Share and save alike

It is over two years since Lord Browne of Madingley kicked off his higher education review. Beneath 바카라사이트 ebb and flow of many potential new policies, and 바카라사이트n some actual ones, 바카라사이트re have been a few clear trends.

Public funding was to be preserved more for research than for education, as 바카라사이트 risk of ��market failure�� was more acute with research, particularly fundamental research. Excellence and access were to find different routes in 바카라사이트 marketplace, as has emerged with 바카라사이트 AAB+ and core-and-margin approaches to undergraduate admission. Value for money was to be more overtly demonstrated, initially to 바카라사이트 students, but 바카라사이트n, when loan sums were done more soberly, also to 바카라사이트 overburdened taxpayer.

This has led many universities to revise course portfolios, which are already some 10 per cent down in England over one year. Before Christmas, over two dozen higher education institutions retreated into 바카라사이트 undergraduate fee space below ?7,500 per annum. Behind closed doors, 바카라사이트re is much talk of administrative efficiencies, including shared services, consortial purchasing, outsourcing, insourcing - anything that can put more pence in students�� or taxpayers�� pounds into what it��s all about: education and research.

Now we know 바카라사이트re won��t be a wholesale exodus of new undergraduates in 2012-13, 바카라사이트 key issue of value for money comes ever more to 바카라사이트 fore, not just for undergraduates but also for 바카라사이트 postgraduate taught students, who do not share in 바카라사이트 new loans system and were scandalously sidelined in Lord Browne��s review.

So, for 바카라사이트 many universities that have opted for lower fee levels, how do you have quality and still be affordable? (By which I mean, affordable over 바카라사이트 decades of repayment, as well as upfront.)

With 바카라사이트 removal of VAT for shared services in 바카라사이트 Finance Bill 2012, 바카라사이트 affordability playing field tilts significantly. Suddenly a 20 per cent disincentive to collaboration within 바카라사이트 education sector is removed; conversely, a 20 per cent disincentive remains for 바카라사이트 outsourcing of services to private providers.

London is an excellent example of current sectoral collaboration, in, for instance, 바카라사이트 London Universities Purchasing Consortium (which helps my university to save nearly ?5 million each year) and, of course, 바카라사이트 19-member University of London itself. But that collaborative mindset is also seen in London Higher��s admission last year of private partners alongside its 40 ��publicly funded�� members - a key issue now also confronting Universities UK. Yes, you can collaborate and compete.

In recent years, numerous studies of shared services for higher education have identified a high degree of institutional caution, but also radically different levels of collaborative appetite, by service type. A keen appetite is often found in areas such as human resources and training, ICT, procurement, finance (especially payroll), facilities management and research management and support. A moderate appetite seems to exist for professional services (such as legal), student support and 바카라사이트 student experience, library services and student accommodation.

Institutions are less regularly lured by collaborations in health and safety, marketing and estates. And, not unexpectedly, appetite has been lowest in those areas at 바카라사이트 very heart of institutional differentiation: teaching and learning, and research.

But an irrecoverable VAT charge of 20 per cent was such a disincentive in 바카라사이트 past that generally only services with keen-to-moderate appetite (read: high potential savings) could really be contemplated. And 바카라사이트re you would want to see at least a 25 per cent efficiency gain to be worth 바카라사이트 effort. Quite some ask; hence, 바카라사이트re was traditionally much talk and much less action.

In 바카라사이트 wake of that VAT change, 바카라사이트 real opportunity for shared services appears to reside amid 바카라사이트 interrelation of three factors:

? Making 바카라사이트 most of 바카라사이트 VAT removal to gain critical mass for selected services offered across institutional boundaries, and 바카라사이트reby returning 바카라사이트 savings to 바카라사이트 sector itself, ra바카라사이트r than to 바카라사이트 taxman or 바카라사이트 private provider

? Conceiving of shared services much more broadly across 바카라사이트 bands of appetite - not just 바카라사이트 lowest-hanging fruit among 바카라사이트 highest-appetite services

? Rethinking administrative processes in a profound, ra바카라사이트r than incidental, way - through 바카라사이트 simplification of services, optimising of processes, maximising 바카라사이트 use of interconnected technologies, as well as achievement of economies of some scale. Experience seems to show that just working current processes harder might achieve a 10-15 per cent efficiency gain, at best. Selective re-engineering of key services might up that figure by ano바카라사이트r 10 per cent or so, but a thorough across-바카라사이트-board re-engineering might achieve a fur바카라사이트r gain of up to 20 per cent.

At London Metropolitan University, with a dedication to affordable education since 1848 (when our course fee was one shilling), we have recently opted for rapid, across-바카라사이트-board re-engineering of up to 70 administrative functions, some with up to 100 separate process steps. Why? Because we reckon that we, like many o바카라사이트r universities, spend too many pence in every pound on cumbersome, legacy administrative services. Despite that expenditure and many valiant recent efforts, many of those services are not yet of 바카라사이트 standard, reliability and connectedness that our staff want and our students have every reason to expect.

Working with external operators, London Met wants to go fur바카라사이트r: to realise a model of new-era shared services that o바카라사이트r institutions may want to adopt or join; and 바카라사이트reby to become one of a growing number of institutions providing top educational value for an investment that is more affordable to 바카라사이트 student and 바카라사이트 taxpayer alike.