GLASGOW Caledonian University is facing questions about the finances of its London campus after a senior figure at the body said the direction of the project had to be “reset”.
Rob Woodward, the chair of the University Court, the body's governing body, made the comment after it was confirmed that student recruitment at the London venture was down.
Nick McKerrell, a trade union convener at the University, said: "Staff at GCU want complete transparency over what is going on at the London campus. What exactly is the financial situation? There should be open access to this information."
Glasgow Caley’s internationalisation strategy has been under scrutiny over plans to open an offshoot in New York.
The University, led by principal Pamela Gillies, announced the opening of the US campus at a glitzy event in 2014 that was attended by the then First Minister Alex Salmond.
However, despite being bankrolled by multi-million pound loans from the University, the project was initially unable to operate as it did not have a teaching license and could not award degrees.
Glasgow Caledonian New York College (GCNYC) finally received the necessary permissions last year, after which around 16 “pioneers” enrolled to study.
It has now emerged that the University’s campus in London’s Spitalfields area may also be experiencing difficulties.
Launched in 2010, GCU London offers courses in areas such as fire risk engineering, global marketing and luxury brand management.
According to the latest minute of the University’s governing court, the figures for student recruitment and “conversion” - applicants who enrol on courses - were down in the latest trimester. The former had caused a “negative budget variance”.
Professor Valerie Webster, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, informed the meeting that a “review of these issues” was being undertaken.
The minute also recorded the view of former STV chief executive Woodward, who became chair of the Court last year: “Court noted the activity being undertaken by GCU London and requested that the next report include an analysis of competitors and the actions GCU London was undertaking that would drive its success in a strong but crowded market place and when some key markets such as China could contract.
“The chair observed that much work was required of the executive to reset the direction of GCUL and build wide commitment to making the most of the opportunity it afforded.”
Other documents flagged up potential difficulties, such as the minute of the governing body’s meeting in June last year: “Court queried whether even the modest growth targets for London were achievable noting the previous challenges in delivering growth there.”
The University declined to provide this newspaper with figures on the number of students who are studying at the London campus, or how much is spent annually on the offshoot.
McKerrell added: "At a time of significant cuts here in Glasgow we can ill afford to be losing money. For staff based at London they need to know how secure their future is. Millions have been spent by our senior management on projects in Glasgow and New York with no financial return. These were meant to make money for the University not increase our losses. In the current climate of Higher Education, this is unsustainable.
In a statement, Webster said: “We are delighted that in the current academic year we expect to exceed our budgeted international fee income and were delighted to welcome both new and returning students to Glasgow and our postgraduate centre in London. We continue to strive to achieve ever more ambitious recruitment targets and we are constantly reviewing our programmes to ensure they meet the demands of a highly competitive market.”
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