The university’s relationships with overseas universities have been prioritised over those relationships held with regional colleges during the past year.
The Office for Associated Institution has been reorganised, with regional relationships being pushed to the backburner and International relations being made number one priority. The newly named Academic Standards Quality has joined together with part of the Teaching Quality Support Office to ensure that partnership with both regional further education colleges and oversees institutions, that offer Lancaster-validated degrees, are equivalent to those offered here at Lancaster University.
Lancaster University has regional teaching partnerships with several colleges in the North West since the sixties. This has resulted in universities such as Edge Hill and Cumbria being able to build towards recognition as an independent University Institution.
However, in a recent Senate the policy was altered and ties with Nelson & Colne College and Accrington & Rossendale College were ordered to be terminated by August 2011, with no additional HE course being validated in the interim. Links with Blackpool and Blackburn colleges will no longer grow but be fixed in a steady state in terms of the number of programmes the university validates. Each new programme introduced must see the withdrawal of another course in its place.
With regional ties being slowly diminished, International links are blossoming with affiliate institutions all over the world. Located in Malaysia, Sunway College witnessed its first graduation where students were awarded a degree from both Sunway College and Lancaster University due to the academic partnership that was set up in September 2006. The two Sunway students; Tay Ee Lin and Chan Jinn Yep were chosen as Chancellor’s scholars for their persistent hard work and high level of dedication and performance thus being able to experience university from different perspective in a two week visit to study at Lancaster University.
This year, also sees the introduction of the launch of five masters degrees under this partnership. Money, Banking & Finance, Management, Management with Law, Mobile Systems and Computer Science will be offered at Sunway College, in collaboration with the course at Lancaster University.
Other partnerships with Lancaster University include Shaghai Jiao Tong University and the Indian Institute of Management.
With a continued increase in the courses being offered at Universities abroad in conjunction with Lancaster University and an abrupt reduction in regional affiliates, Lancaster University has made it apparent by its actions on its plans for the future and what direction the University is taking.
