Given the first day of the conference coincided with the House
of Commons (the UK parliament's lower house) vote to raise the
tuition fees cap to £9,000, the event couldn't have come at a more
significant time. The recession, cuts, and ongoing spending reviews
were fresh in the audience's minds, however INTO's senior
leadership team were able to offer some solace, opening with a
recap on the company's performance over the last year which, in
spite of the circumstances, has been very impressive.
Centres in both the US and UK have seen robust financial
returns, high levels of student satisfaction, and strong rates of
progression to INTO's partner universities and other HE
institutions. They've also continued to hire more staff at a
time when many are down-sizing.
Both Dr Ralph Wilcox (Provost, University of South Florida) and
Professor Steve Smith (Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter) gave
thought-provoking presentations. As the President of Universities
UK, Steve's Smith's thoughts were particularly pertinent-he
regularly speaks to the UK Government on behalf of universities in
debates on fees and funding, and was able to offer the conference a
unique perspective on the future of HE in the UK.
The Rt Hon Charles Clarke, the former UK Education Secretary,
was also on top form and shared his knowledge of how other
countries are responding to the growing internationalisation agenda
and evolving to address market needs.
INTO Chairman, Andrew Colin, and Director Strategy and
Development, Stephen Healy, were delighted to deliver the inaugural
INTO awards, recognising the efforts and successes of INTO's
partners and centres over the last year.
The winners were:
- University Partner of the year: Newcastle
University
- Centre of the year: INTO University of Exeter
- Innovative partnership of the year: University of
East Anglia, London
- Centre launch of the year: INTO University of
South Florida
- Best overall student experience: INTO University
of East Anglia
- Best academic progression performance UK: INTO
Scotland
- Best academic progression performance USA: INTO
Oregon State University
- Best student satisfaction: INTO Queen's University
Belfast
- Most improved centre: INTO Manchester
- Collaborative marketing initiative: INTO and
University of Exeter: Digital STEM recruitment
- Regional office of the year: South Asia
On day two, the conference split into two groups. On one side,
INTO's university partners met to discuss the common challenges and
opportunities that lie ahead in the fast-changing HE arena. One
proposal, agreed upon by several partner institutions, is for
profile-raising market visits by academics to promote STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. This
will be supported by a publication that reinforces the range of
related career opportunities available to graduates.
Those not participating in the first programme were treated to
presentations on various aspects of digital marketing in higher
education, with input from the agencies working with INTO on its
new website, Last Exit and Digitalis.
Despite all of the weighty issues discussed, guests still had a
lot of fun and were able to network over drinks and a buffet on the
Thursday evening.
See photos of the day here