Corporate Plan

Transcription

1 Corporate Plan

2 Index Document Version Control 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Our Mission, Vision and Values Mission Vision Values 5 3. Our Corporate Goals and Objectives 6 Corporate Goal 1 7 Objectives (Corporate Goal 1) 8 Corporate Goal 2 10 Objectives (Corporate Goal 2) 12 Corporate Goal 3 14 Objectives (Corporate Goal 3) 15 Corporate Goal 4 16 Objectives (Corporate Goal 4) 17 Corporate Goal 5 18 Objectives (Corporate Goal 5) 18 Corporate Goal 6 19 Objectives (Corporate Goal 6) 19 Corporate Plan Page 1

3 Document Version Control Document Version Committee Committee Action Date Course Committee Not applicable QAEC Not applicable SMLT Recommended Approval 01 April 2015 Academic Committee Approved 09 July 2015 Board of Directors Approved 09 July 2015 Date in force 09 July 2015 Corporate Plan Page 2

4 1. Introduction The London School of Business and Management is an unlisted limited company, incorporated on 14 August 2002 and registered at Companies House for England and Wales. We are pleased to introduce our third Corporate Plan covering the period This replaces our Corporate Plan We deliver undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Business, Law and Accounting which are developed by our academic partners. Our academic partners comprise the University of Northampton for our degree courses and Pearson for our non-degree courses. Awards are conferred by our academic partners. In addition we deliver undergraduate Computing courses but these are being taught out during We have been approved to deliver Level 3 Access to Higher Education Diplomas in Business Studies, Business and Accounting, and Law. These QAA-approved qualifications, which are awarded by the Open College Network (London), reaffirm our commitment to widening participation. Our undergraduate courses continue to be designated by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to provide our UK, EU and EEA students with access to loans and grants through the Student Loans Company to cover their tuition fees and maintenance. During we made changes to our organisation structure to enable us to be even better at delivering on our commitment to continuously improve and enhance the students educational experience. In December 2014 a new Student Admissions and Success Division was created. The purpose behind this was: (i) to separate the recruitment of students from the selection/admissions process in order to introduce an explicit quality control; and (ii) to coordinate (through the Student Success Department) the delivery of academic and non-academic support provided to students throughout their academic journey. This has a clear link to quality enhancement. The Student Admissions and Success Division is also tasked with monitoring attendance to ensure early, but discrete, intervention if a student is failing to engage. At the start of the a new structure for the Academic Division was introduced, as follows: School of Business and Computing School of Law Centre for Academic Support and Enhancement (CASE) Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) CASE and CETL, which were established in , are proactively contributing to our commitment to continuously improve and enhance the students educational experience. For example, CETL convenes a monthly Teaching and Learning Forum, a key purpose of which is to disseminate good practice throughout the institution. CASE provides weekly Academic Skills sessions (which were introduced in ), including the provision of small group and one-to-one sessions. The purpose is to provide every student with the opportunity to achieve their full potential. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We became an institutional member of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in May 2014 and our academic staff have started to submit their applications for membership. Our first successful applicant achieved Fellowship in February 2015 and more have followed. Our target is that all academic staff will achieve Fellowship of the HEA, and all senior academic staff will achieve Senior Fellowship. Corporate Plan Page 3

5 Our facilities agreement with Birkbeck College, University of London has now entered its seventh year and it continues to provide us with a unique position in the private Higher Education sector. All our teaching takes place within Birkbeck College. Our students have access to Birkbeck College s library (including borrowing rights) and computer facilities (including Wi-Fi). In addition, our students are enrolled as associate members of Student Central (previously the University of London (Students ) Union (ULU)). Our aim is to provide students with a high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development. In June 2014 we had a very successful QAA Review for Educational Oversight (REO) monitoring visit (which followed our successful Reviews in 2012 and 2013). The QAA determined that we were making commendable progress with the implementation of our action plan the highest possible outcome. From 1 January 2015 we became a member of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA). We are continuing to operate in a constantly evolving environment. We have embraced the change agenda with vigour and enthusiasm and we will continue to monitor and respond to change. Through this Corporate Plan, we have articulated how we are positioning ourselves as a private provider of UK higher education in this increasingly competitive market. Throughout this period of change, our commitment to providing students with a first class educational experience to enable them to achieve their full potential and to make valuable contributions to society will continue unabated. John Fairhurst BA PgDip MPhil MBA Solicitor FHEA Managing Director and Academic Principal Corporate Plan Page 4

6 2. Our Mission, Vision and Values 2.1 Mission Building careers Transforming lives Raising aspirations Our mission is to: Build rewarding careers for our students and our staff. Transform our students lives through the provision of a high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development. Raise the aspirations of our students to become independent and critical learners, to achieve their full potential and to make valuable contributions to society. Raise the aspirations of our staff by developing, supporting and empowering them to deliver excellent teaching, research and scholarship, student support and service provision. Enhance our learning and working environment through the application of Servant Leadership principles, which promote kindness, ethical rigour, creativity and accountability. 2.2 Vision Our vision is to be: An accessible, transformational and innovative provider of high quality UK higher education courses in Business, Law and Accounting as measured by our students, staff, academic partners and external stakeholders. 2.3 Values Our values are: Accessibility and Supportiveness: providing equal and fair access to higher education for those who can demonstrate the ability to succeed. Excellence and Ambition: continuously improving and enhancing our students educational experience. Serving: promoting an inclusive servant led community within which all our students and staff actively serve the needs of others. Openness, Transparency and Honesty: operating ethically and with integrity in all our dealings with our students, staff, academic partners and external stakeholders. Corporate Plan Page 5

7 3. Our Corporate Goals and Objectives Our Corporate Goals for the period are as follows: 1. Provide fair access to higher education for those who demonstrate, through prior certificated and/or experiential learning, the ability to succeed on our courses, building local, national and international partnerships to promote and enhance our fair access policy. 2. Provide our students with a transformational and high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development, and within which they will develop into independent and critical learners, achieve their full potential and make valuable contributions to society. 3. Develop, support and empower our staff to achieve excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, student support and service delivery. 4. Ensure full compliance with our Corporate Governance Framework which articulates: (i) how we set and maintain academic standards and assure and enhance academic quality; and (ii) how our students are represented and recognised as members of our institution. 5. Ensure financial sustainability while behaving responsibly towards the environment. 6. Achieve Taught Degree Awarding Powers by Our Corporate Goals and the Objectives set out below constitute our Corporate Plan Corporate Plan Page 6

8 Corporate Goal 1 Provide fair access to higher education for those who demonstrate, through prior certificated and/or experiential learning, the ability to succeed on our courses, building local, national and international partnerships to promote and enhance our fair access policy. We deliver undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Business, Law and Accounting which are developed by our academic partners. Our academic partners comprise the University of Northampton for our degree courses and Pearson for our non-degree courses. Awards are conferred by our academic partners. In addition we deliver undergraduate Computing courses but these are being taught out during We have been approved to start to deliver Level 3 Access to Higher Education Diplomas in Business Studies, Business and Accounting, and Law. These QAA-approved qualifications, which are awarded by the Open College Network (London), reaffirm our commitment to widening participation. We are seeking approval to start to deliver University of Northampton 4-year Degrees including a Foundation Year in Originally it had been intended to start delivery in However, we accelerated our intention to cease delivery of all HND courses and therefore the start date for these new degrees has been brought forward. If approval is granted, the 4-year Degrees will replace both the HND courses and the Access to Higher Education Diplomas. The University of Northampton will then be our sole academic partner. While we are bound to apply the admissions criteria of our academic partners, the application of our own Admissions Policy determines the characteristics of our student cohorts and whether or not we fulfil our commitment to provide fair access to higher education for those who demonstrate through prior certificated and/or experiential learning the ability to succeed on our courses. The entry points and admission requirements for our students are as follows: Level of Course on Entry Course Level of Course on Completion Admission requirements Level 0 4-Year Degree including Foundation Year Level 6 Prior certificated and/or experiential learning at Level 2 Level 3 Access to HE Diploma [to be withdrawn in ] Level 3 Prior certificated and/or experiential learning at Level 2 Level 4 HND [to be withdrawn in ] Level 5 Prior certificated and/or experiential learning at Level 2 and English Language at Level 2 Level 4 BA/BSc/LLB Level 6 A-Levels or equivalent qualifications at Level 3 and English Language at Level 2 Level 6 BA/BSc (Top-up) Level 6 HND or equivalent Level 7 MSc/LLM/ MBA Level 7 Undergraduate degree Corporate Plan Page 7

9 Level 7 Executive MBA Level 7 Undergraduate degree and 2-years relevant work experience Level 7 MBA Top-up Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Business (120 credits) and 2-years relevant work experience We recruit both traditional and non-traditional students. Traditional undergraduate students are typically of secondary school-leaver age. Applicants with A- Levels or equivalent qualifications at Level 3 and English Language at Level 2 may be admitted to a degree. Traditional postgraduate students tend to be recent graduates in their early 20s. Non-traditional undergraduate students tend to be 21 years of age or older. Applicants with a Level 3 qualification (which may be supported by prior experiential learning) and English Language at Level 2 may be admitted to a degree. An applicant without a Level 3 qualification will be admitted to an Access to HE Diploma (until the course is withdrawn), the University of Northampton 4-year Degree including Foundation Year, or the HND (until the course is withdrawn). We positively embrace our commitment to provide fair access to higher education for those whose prior certificated and/or experiential learning should be sufficient to succeed on our courses. This will be evidenced by our student population mix for the duration of this Corporate Plan ( ) which will typically comprise: Access to HE Diplomas (until the course is withdrawn), 4-year Degree including Foundation Year, and the HND (until the course is withdrawn): non-traditional students primarily from the UK with prior certificated and/or experiential learning at Level 2. BA/BSc/LLB: traditional and non-traditional students primarily from the UK, and a smaller number from the EU and overseas, who satisfy the University of Northampton entry criteria and who have: (i) a qualification at Level 3 (which, for non-traditional students, may be supported by prior certificated learning); and (ii) English Language at Level 2 (or IELTS 6.0 for EU and international students). MBA/MSc/LLM: traditional students primarily from overseas, and a smaller number from the UK and EU, who satisfy the University of Northampton entry criteria and who have: (i) a degree at Level 6; and (ii) IELTS 6.5 (for EU and international students). Our UCAS membership will have a significant impact on the recruitment of traditional students from within the UK onto our University of Northampton undergraduate degrees from and beyond. Our Student Recruitment Strategy incorporates our international recruitment strategy which includes: (i) working with overseas student recruitment agents; (ii) opening London School of Business and Management International Centres (primarily for student recruitment purposes); and (iii) securing progression agreements with overseas schools, colleges and universities. We provide applicants with high quality information about our courses and awarding bodies. By we will publish Key Information Sets for all our courses which will include information (where applicable) on: (i) graduate employment outcomes; (ii) student satisfaction ratings; and (iii) course-level information covering the proportion of time spent in different teaching or learning activities (lectures, seminars etc.), the assessment methods, whether the course is accredited by a professional body, and the costs of tuition and accommodation. Objectives (Corporate Goal 1) Rigorously apply our Equality and Diversity Policy to student recruitment activities. Corporate Plan Page 8

10 Identify applicants with a disability, specific learning difficulty or long-term health condition at the application stage and proactively support such applicants throughout the application process and ensure any reasonable adjustments are in place prior to enrolment. Within the boundaries of any entry requirements set by our academic partners, provide fair access to higher education for applicants who demonstrate through prior certificated and/or experiential learning the ability to succeed on our courses. Develop partnerships with local schools and colleges and develop high quality relationships with our UK recruitment agents. Make full use of our UCAS membership to ensure that from and beyond all our undergraduate UK students are recruited onto a University of Northampton degree (and not the Pearson HNDs). Provide a pathway to higher education for non-traditional students who do not have a qualification at Level 3, by providing University of Northampton 4-year Degrees including Foundation Year. Discontinue recruitment to all HNDs and Access to Higher Education Diplomas during Develop high quality relationships with our overseas student recruitment agents; open additional London School of Business and Management International Centres (primarily for student recruitment purposes); and secure progression agreements with overseas schools, colleges and universities. By publish Key Information Sets for all our courses which will include information (where applicable) on: (i) graduate employment outcomes; (ii) student satisfaction ratings; and (iii) course-level information covering the proportion of time spent in different teaching or learning activities (lectures, seminars etc.), the assessment methods, whether the course is accredited by a professional body, and the costs of tuition and accommodation. Corporate Plan Page 9

11 Corporate Goal 2 Provide our students with a transformational and high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development, and within which they will develop into independent and critical learners, achieve their full potential and make valuable contributions to society. Learning facilities Our facilities agreement with Birkbeck College, University of London provides us with a unique position in the private Higher Education sector. All our teaching takes place within Birkbeck College. Our students have access to Birkbeck College s library (including borrowing rights) and computer facilities (including Wi-Fi). In addition, our students are enrolled as associate members of Student Central (previously the University of London (Students ) Union (ULU)). We are committed to providing our students with a high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development. In addition, students on our University of Northampton degrees have access to a range of learning facilities provided by the University which includes, inter alia, access to: the online library; the University s on-campus library; the University s Virtual Learning Environment; academic skills advisors; and students union advisors. Teaching and learning We have developed a separate Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Research Strategy (TLAR Strategy). Servant leadership is our embraced teaching and learning philosophy. By embracing this philosophy we will develop our students into responsible citizens who will make valuable contributions to society. As discussed in the context of Corporate Goal 1, we are committed to recruiting both traditional students and non-traditional students. Our TLAR Strategy is informed by the Level at which a course is delivered and the characteristics of our student cohorts. We adapt our teaching and learning methods: to take account of the Level at which a course is being delivered; and to accommodate the different academic needs of each of our students. At Level 4 there is a gradual move away from a dependency taught culture to an independent learning culture where our students start to assume some responsibility for their own learning. This move to independent and critical learning is accelerated at Level 5 and is fully achieved at Level 6 and beyond. Our elearning Strategy, which is an integral part of our TLAR Strategy, facilitates this move to independent and critical learning. We are committed to providing all students with small-group face-to-face sessions within seminars and workshops to facilitate peer-to-peer learning. We recognise that we can always improve our utilisation of valuable face-to-face contact time, particularly at Level 5 and beyond. The primary goal of our elearning Strategy is to enhance the student experience, not by using elearning to replace face-to-face contact, but by supplementing it with a strategically appropriate use of embedded elearning activities. Providing our students with a transformational and high quality educational experience is dependent on the quality and dedication of our academic staff. It is through their day-to-day professional practice that our students are transformed into independent and critical learners. We are committed to recruiting and developing high quality and professional academics who have an aptitude and passion for teaching and learning, all of whom are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy or who achieve Fellowship within 12 months of being employed. Corporate Plan Page 10

12 Retention Strategy Employability Through our teaching and learning approach we develop students for the workplace. We provide all our students with an optional Work-Based Learning placement. Assessment Assessment is an essential test of a student's attainment of specified learning outcomes which may comprise knowledge, understanding and/or skills. Each of our courses comprise a variety of assessments to enable our students to demonstrate their achievement of all the module and course learning outcomes, and those articulated within the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) or the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), and (where applicable) the QAA Subject Benchmark Statements. We are committed to ensuring there is alignment between our teaching and learning methods, assessment techniques, assessment criteria and the learning outcomes. This alignment will be transparent so that students make the connection between what they are expected to know by the time they complete an individual module and how they are expected to demonstrate this. Through our teaching and learning methods, we promote assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning. We use formative assessment to enable our students to assess their progress and to offer feedback that encourages self-reflection with opportunities to act on the feedback. We celebrate the fact that our external examiners repeatedly acknowledge our high quality feedback for summative assessments. High quality feedback is also incorporated into our formative assessments. Student support We have comprehensive academic and non-academic support mechanisms which have been developed to ensure our students can achieve their full potential. All these mechanisms are articulated in our Student Success Strategy, which incorporates our Retention Strategy. Through our Attendance Monitoring Policy we identify at an early stage students who are not engaging and proactively intervene to ensure all necessary academic and non-academic support is provided to at risk students. The figure below illustrates the different forms of support provided outside the face-to-face classes: Disability and Specific Learning Difficulty Support Diagnostic Testing Course Leader Student Success Strategy Student Development Module Specialised Support (e.g. English Language; Academic Skills) Timetabled face-toface classes Non-academic Support: Student Welfare and Support Finance Registry Personal Academic Tutors Module Leader and Module Tutors Corporate Plan Page 11

13 Annual Planning Cycle In 2013 we introduced an Annual Planning Cycle. At the forefront of the Annual Planning Cycle is this Corporate Plan This Corporate Plan is supplemented by Divisional/Departmental Strategies and Annual Business and Improvement Plans the development and implementation of which are informed by, inter alia, our Annual Monitoring and Evaluation Reports. These Strategies and Annual Business and Improvement Plans are underpinned by the principle of continuous improvement and enhancement of our students educational experience, a principle which is at the heart of our culture. Objectives (Corporate Goal 2) Continue to provide our students with a high quality educational experience within an academic community which promotes learning and personal development through our facilities agreement with Birkbeck College and our agreement with Student Central. Promote the University of Northampton learning resources which are available to our University of Northampton degree students. Implement our Academic Strategy, and our Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Research Strategy (the embraced philosophy of which is servant leadership), which have at their core the development of independent and critical learners, the provision of an educational experience which enables all our students to achieve their full potential, and the development of responsible citizens who will make valuable contributions to society. Adapt our teaching and learning methods: o o to take account of the Level at which a course is being delivered; and to accommodate the different academic needs of each of our students. At Level 4 to gradually move away from a dependency taught culture to an independent learning culture where our students start to assume some responsibility for their own learning. To accelerate this move to independent and critical learning at Level 5 ensuring full achievement at Level 6 and beyond. Make full use of technology to develop innovative and effective approaches to teaching and learning that motivate and inspire our students to succeed. Reinforce our commitment to the provision of small-group classes within seminars and workshops to facilitate peer-to-peer learning. Continue to recruit and develop high quality and professional academics who have an aptitude and passion for teaching and learning, all of whom are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy or who achieve Fellowship within 12 months of being employed. Provide all our students with an optional Work-Based Learning placement. Ensure an alignment between our teaching and learning methods, assessment techniques, assessment criteria and the learning outcomes. Provide students with opportunities to complete formative assessment. Corporate Plan Page 12

14 Through our Student Success Strategy (which incorporates our Retention Strategy), identify students who are at risk to ensure all necessary academic and non-academic support is provided. Provide our students with comprehensive and high quality academic and non-academic support outside face-to-face classes, including the allocation of a Personal Academic Tutor, to enable them to achieve their full potential and to develop into responsible citizens who will make valuable contributions to society. Implement our Annual Planning Cycle which includes a process for the development and implementation of Divisional/Departmental Strategies and Annual Business and Improvement Plans, which are informed by, inter alia, our Annual Monitoring and Evaluation Reports. Corporate Plan Page 13

15 Corporate Goal 3 Develop, support and empower our staff to achieve excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, student support and service delivery. Continuous improvement and enhancement of our students educational experience is at the heart of our culture. This is primarily achieved through our academic and professional services staff. We are committed to the development of all our staff to ensure continuous improvement and enhancement: All our staff participate in an Annual Staff Appraisal and Development Scheme. As an institutional subscriber to the Higher Education Academy (HEA), we support our academic staff to achieve individual membership of the HEA either through the individual recognition route (for experienced academics) or by completion of a HEA-accredited teaching and learning qualification. We will develop and deliver a HEA-accredited teaching and learning qualification to provide our academic staff who do not have a relevant teaching qualification or prior teaching experience with a route to HEA membership. The University of Northampton and the HEA provide staff development and training opportunities for all our staff. Staff within our Registry Division and Student Admissions and Success Division are supported to become active members of the Association of University Administrators and Academic Registrars Council. Our academic staff may be required to participate in our Managed Teaching Observation Scheme. Our Peer Observation of Teaching Scheme provides our academic staff with a confidential development activity which has a clear link to the improvement and enhancement of the student experience. We provide comprehensive internal staff development and training opportunities for all our staff. We support our staff to attend relevant external staff development and training events. We convene an Annual Teaching and Learning Conference which all our staff are encouraged to attend. Our Research and Scholarship Strategy has previously formed part of the Academic Strategy. A Director of Research and Enterprise will be appointed for the start of the academic year. A separate Research and Scholarship Strategy will be developed and implemented during The Strategy will aim to develop and support all our academic colleagues to: publish internationally excellent and world-leading applied research in the broad areas of Business, Law and Accounting or in the area of teaching, learning and assessment; present research papers at national and international conferences; and Corporate Plan Page 14

16 engage in scholarship. Successful implementation of our Research and Scholarship Strategy will raise our local, national and international profile. This Strategy places the development and support of staff at its core, and ensures that we retain (and continue to recruit) a highly qualified, experienced and motivated body of academic colleagues. Implementation will not detract from our commitment to deliver high-quality courses. The quality of our teaching, particularly at Level 6 and beyond, will be enhanced by ensuring our teaching is informed by applied research. Objectives (Corporate Goal 3) Implement our Annual Planning Cycle which includes a process for the development and implementation of Divisional/Departmental Strategies and Annual Business and Improvement Plans, which are informed by, inter alia, our Annual Monitoring and Evaluation Reports. Develop all our staff to facilitate the continuous improvement and enhancement of our students teaching and learning experience. 100% of our academic staff will achieve individual membership of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) either through the individual recognition route (for experienced academics) or by completion of a HEA-accredited teaching and learning qualification. By , develop and deliver a HEA-accredited teaching and learning qualification to provide our academic staff who do not have a relevant teaching qualification or prior teaching experience with a route to HEA membership. Be conferred the Investors in People award. Achieve the Customer Service Excellence standard. Be the employer of choice as measured by staff retention rates and staff satisfaction surveys. Develop and Implement our Research and Scholarship Strategy. Corporate Plan Page 15

17 Corporate Goal 4 Ensure full compliance with our Corporate Governance Framework which articulates: (i) how we set and maintain academic standards and assure and enhance academic quality; and (ii) how our students are represented and recognised as members of our institution. Our Corporate Governance Framework embraces the following principles: The Board of Directors and the Managing Director should act in a way which does not detract from the need to: (i) set and maintain academic standards; and (ii) assure and enhance academic quality. To ensure staff have a real input into the institution s strategic and operational development, including the effective setting and maintaining of academic standards and the assuring and enhancing of academic quality, there should be an appropriate balance between: (i) executive decision-making (through the Board of Directors and the Managing Director); and (ii) collegial deliberation. To support the effective setting and maintaining of academic standards and the assuring and enhancing of academic quality, an Academic Committee (with external representation) should advise executive decision-making and be empowered to hold it to account. The cost of doing business for a provider of Higher Education by necessity includes expenditure which cannot be compromised without affecting the effective setting and maintaining of academic standards and/or the assuring and enhancing of academic quality. Students should be recognised as members of the institution (rather than merely customers of the company) and their views should be effectively represented and acted upon. With regard to the setting and maintaining of academic standards, and the assuring and enhancing of academic quality, our Corporate Governance Framework establishes the following four-tier committee structure: Academic Committee, the senior committee, with external academic representation and student representation. Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee, the intermediate committee. Course Committees which have student representation. Student and Staff Consultative Committee Our undergraduate and postgraduate courses are developed by our academic partners. Our academic partners comprise the University of Northampton for our degree courses, Pearson for our non-degree courses and the Open College Network (London) for our QAA-approved Access to Higher Education Diplomas. Awards are conferred by our academic partners. We comply with our academic partners quality assurance and enhancement policies and procedures (where applicable) for, inter alia: periodic review and revalidation; annual monitoring and evaluation, which includes the evaluation of student feedback at module level; assessment regulations, policies and procedures. Corporate Plan Page 16

18 Objectives (Corporate Goal 4) Ensure full compliance with our Corporate Governance Framework with regard to: (i) the setting and maintaining of academic standards and the assuring and enhancing of academic quality; and (ii) how our students are represented and recognised as members of our institution. Place our students at the centre of everything we do and have formal mechanisms for their full participation in the decision-making process. Ensure compliance with the quality assurance and enhancement policies and procedures of our academic partners (where applicable). Corporate Plan Page 17

19 Corporate Goal 5 Ensure financial sustainability while behaving responsibly towards the environment. We have undergone transformational change throughout the institution to ensure we deliver our courses to the highest standards. This has required substantial investment. We are committed to future investment to ensure we successfully implement our Corporate Plan. Our aim is to make a surplus in financial year and each year thereafter to ensure continued investment as we continuously strive to improve and enhance the students educational experience. Wherever relevant, our decisions and actions are taken with an awareness of environmental impact. Objectives (Corporate Goal 5) Make a surplus in financial year and each year thereafter to ensure continued investment as we continuously strive to improve and enhance the students educational experience. Ensure awareness of our environmental impact. Corporate Plan Page 18

20 Corporate Goal 6 Achieve Taught Degree Awarding Powers by Achieving our own Taught Degree Awarding Powers (TDAP) is a priority. We plan to submit an application for TDAP by 31 December 2016 to enable us to deliver our own degrees by September However, even with TDAP, we will continue to deliver University of Northampton degrees at our London campus for the foreseeable future. With TDAP our intention is to provide students with dual degrees. TDAP will provide other benefits (including increased autonomy). The government currently treats those with TDAP similar to public universities, for example: the right to work for international students; loans provided for postgraduate students; removing the requirement (and subsequent delay) to have new degrees approved for Student Loans Company funding; and the possible removal of student number controls for UK and EU undergraduate student recruitment. Objectives (Corporate Goal 6) To achieve Taught Degree Awarding Powers by , which will enable us to provide students with dual degrees (LSBM and the University of Northampton). Corporate Plan Page 19