figures don't yet reflect the major action to widen access that universities have taken over the last year. Every university has publicly committed to doing so and has developed an outcome agreement including goals for progress. Universities are also working hard to recruit to 700 additional places which have been set aside for students from the poorest neighborhoods and which we hope to see on university campuses from the autumn onwards.

"We can project that the impact of the additional access places is likely to mean as much as a 15 per cent increase in university students from the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland, but frustratingly this won't show up in the figures for another two years.

"Universities have been working to widen access for years in partnership with schools and colleges. There must be a collective effort to raise aspiration and attainment of young people, from the earliest years onwards, if we're to bring about a significant change in the profile of students at university."

Today, Wednesday 6 March, universities in Scotland and South Korea will sign a memorandum of understanding to foster closer academic ties between the two countries. The formal agreement is to be signed by the representative bodies of universities in both countries; Universities Scotland and the Korean Council for University Education at an event hosted by the University of Edinburgh.

This collaboration between Universities Scotland and the Korean Council for University Education builds on the success of past visits to Scotland by two delegations from South Korea in 2011 and 2012 to explore avenues of cooperation in student mobility, dual degrees and joint research. There is a significant amount of complementarity between Korea and Scotland's research strengths with pockets of excellence in geo-sciences, material sciences, engineering and electronics to name a few key areas.

Speaking at the event, Professor Pete Downes, Covener, Universities Scotland said:

"Engagement between our two organisations through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding is a welcome step in furthering closer academic ties between Scotland and Korea. It will help the sector continue to develop partnerships and collaborative research between individual universities in Scotland and Korea, as well as through Scotland's highly regarded research pools in areas such as Energy, Engineering, Economics, Education, Life Sciences, Science and Social science."