Statement by the President of University College Dublin, Dr Art Cosgrove to the Public Accounts Committee
Thursday 16, November 2000

The Report from the Comptroller & Auditor General is based on information provided by the University. In the context of the Report from the C&AG I would like to mention two developments � the growth in demand for continuing education or what is now popularly termed Life Long Learning and the increasing internationalisation of universities, which means that an institution like UCD must aspire to be a player on the world stage.

Since many of those who are interested in continuing education are in employment and cannot attend on a full-time basis, courses must be provided in a way that allows them to combine study with continuance in employment. Thus we provide a Bachelor of Arts modular degree in the evening, and courses for updating professional and business skills are offered on a part-time basis with evening or week-end involvement, and last week we had our first graduates in the Bachelor of Business Studies degree in Trade Union Studies.

We have also expanded our role in international education, particularly in the Faculties of Medicine and Commerce. Last May the Minister for Education and Science and the Secretary General of the Department attended the formal opening of the Medical College in Penang, Malaysia. This is a joint venture between University College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland under which medical students spend the first three years studying in Ireland and complete their medical training at the college in Penang. They then receive degrees from the National University of Ireland and licentiates from RCSI.

The Faculty of Commerce also conducts a number of overseas programmes, again mainly in Asia. In undertaking such ventures we were following the example of many universities in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These courses allowed staff to gain valuable experience abroad and established contacts in Asia beneficial to the university and, indeed, to the country since they were in line with the Asia strategy adopted by the government. In his speech last June on the occasion of the state visit of the Prime Minister of Singapore, the Taoiseach expressed his satisfaction that the education links between Ireland and Singapore were �being maintained by our universities�. The courses in Medicine and Commerce also gained considerable revenue for the university.

A number of these courses at home and abroad have been provided through a subsidiary company, Advanced Management Programmes UCD Ltd (AMP Ltd).

The reason why my predecessor adopted the vehicle of a subsidiary company in 1993 was to lessen any risk to the university should the venture prove unprofitable. In fact, AMP Ltd has operated very successfully, has made substantial surpluses and has given the taxpayer and state great value for money.

Payments to staff have traditionally been made for additional work such as examination correction and invigilation, the BA modular degree, Adult Education programmes and courses under the aegis of the University Industry Programme (UIP). Academic staff also received payment for the additional work undertaken for courses run by AMP Ltd. All payments made by AMP Ltd were properly subjected to PAYE/PRSI, a fact confirmed by a recent revenue audit.

As the volume of activity grew in AMP Ltd the Finance Committee of the University, under my chairmanship, sought a detailed review of its operations. A report was commissioned from the auditors to the Company, Chapman Flood Mazars, Chartered Accountants. The resulting report was discussed in detail with the C&AG.

Arising therefrom it was decided to make all additional payments subject to the approval of the Finance Committee once it had been informed by the appropriate head of department that the payment was for work outside normal duties. In taking this approach we were cognoscent, not only of that particular report but also of a recent European Commission report on increasing Lifelong Learning in European Higher Education. This latter report recommended that universities should lay down "financial rules making clear ... what is included in the normal workload of staff and what rewards they should receive for additional work.".

With regard to overseas courses, a Dean of International Affairs was appointed to take responsibility for all such courses and a code of conduct to govern such courses, drawn up by him, was approved by the Governing Authority in March 2000.

There is no indication that the involvement of the Graduate Business School and the Faculty of Commerce in these courses at home and abroad has done any damage to its reputation. Indeed, all the evidence is to the contrary. In 1999 in the Financial Times survey of Business Schools world-wide, the Graduate Business School was ranked ninth in Europe for Top Business Schools and first in the world for Return on Investment for MBA graduates. More recently, the Faculty of Commerce as a whole was given international accreditation by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) organisation, the quality assurance arm of the European Foundation for Management Development, the only Faculty of Commerce in Ireland to receive such an accolade.

In keeping with the trend for greater transparency in the business and commercial community in Ireland, the governance of higher education establishments is evolving and taking shape. The Universities Act, 1997 was a significant step forward in that evolution. I welcome the developments which have taken place to date and I look forward to continuing the work with the Higher Education Authority and the C&AG to ensure that UCD plays its full part as this important evolution continues.

Issued by the Office of Public Affairs, UCD.

16 November 2000



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