There have been a number of recent developments that have raised the profile of our involvement with the British University in Egypt and I have decided that it would be helpful to update Senate about the current position

SENATE

Subject: British University in Egypt

Origin: EMG

Background

There have been a number of recent developments concerning our role in the development of the British University in Egypt that we would like to discuss with Senate.

In summary:

Loughborough University has been providing consultancy to the team developing the academic programme at BUE for the last three years.

During that time, BUE have

Secured financial support
Secured political support from the British and Egyptian Governments
developed their site just outside Cairo,
appointed academic and administrative staff and
are due to take their first intake of undergraduate students for the academic year 06-07

Current Proposal

We have now been invited to enter discussions leading to a formal partnership in which Loughborough University would accredit BUE’s undergraduate programmes.

Preliminary discussions have been held with Heads of Departments that are most likely to play a role in the proposed accreditation and we plan to establish a project group to determine the scope of the task and the resources that would be required to effect a successful accreditation procedure.

It is proposed that this group should be chaired by Professor Morag Bell PVC(T),and include, Dr Jennifer Nutkins, Prof Terry Kavanagh, and Prof Chris Backhouse, as well as interested Heads of Departments.

Senate is asked to consider the proposal and to comment on the proposed membership of the Project team.

The attached paper provides an outline summary of our recent understanding of BUE’s expectations and the results of an initial conversation between ourselves and their administrative team.

S Pearce

February 2006

Copyright © Loughborough University. All rights reserved.
British University in Egypt – Potential Partnership with Loughborough

The following is based on two conference call discussions with Nick McHard (BUE Registrar), Lynn Tully (BUE Quality Manger) and Tarek Hasan (Civil & Building Engineering and consultant to BUE) in week ending 24th Feb 2006

1. BUE has its own degree awarding powers under Egyptian Presidential decree. However, in order to establish its quality and standards as equivalent to those in the UK it is seeking, ideally, to make joint degree awards with Loughborough under the QAA definition:

“Joint award describes collaborative arrangements under which two or more awarding institutions together provide programmes leading to a single award made jointly by both or all participants”.

Loughborough is asked to make joint degrees in all subjects offered by BUE, with expertise bought in from other UK universities in the partner consortium if necessary. This would be a new point of principle for us. The consortium would be revised and developed as BUE expands but with Loughborough remaining lead partner.

2. We have seen copies of BUE’s current General Academic Regulations, Examination and Assessment Regulations, Programme Approval Procedures, Module Feedback questionnaire, Academic Quality & Standards Manual and Complaints procedure. We understand these have been drawn up with assistance from a consultant from Keele University with QAA requirements in mind. They look generally appropriate and compatible with LU regulations and procedures although they inevitably differ in some matters of detail.

3. BUE students, currently taking the preparatory year, will begin the first year of degrees in the following fields in 2006/07 and draft syllabi have already been drawn up (with some input from LU staff on a consultancy basis) though these are likely to be developed and modified further as more staff appointments are made:

Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering

Mechanical Engineering/Technology Management

Civil and Architectural Engineering

Petroleum and Gas Engineering

Accounting and Business Administration

Marketing

Economics and Political Science

Information Technology and Systems

Computer Systems and Networks

External arrangements would be needed in the first phase to provide expertise in Petroleum and Gas Engineering and possibly Politics assuming there is a significant element of Middle Eastern politics involved. We understand there have been discussions with Exeter about Middle Eastern studies. Future subject areas for development at BUE would require commitment from English and possibly the TEU, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry as well as further bought in expertise.

4. BUE sees 3 stages of development of the partnership:

(i) Strategic commitment – required immediately

(ii) General scoping at institutional level, procedures and financial arrangements

(iii) Detailed validation

5. LU validation procedures would need to be adapted for an institutional partnership of this scale. Two strands :

(i) Institutional framework, regulations and infrastructure followed by ongoing monitoring – majority of work would fall to Registry staff with some input from other support services and senior academic staff.

(ii) Individual academic validation of programmes followed by ongoing monitoring – Registry staff would organise and support but academic staff from departments, external advisers and academic managers required to undertake validations and provide ongoing monitoring and advice.

Strand (ii) should be simpler for each subject area than with isolated small scale validations as there will be no need to repeat assessment of the institutional arrangements. The procedure would otherwise be similar to current validation processes. BUE anticipate subject validation taking place during 2006/07 which would be after students have commenced the awarding bearing programmes.

Assuming BUE recruits sufficient staff of high calibre, the relationship could become increasingly light touch as time goes on. LU would be dealing with another HEI so the relationship is likely to be easier in some respects than the relationship with an FE College etc.

6. The International Office has received 4 enquiries relating to BUE, one from a foundation year student interested in studying for their degree at LU (discussion with Jonathan Clapham).

JC Nutkins

24 February 2006