Previous page
Table of Contents
| Previous page |
Table of Contents |
Next page |
1. The University's mission statement makes clear that the purpose of the Board of Continuing Education is to make the University, and the standard of excellence it represents in education, learning, and research, available for the benefit of the wider community, locally, nationally, and internationally in ways which complement the University's traditional full-time provision.
2. The Government's Green Paper, 'The Learning Age: a renaissance for a New Britain', published in 1998, gave welcome and wider recognition to the idea of 'lifelong learning' and to the need for educational opportunities to be available throughout life. The Board therefore welcomed the setting up by the Council of a Review Committee for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. The Committee has been asked to review the University's policies and current and potential activities in continuing education, lifelong learning, and comparable areas; to prepare a framework for the further development of these activities; and to make recommendations about related administrative, managerial, and financial arrangements. The Committee is expected to report to the Council and the General Board during the year 2000.
3. The year 1998-99 was a successful one for the Board's work and the details of student numbers, courses, and other activities set out in the appendices to this Report provide evidence of the continued demand for continuing education and the services it can provide (see paragraph 7). The following paragraphs describe the Board's activities for the year 1998-99, the one hundred and twenty-sixth year of the University's involvement in lifelong learning, and the contribution the Board has made to helping both individuals and institutions to benefit from the University's expertise.
4. In 1998-99 a combination of the continuing freeze on the Board's HEFCE-related Chest allocation and a major financial contribution to University costs in connection with Madingley Hall reduced the overall revenue surplus for the year to £89,000 (1997-98, £230,000). Representing 1.5% of annual turnover, this can still be regarded as a satisfactory result. Discussions continued on a method of determining the Board's share of the HEFCE teaching funds allocation for the future.
5. The Board's capital accounts, which broadly maintained their purchasing value over 1998-99, continue to be designated for capital projects (in particular a learning resource centre and major kitchen refurbishment at Madingley, and new premises in Cambridge), equipment replacement, education development funds, and contingency reserves, the latter representing approximately 10% of annual turnover.
6. The Board's work is organized in the following way and an outline of the main activities of each area during 1998-99 is given below:
7. More detailed information about the Board's work is provided in the following appendices:
| Appendix A | Publications |
| Appendix B | Summary of courses and enrolments |
| Appendix C | List of students awarded Certificates or Diplomas |
| Appendix D | Public Programmes summary list and accreditation figures |
| Appendix E | Public Programmes course and enrolment list |
| Appendix F | Additional student and course information |
| Appendix G | International statistics |
| Appendix H | Legal Studies Course and Enrolment List |
| Appendix I | Cambridge Programme for Industry Statistics |
| Appendix J | Cambridge Programme for Industry Project Descriptions |
| Appendix K | Accounts for the year ended 31 July 1999 |
| Appendix L | Membership of the Board, 1998-99 |
Note: Appendix A and Appendix C are published at the end of this Report. Copies of the other appendices listed above may be obtained from the Board of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall.
8. The work of the Public Programmes Division is to provide lifelong learning in the community. It covers the provision of courses for individual learners who wish to expand and deepen their knowledge across the curriculum, ranging from Art History to Zoology. It is characterized by openness of access, flexibility of provision, and the freedom for students to use it to meet their individual needs.
8.1 During 1998-99, 465 courses were provided for nearly 7,600 students. The majority of courses carried credit towards undergraduate-level certificates or diplomas. The programme consisted of the following courses:
| Local and regional award-bearing courses held at around 70 centres in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, north Essex, west Suffolk, and Hertfordshire | 211 |
| Residential award-bearing courses at Madingley Hall | 193 |
| Master of Studies Degree courses | 2 |
| Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses | 11 |
| Day schools | 48 |
| Total number of courses | 465 |
8.2 With regard to the students, the following information has been derived from the database:
| % | |
| Students with a first degree from a UK institution | 28 |
| Students gaining credit | 46 |
| Women | 67 |
| Men | 33 |
8.3 Local and Regional Provision: the Extension Programme. The Extension programme attracted 2,485 students over 141 courses with an average class size of 18.6 students. Although the number of individual students was slightly lower than in 1997-98, the same number of FTEs was gained, as more students enrolled for 20-week courses.
Some new centres were established (Dunstable and Rickinghall) and some established centres took on new subjects.
More consolidation of Local Centres was undertaken and meetings were held with many Local Centres to discuss course selection, long-term planning, and publicity. This helped to place the courses within their academic framework and to determine their viability and where aid might be needed.
With regard to the ACE Programme held on the Sidgwick Site in Cambridge, 13 of the 36 courses planned for 1998-99 were cancelled owing to a combination of Tutor illness and relocation, plus disappointing enrolments during the Lent Term. Of the courses which did run, Archaeology, Philosophy, and Creative Writing were the most popular. 305 students attended the 23 courses with 27% achieving credit, and with an average class size of 13.
The HEFCE-funded Third Age Rural Learners' project concluded with its comparative study of integrated courses in Hertfordshire. Its aim was to encourage third age learners in rural areas to participate in university continuing education on non-accredited courses in the hope that they would subsequently enrol on the accredited programme. This will be monitored by the project worker.
8.4 Local and Regional Provision: Certificate and Diploma Programme. Enrolments on the Certificate and Diploma programme in 1998-99 totalled 648, which included students returning for the second year of two-year non-modular courses, as compared with 409 in 1996-97 and 562 in 1997-98. Of those, the great majority of enrolments (525) were on modular courses. The modular nature of the programme strengthened links with courses offered in other parts of the Public Programme, and planning was put in hand to develop study pathways further in the coming year.
During the year Certificates and Diplomas were awarded as follows:
Certificates: 109
Diplomas: 45
Certificate core courses included Archaeology, Drama and Theatre History, English and Local History, Film Studies, Landscape History and Field Archaeology, Legal Studies, Medieval Studies, Modern English Literature, and Science. The following Diplomas were offered:
8.5 Residential Programme (Madingley Hall). The objective for the Residential programme in 1998-99 was to consolidate the policy of offering a wide range of courses which enabled students to accumulate credit in their chosen subject pathways. Many new tutors, often recruited from within the University Faculties, taught at Madingley during the year and the courses offered also included a number of subjects specifically requested by students. Analysis of student feedback confirmed that although many students wish to develop their interests in specific subject areas, a significant number have more eclectic tastes and prefer to study across a broad range of subjects. Early indicators suggest that an increasing number of students are attending Residential courses to augment the credit they have accumulated on other programmes, or to support study for degrees at other institutions.
Of the 3,408 students who attended the 193 courses which ran during the year, over 79% gained credit. The average attendance on weekend courses was 17.6, but specialized courses have run with a minimum of six students. During the year 13 courses had to be cancelled, some owing to low recruitment, but others owing to the last minute unavailability or illness of tutors.
Throughout July and August, longer residential courses were held at Madingley and during 1999, an increased number of five-day and seven-day courses were offered. These were well received. In addition to allowing for more in-depth study and course-related field trips, the provision of longer courses made it feasible to invite eminent academics from further afield, e.g. from University College, Dublin.
8.6 Degree Courses: Master of Studies. The enrolment for the two Master of Studies courses remained steady: 11 students completed the second year of the Master of Studies in English Local History and 11 students completed the first year of the Master of Studies in Modernism.
8.7 Continuing Professional Development: HM Forces Programme. The HM Forces Programme for 1998-99 consisted of 10 courses which attracted 178 participants. In addition to the Strategic Studies and Airpower courses which are planned in conjunction with staff of the Centre of International Studies, the programme included a Unix course held at the Computing Laboratory. Courses in 'Managing Change' and 'Counselling Skills' were offered and also two courses specifically designed for Senior Officers from the three services. In addition, two conferences for Military Field Tutors and a major RAF conference were organized at Madingley Hall as a result of personnel attending the HM Forces Programme.
During the autumn of 1998, the Ministry of Defence put the university short course programme out to tender. In consultation with the other university providers, the Board successfully submitted a tender for seven short courses which concentrated on Strategic Studies, Airpower, and Unix. In addition to these short courses, two courses for Senior Officers will continue to be provided each year.
8.8 Continuing Professional Development: Cambridge IBM Programme. The five-week programme for international IBM managers took place in June for the thirty-second time. It was attended by 33 participants.
9. International and joint programmes and enrolment. The International Division ran 12 programmes, with a total of 162 courses, compared with 11 programmes and a total of 144 courses in 1998. (Three additional courses were cancelled due to low enrolment.) Enrolments were considerably higher than in 1998 (up 13% from 1,095 to 1,264), largely as a result of increases in enrolment of between 5% and 17% on each of the International Summer Schools. Numbers were also boosted by the 59 participants attending the new Science Summer School. Whilst the three joint programmes showed a slight decrease, the overall enrolment was the highest ever recorded.
9.1 Conference representation. The Division was represented at the NCHC (National Collegiate Honors Council) conference, and by presentations at the annual conferences of NAASS (North American Association of Summer Sessions) and EAIE (the European Association of International Educators) in November, and the Anglo-American Study Abroad Conference in April, heightening its profile and updating staff on developments in short-term study abroad world-wide.
9.2 Student profile. Students attending the International Summer Schools came from 65 countries. Some 24% came from the European Community, 50% from the USA (reflecting several newly-established relationships, as well as long-standing relationships, with particular institutions) and 26% from the rest of the world, including 8% from Japan and 4% from Australia and New Zealand. Some 162 (14% or 1:7) had attended the programmes before. 62% of students in 1999 were current undergraduate or graduate students and 15% were teachers or lecturers; 39% had university degrees, including 16% with M.A.s or Ph.Ds.; 68% were female.
9.3 Teaching profile. 118 different lecturers contributed one or more whole courses (of between 5 and 24 lectures) to the programmes. A further 120 senior guests (from within the University of Cambridge and from farther afield) contributed one or more guest lectures, the majority of which formed very well-received series of plenary lectures for the Art History, History, English Literature, Shakespeare, Medieval Studies, and Science Summer Schools. The main International Summer School was enhanced by plenary lectures from leading Cambridge figures whose wide-ranging subject matter fell into one or more of three designated categories: 'Celebration, Controversy, or Discovery'.
9.4 Evaluation students. Academic standards were again high, and despite the lower enrolment, there was a significant increase (32%) in the number of written papers submitted: 714 in 1999, compared with 541 in 1998. (This may result partly from the 10% increase in the number of participants who were current undergraduate or graduate students.) Briefing meetings offering guidance and support for evaluation-takers were held for the third year running, and more detailed written guidance for evaluation-takers will become a permanent feature of the Summer Schools in future. Six students completed the intensive 'honours option', undertaking six pieces of written work and attending supervisions over a period of six weeks. One other student participated in the honours option, completing four pieces of work.
9.5 Scholarships. In recognition of the increased commitment to scholarship support, the Board awarded scholarships to thirteen students, mostly from Eastern European countries, to attend one of the programmes.
9.6 Extra-curricular elements. These elements of the Summer Schools included very fine concerts, as well as ceilidhs, jazz dance and disco, and an extensive programme of weekend excursions and course-related field-trips.
9.7 Summary. The administrative arrangements for the Summer Schools ran very well, despite the additional challenge of a split teaching site (Mill Lane/Sidgwick). The launch of the Science Summer School was very successful, and plans for an expansion of the curriculum in 2000 are already in place. A team of recent Cambridge graduates lent considerable support to the permanent team of seven in their handling of the largest Summer School so far, and responses from students and course directors was, on the whole, extremely positive.
10. Although the balance of work during 1998-99 shifted significantly in some areas of activity, the statistics revealed an overall increase in those attending programmes in Legal and Professional Studies. A total of 2,305 students attended some 74 courses and conferences or followed a distance learning programme.
10.1 The last residential programme for the lay magistracy was run during the year, and although courses organized by the Judicial Studies Board were expected to continue, input from the Board of Continuing Education will focus upon its work in the production of training material as part of the Magistrates' Training Video Consortium.
10.2 Continuing Professional Development for lawyers continued as an integral part of the legal programme. Specialist conferences for lawyers (some organized in conjunction with the Faculty of Law) assisted in maintaining an acceptable level of participation in CPD by the legal profession, and in particular, by members of the regional legal training consortium.
10.3 Once again the four-week International Summer School in English Legal Methods was successful and attracted over 100 lawyers and law students from non-common law jurisdictions. The law course was taught primarily by members of the University's Law Faculty. The Pennsylvania Bar Association made its fourth one-week visit to Cambridge for its annual Summer Study Programme. The distance learning Diploma in and Introduction to English Law and the Law of the European Union was a major activity, with students at universities in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria enrolled on the programme. In addition, students in Slovenia commenced their studies on a similar programme, which included a residential week in Cambridge.
10.4 Eight senior police officers graduated with an M.St. in Applied Criminology and Police Studies in 1998-99. The first group of prison officers obtained their Diploma in Applied Criminology and Management during the year and all progressed to the second, Master's, year of the course.
10.5 Apart from the regular LL.B. revision course for external students of the University of London and the annual course for teachers of A level Law, other activities included major conferences for the Central Probation Council and an association of international copyright lawyers.
11. The year just ended was productive and significant progress was made with projects, with internal developments, and with revenues.
11.1 Projects. During the year CPI continued to work with external organizations to help them achieve competitive advantage through the effective development and exploitation of knowledge, and through the development of their people. The CPI provided a consultancy service to a number of companies to analyse training needs and in some cases to develop a training programme in response to needs.
11.2 A wide range of processes were used to achieve the desired learning outcomes, from teaching to supporting private study or research and from longer-term in-company distance-learning programmes to intensive workshops in Cambridge. Learning processes were in many cases integrated with work, or work-based projects. Emphasis was also placed on collaborative forms of learning, including joint projects and the use of the Internet.
11.3 Increasing use was made of computer-mediated and Internet-based techniques for delivering content, enhancing interaction, and maintaining the learning process when students have returned to work. [A summary of current activity in this field is given in Appendix J, copies of which may be obtained from the Board of Continuing Education.]
11.4 The work of CPI fell into the following main project headings:
12. The year under review was a successful year for the Hall in its task of creating a learning community for the Board's students and supporting the educational mission of the Board. A total of 340 residential courses took place as part of the Board's provision, together with a number of non-residential events, including staff development events and day schools. Students continued to find highly satisfactory the majority of facilities and the quality of the service provided by the Hall. However student comment indicated that the Library facilities required improvement in terms of study space and IT facilities as well as stock.
12.1 The Hall continued to be used on a seven-day week basis for fifty weeks of the year. With regard to occupancy there was a slight drop (3%) in the overall occupancy rate compared with 1997-98. Measured in terms of bednights, the occupancy for 1998-99 was 13,563 as against 14,107 in 1997-98, and 13,377 in 1996-97. Expressed in percentage terms, the occupancy of the Hall was as follows:
| 1998-99 | 1997-98 | |
| % | % | |
| Residential courses for the public | 53 | 50 |
| Continuing vocational education | 9 | 12 |
| Conference work | 38 | 38 |
12.2 In the same way that Cambridge Colleges take conference bookings to raise income, the spare capacity in the Hall was let out for conference work. This work helped to generate the income required to fund the running of the Hall and grounds, including staffing, maintenance, student services, and improvements. The conference work related to the provision of services and facilities for educational conferences organized by other training bodies. A total of 275 residential conferences took place together with a number of non-residential events.
| DAVID HARRISON (Chairman) | D. MCINTYRE | A. J. RABAN |
| C. M. P. JOHNSON | R. MILLS | S. E. RAWLINGS |
| F. H. KING | R. J. C. MUNDAY | M. E. RICHARDSON |
| C. MALONE | S. J. ORMROD |
Brown, P. K.
'Mentally Disordered Offenders - Legal Frameworks and the Desirability of a Multi-Disciplinary Approach', 14th International Congress on Law and Mental Health (International Academy of Law and Mental Health), Toronto, Canada (13-18 June 1999).
Caley, L.
'It's not what you do…: Report of a DfEE-funded project', Learning at Work Conference, Leeds (September 1999), co-author with Hendry, E.
'Core Values - Global Markets: Designing a Learning Programme for Clinical Research Associate Tutors', CAL Conference proceedings, London (March 1999), co-author with Reid, S.
'Corporate Learning: Rhetoric and Reality', Innovations in Education and Training International, no. 35,3, co-author with Hendry, E.
Hendry, E.
'The Sustainability Learning Networks Programme: A case study in work-based, computer-mediated, collaborative learning', ENABLE 1999 Conference proceedings, Finland (June 1999), co-author with Courtice, P.
Howes, G.
'Changes in the organisation of society: the crisis of employment and work, and the need for enabling policies', Workshop on Regional Planning, pp. 141-45, Recife, Brazil (1998).
'Theology and Architecture - an Indian perspective', Church Building 56, (March/April 1999), p. 2.
Donaldson, George, and Kalnins, M. (eds.)
D. H. Lawrence in Italy and England, Macmillan, London (1999).
Kalnins, M.
'Play and carnival in Sea and Sardinia', in D. H. Lawrence in Italy and England (see above).
Joseph Conrad: A Personal Record and The Mirror of the Sea, Penguin, London (1998).
Reviews for Notes and Queries:
Literature, Modernism and Myth: Belief and Responsibility in the Twentieth Century, Michael Bell (September 1998).
Walking in the Shade: Volume Two of my Autobiography, 1949-1962, Doris Lessing (March 1999).
D. H. Lawrence, Dying Game: 1922-1930 (Vol. III of the Cambridge Biography), David Ellis (June 1999).
J. M. Coetzee, Dominic Head (September 1999).
Lord, E.
'Investigating the Twentieth Century', Sources for the Local Historian, Tempus Books (1999).
Two revised and three new entries for the Dictionary of National Biography (1999).
Malone, C.
'God or Goddess? The Temple Art of Ancient Malta', Ancient Goddesses: the myths and evidence, Goodison, L. and Morris, C. (eds.), pp. 148-63, London (1998).
'The articulation of disarticulation. Preliminary thoughts on the Brochtorff Circle at Xaghra Gozo', in Downes, J. and Pollard, A. (eds.), The loved body's corruption: contributions to the archaeological study of human mortality, Stoddart, S., Wysocki, M., and Burgess, G., with supporting contributions from Barber, G., Duhig, C., Malone, C., and Mann, G., Gloucester, Alan Sutton (1999).
Processes of Colonisation in the central Mediterranean, Accordia Research Papers, London (1999).
Reviews
Review of 'A Prehistory of Sardinia 2300-500 BC', Webster, G., Sheffield Academic Press (1996), in Antiquity 72 (1998) (275), pp. 234-38.
Review of The Significance of Monuments, Bradley, R., Routledge (1998), and Marking the Land, Bradley, R., Routledge (1997). 'Gleaning the Meaning' in Antiquity (June 1999).
Malone, C. and Stoddart, S.
'The conditions of creativity for Prehistoric Maltese Art', in The prehistory of creative thought, Mithen, S. (ed.), pp. 241-59, Routledge, London (1998).
Journals
Antiquity. Editor, March, June, September, December. (Editor).
Editorials: Antiquity 72 (1998) (275) 1-16, (276) 245-52, (277) 467-74, Introduction to Special Section, David Clarke and the loss Innocence (1973), 25 years after (676-77), (278) 729-38, Introduction to Special Section, Domestication of Rice, 857.
Editorial for September, December 1999, Special Sections: Landscape, Archaeology and Heritage in the Far East, 1999: Archaeology and Education, Archaeology and Heritage in south Asia, 1999.
Oosthuizen, S.
'The Origins of Cambridgeshire', Journal of the Society of Antiquities of London (1998).
Ormrod, S.
'The 'Undersea World' of International Summer Schools'. Article in Forum, the newsletter of the European Association of International Education (spring 1999).
'Cherry-picking amongst the elephant traps: rewards and challenges of teaching American students in international summer schools', Conference proceedings for the Anglo-American Study Abroad Conference (April 1999).
|
Margaret a Le Grove |
Eva Huang |
|
B. Kolbert |
C. Snelling |
|
Naomi Clark-Turner |
Nicola Green |
|
Emily Mumford |
Anne Pringle |
|
Curtis Parker |
|
Virginia Cole |
|
Nicky Hawksely |
Kathy Platt |
|
Tricia Aspinal |
June Ireland |
|
Ann James |
Graham Titterton |
|
Anne Concoran |
Connie Novak |
|
Mary Earl |
Bruce Kinsey |
|
Anna Adamska |
Paulina Madej |
|
Anna Bajerska |
Tomasz Kudelski |
|
Terence Curran |
Clare Taggart |
|
Candace Guite |
Emmanuel Kaitai |
|
Louise Burnett |
Karen Kindlon |
|
John Bligh |
Graham James |
|
Suzanne Anthony |
Antony Robson |
|
Carl Anderson |
Alan Paul |
|
Carol Brown |
Stephen Griffith |
|
Sherry Armstrong |
Michael McConnell |
|
C. A. Ellis |
J. Penwarden |
|
Colin Bowditch |
Shirley Mullen |
|
Christine Aitken |
Pauline Newberry |
|
Patricia Aarseth |
|
Douglas Upton |
|
Philip Herridge |
Michael Horgan |
|
Irene Abraham |
Christine Gibbons |
|
Mark Chapman |
Margaret Mayfield |
| Previous page |
Table of Contents |
Next page |
Cambridge University Reporter Special, 14 April 2000
Copyright © 2000 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.