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INTO University Partnerships

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INTO University Partnerships is a British limited company that specialises in setting up joint ventures with universities. It focuses on the provision of foundation courses for international students, including English language, especially English for Academic Purposes.

Contents

[edit] History

INTO University Partnerships was founded in 2005 and is chaired by Andrew Colin, who had previously set up Study Group International, an education group he sold to the Daily Mail Group (which subsequently sold it on to Champ Private Equity[1]), and Embassy CES, a chain of language schools. He is an entrepreneur who enjoys excitement and adrenaline, including heli-skiing[2]. Colin has a background as a property developer[3] . "We are not trying to make money out of the tuition fees.... INTO is going to make money out of the buildings."[4].

Under the joint venture model, the university remains responsible for educational quality[5], while INTO provides the marketing and finance. This is in a political climate that favours public-private partnerships in general, and in which Bill Rammell, Minister of State in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, welcomed such innovation in higher education in particular, in response to a question from Essex MP Bob Russell[6].

INTO has so far set up joint ventures with five British universities: Newcastle, Exeter, East Anglia, Glasgow Caledonian, and Manchester[7]. INTO's latest opening is the £30 million six-storey centre at UEA, with 415 en-suite study-bedrooms and classroom space for 600 students[8], opened in October 2008.

[edit] Future plans

INTO has been or is in discussion with several other British universities, including Essex(rejected INTO), Goldsmiths(rejected INTO) and Queen's University Belfast(still under discussion)[9].

In July 2008, INTO announced that it had signed its first agreement in the United States, to operate a foundation year programme for Oregon State University. OSU said that it had long wanted to expand the number of international students, and turned to INTO for its worldwide infrastructure and expertise in recruitment; some staff, on the other hand, expressed concerns over working conditions. The programme is due to start in autumn 2009.[10] It intends to begin with 150-200 students. A local news source, OregonLive, states that the new venture will "replace the English Language Institute, a self-sustaining program that has helped international students learn English for 43 years", a move that fills its former director with concern.[11].

[edit] Opposition from lecturers and conflict with UCU

Several British universities have been approached and declined, following staff protests. The University and College Union (UCU) has consistently opposed INTO's expansion into higher education. In every case where staff were consulted, they rejected INTO. At Essex and Goldsmiths, more than 90% of staff voting in online referenda said that a Joint Venture with INTO would adversely affect the university’s reputation. Royal Holloway (University of London) has also rejected INTO.[12]

The International Centre for English Language Studies (ICELS) at Oxford Brookes University strongly opposed INTO's approach [13], a campaign which succeeded [14]. Bristol and Southampton have also been approached and decided not to go ahead with INTO. The University of Essex, following questions from UCU[15], has explained the benefits of working with INTO [16], but in October 2008 decided not to enter a partnership [17].

The guarantees that INTO offers to existing staff are under dispute. [18] Andrew Colin rejects this criticism, saying in 2007 "Give me three years and I will show you it is possible to create secure, well-paid jobs in EAP, and more of them," and rejects the similarity of his business model to private finance initiatives (PFI).[19].

In July 2008, INTO threatened UCU with a legal suit for defamation, in response to a union briefing entitled "Into the unknown" . The Guardian reports that the briefing, which has been removed from the UCU website, stated that INTO would "damage the quality of education and would harm university reputations", has a "lack of interest in education and the way it operates" and is run by "ill-experienced people with no record in teaching international students and little understanding of English for academic purposes"[20].

[edit] Accounts question

INTO reached the parliamentary record when MP Austin Mitchell asked why it had not filed financial records with Companies House[21], as it is legally obliged to do. Andrew Colin said in the Times Higher Education that the delay in submitting accounts was a "simple mistake"[22]. He also revealed that the first set of submitted accounts showed a loss of £1.7m, but stated that the company would be beyond the break-even point by the third year.

[edit] Aircraft

According to the Civil Aviation Authority's database on registered civil aircraft, the company (or a subsidiary trading as INTO Air) owns a Swiss-built Pilatus_PC-12 turbo-prop aircraft, with registration G-INTO [23]. An article in General Aviation magazine quotes the cost of these aircraft at $4m and states that Andrew Colin has ordered a second aircraft for delivery in 2010 [24]. Colin credits the first corporate plane, which he had had for only a few months at the time of the interview, with transforming the way he and his UK team did business, removing much of the strain of travel. “In one week we attended meetings in Glasgow and Newcastle on the Monday, Oxford and London on the Tuesday, Exeter and Birmingham on the Wednesday, Glasgow again on the Thursday and Norwich on the Friday."[25].

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Champ Private Equity portfolio
  2. ^ Sovereign Credit, a financial services company of which he is a director.
  3. ^ Espalier Group Ltd, a property company owned and chaired by Colin and sharing the same registered address in London.
  4. ^ English Language Gazette "Profiteer or prophet?" interview by Melanie Butler, August 2007, available from the INTO Media Pack
  5. ^ "UK University Foundation Courses" by Melanie Butler, Moscow Times Jobs & Careers supplement March 2008
  6. ^ Hansard, 7 July 2008
  7. ^ 'The Guardian "Language trainer Into threatens to sue university union"
  8. ^ "Spirited Blessing for Student Centre" 19 March 2008
  9. ^ 'The Guardian "Language trainer Into threatens to sue university union"
  10. ^ New York Times "College and Company Link Up to Lure Foreigners" 8 August 2008
  11. ^ [1] OregonLive "Oregon State University and a British company court international students -- and controversy" 12 August 2008
  12. ^ http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3630
  13. ^ Hands Off ICELS campaign
  14. ^ “University drops English privatisation plans” Guardian article by Debbie Andalo, 30 March 2007
  15. ^ Union briefing document for university council
  16. ^ University council response
  17. ^ All pathway provision to be taught and run by International Academy [2]
  18. ^ “Hive-off row” Times Higher Education Supplement 9 Feb 2007
  19. ^ English Language Gazette "Profiteer or prophet?" interview by Melanie Butler, August 2007, available from the INTO media page
  20. ^ The Guardian "Language trainer Into threatens to sue university union" 30 July 2008
  21. ^ Hansard record
  22. ^ Times Higher Education "Into founder says his private capital supports public work"
  23. ^ Civil Aviation Authority database accessed 15 March 2008.
  24. ^ General Aviation August 2007, p21. "PC-12s gang up at Goodwood"
  25. ^ General Aviation August 2007, p21. "PC-12s gang up at Goodwood"

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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