{"id":301,"date":"2018-01-18T16:50:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T16:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=301"},"modified":"2018-01-18T17:21:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T17:21:55","slug":"ua92-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/01\/18\/ua92-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"UA92 UPDATES"},"content":{"rendered":"

UA\u2019INT SEEN NUTHIN\u2019 YET<\/span><\/p>\n

Local opposition in Manchester to plans for UA92 continues to grow. Stretford residents are increasingly sceptical of the claims from Trafford Council that the scheme will be the major driver for the regeneration of their area. Detailed information from the Council on exactly how the local population will benefit has been sparse, to say the least. What is particularly concerning to residents is that the success of the whole regeneration scheme is totally dependent on the viability of UA92 as a commercial proposition. In this regard, Lancaster University has been even less forthcoming than the Council in providing hard information about how the proposed new university is expected to prosper.<\/span><\/p>\n

With this in mind, the local MP, Labour\u2019s Kate Green, came to Lancaster last week to find out why Lancaster thought that there was a market for UA92, given that its proposed curriculum is already well covered by other providers in the area. Our senior managers\u2019 response was that the 18+ age cohort is set to rise over the next decade, so there will be plenty of students to go around. Ms. Green, however, managed to glean some information that had not previously been forthcoming, and has posted this on her Facebook page. Firstly, she received confirmation of what we had long suspected \u2013 that Gary Neville and co. had approached other universities before contacting Lancaster. We can safely assume that the response of those other institutions to Gary\u2019s proposal was of the terse, two-word variety. Secondly, UA92 will be teaching-only, so those students can forget about receiving the benefits of Lancaster\u2019s \u2018philosophy of research-led teaching\u2019 enjoyed by our own students. Finally, it appears that our leaders are also looking at the possibilities for two-year degrees to be offered by UA92 (and if it works there, well…).<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

COMMERCIAL ACUMEN<\/span><\/p>\n

Some Stretford residents have tried the Freedom of Information route to prise information from Lancaster, to no avail. One inquirer wanted to know details of the market research that had convinced Lancaster that the scheme was commercially viable, to which the response was the familiar \u2018commercial in confidence\u2019 evasion. Such information \u2018may enable our commercial competitors to gain commercial advantage\u2019. Not only that, but as Lancaster University was \u2018partially funded by public monies\u2019 it would not be \u2018in the public interest for this information to be released\u2019. This claim to be acting in the public interest is ludicrous. The \u2018competitors\u2019 are universities who are already operating in this field and who are also \u2018partially funded by public monies\u2019 and could reasonably claim that they have a \u2018public interest\u2019 in accessing this information. The only other competitor is UCFB (see below), whose founder and Board Chairman is Brendan Flood, also named in Companies House as the Managing Director of UA92. We would have to presume that he was privy to all this commercially sensitive information that Lancaster cannot possibly divulge. What, then, is the University playing at? Are there other competitors lurking in the background, too shadowy to identify? Or is it the case that, like the government\u2019s \u2018Brexit impact assessments\u2019, no meaningful research has actually been carried out and that Lancaster has entered this partnership with eyes wide shut?<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

UALL KNOW IT MAKES SENSE<\/span><\/p>\n

One of UA92\u2019s selling points is the \u2018unique connections and secured placements\u2019 that will help students \u2018stand out in the competitive graduate job market\u2019. One whole year of a three-year degree programme would be spent on work placement with a major employer. Certainly, an ambitious offering, given that by the time UA92 reaches its full 6,500 student capacity, it will need to have over 2,000 available placements on its books. And these can\u2019t be any old placements. If they are to be integral components in a Lancaster-validated degree, they will have to meet the requirements set out in the Lancaster University Placements Policy, adopted last April. These requirements seek to ensure that the placement is capable of being fully integrated into the degree programme, that it will provide the support and opportunities needed to meet the programme\u2019s learning outcomes, and that it will actually pay the students for the work they undertake.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how is UA92 faring on the placements front? Which major employers have committed to its \u2018unique vision\u2019? Well, so far it has signed up Microsoft… and that\u2019s it, really. Trafford Council, MUFC and Lancashire Cricket Club might also stump up some placements but nowhere near the scale needed. The only other partner who might conceivably come up with the goods would be Lancaster University itself. Would our departments be willing to donate some of their hard-won and carefully nurtured placements to help out Gary Neville and his pals? No, we don\u2019t think so either.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such is UA92\u2019s desperation to nail this down, that it is now using Twitter to get help in designing and delivering its courses:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Want to work with #UA92? Our partners have the opportunity to work with the academic team to help co-design our #university courses & build the curriculum, ensuring that we develop students that have the right #skills for the #workplace\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was accompanied by a graphic exhorting the tweet\u2019s recipients \u2018To help us unlock greatness\u2019, illustrated with a drawing of an opened padlock that looked like it was composed on an Etch-a-Sketch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, this is what trashing the Lancaster University brand looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

UA92\u2019S POOR RELATION<\/span><\/p>\n

If Lancaster\u2019s senior management thought that a football-related university was an original idea when it was first spun to them, they were sadly mistaken. There already exists in Manchester an institution called UCFB (University College of Football Business), with campuses at Wembley, Burnley FC and Manchester City\u2019s Etihad Stadium. UCFB, in the words of its Chairman, Brendan Flood, is \u2018the first higher education institution in the world dedicated to the delivery of degrees in the football, sport and events industries\u2019. By a simply enormous coincidence, the same Brendan Flood happens to be the Managing Director of UA92. The existence of UCFB and Mr Flood\u2019s involvement must have been unknown to the University, because surely it would have been mentioned when the proposal was first presented to Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n

UCFB\u2019s degrees are validated by the University of Buckingham, an institution ranked much lower than Lancaster in the league tables but one which is coming up fast. Admittedly, their degrees are of the old-fashioned type, where \u2018academic discipline\u2019 is central, as opposed to UA92\u2019s dynamic new approach which puts \u2018character development\u2019 above academic learning. Despite this handicap, UCFB does appear to be prospering, offering a wide range of sports-related first degrees and, recently, postgraduate courses. The latter involves a partnership with Real Madrid and its own graduate school, the prestigious Universidad Europa, where students will spend part of their course. An attractive offer, perhaps, but surely incapable of competing with the opportunities that will be provided by the Class of 92\u2019s very own Salford City FC when UA92 finally comes on line.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UA\u2019INT SEEN NUTHIN\u2019 YET Local opposition in Manchester to plans for UA92 continues to grow. Stretford residents are increasingly sceptical of the claims from Trafford Council that the scheme will be the major driver for the regeneration of their area. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"UA92 UPDATES","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[196,53,202,192,194,193,128,54,195],"class_list":["post-301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-special-feature","tag-brendan-flood","tag-football-university","tag-issue-171","tag-kate-green","tag-microsoft","tag-placements","tag-stratford","tag-ua92","tag-ucfb"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-4R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":176,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/11\/09\/sports_news\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":0},"title":"SPORTS NEWS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 9 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"TAKING ON THE STRETFORD END In this issue, we publish a letter from a Stretford resident stating some of the objections from local residents to the siting of the new UA92 in the middle of their community (see Letters below). This is symptomatic of the growing \u2013 and strengthening \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/01\/18\/subtext-171-the-stable-genius-of-a-shithole-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":1},"title":"subtext 171 – ‘the stable genius of a shithole subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"January 18 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, tech, groveling apology, website, UA92 bonanza, court, leadership bonanza, UCLan, BAM, lowercase letters, shart, concert review, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL We had it all sewn up - the editorial was written, the issue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":351,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/15\/spawt\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":2},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"MARKET RESEARCH? WHO NEEDS IT! In subtext 171 we reported an attempt by a Stretford resident to obtain more information on UA92 via a Freedom of Information request to the University. Despite being given the old 'commercial in confidence' brush off, the resident persisted, with follow-up questions seeking more detail\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "lu text lost and found"","block_context":{"text":"lu text lost and found","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/lu-text-lost-and-found\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":325,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/01\/ua92-in-the-toons\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":3},"title":"UA92 IN THE TOONS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a tale of mixed fortunes for the Class of '92 since the last subtext. Although Trafford Council has now given them the go-ahead for UA92, the plans for the main student accommodation have been knocked back and another site within the Stretford regeneration zone will have to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":524,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/04\/26\/spawt-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":4},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"April 26 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"SALFORD QUEASE When asked if Gary Neville had 'shopped around' other universities before settling on Lancaster as his business partner, the Vice-Chancellor didn't 'believe' this to be the case. It turns out that this actually was the case, and that Gary had had extensive talks with Salford University about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":478,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/15\/spawt-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":301,"position":5},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"TRAINING GROUND MOVES News from Manchester of continuing local opposition to the onward march of Gary Neville\u2019s Barmy Army (subtexts passim ad nauseam). The campaign this time is to protect Turn Moss, a stretch of open green space on the outskirts of Trafford. The Council is backing Gary\u2019s plan to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}