A preview of AUDE’s Annual Conference - what will Directors of Estates be prioritising for the rest of the year?
By Mark Swindlehurst, AUDE Chairman
Mark Swindlehurst is the current Chairman of the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) and Director of Facilities at Lancaster University. Since joining Lancaster University in 2003 Mark has been responsible for leadership, strategic planning and effective integration of facilities service delivery across the University including leading a £500m campus redevelopment programme.
In less than two weeks, AUDE (the Association of University Directors of Estates) will host its Annual Conference at Roehampton University, bringing together Directors of Estates and Facilities from Higher Education Institutions across the UK together with international delegates from North America, Australasia and South Africa.
In line with its aims of supporting members to run university estates so that they are professional, innovative, efficient and effective; the AUDE conference will provide an opportunity for members to share best practice as well as discuss future trends, network and hear from a distinguished line-up of speakers. Campus Estate Management will be in attendance but what will be some of the significant emerging topics and challenges that the sector will be facing in the future?
The key themes identified by the organisation this year include: the impact of the estate and campus services on students’ experience and decision making and dealing with more new places available in the next academic year in a climate of continued reduced funding.
Student satisfaction and value for money continue to be our priorities.
The student experience is increasingly important in today’s competitive marketplace. One of the key indicators for Higher Education facilities is student satisfaction which is something UK institutions have consistently performed highly in. The UK HE sector is increasingly becoming a buyer’s market – more choice for students who are paying the higher tuition fees – and Directors of Estates must always keep students at the forefront of their decision making. With that in mind, AUDE has this month conducted research with 2000 students to find out what influences their choice of choosing a university. Unsurprisingly course comes out top, but a very close second is the facilities that the university provides. The research also highlighted that 90% of students said that they felt their HE institution was being well looked after and cited the library and IT facilities as the top university resources that they used most. Sports facilities and the students union also factored highly with nearly 30% of students saying that they used both of those the most.
Whilst this is validation for excellent estate management that happens across the sector, we are not resting on our laurels and we continue to take care and invest in our facilities to meet the demand. We’re also conscious that when we talk about the student experience it’s not about just getting a good degree and having a great time whilst at university, we also look at how the estate and its facilities might also shape our students in someway, preparing them for the next stages of their lives. It is a responsibility we take seriously.
Effective estate management has never been more important to support the UK’s 2.3million Higher Education students.
One of the key challenges that we have had to adapt to is four years of Government spending cuts. This has significantly reduced the growth of the Higher Education sector, which now stands at only 1% per year. Prior to this the sector had undergone a lengthy period of sustained growth (approx 10% per year). Despite this reduction in funding, tens of thousands of new places have been made available across the UK in September 2014. The number of UK students may also keep increasing with the cap on student numbers being lifted in September 2015. Moreover, universities are set to see a continuing influx of international students. Both of these factors will put pressure on revenue budgets, which are not increasing, and in some areas will continue to decrease. A reduction in HEFCE capital means universities have to be even more creative with the way they invest in their physical estate.
Effective estate management will help maintain the UK’s dominant position on the HE world stage.
UK universities frequently perform highly in various world rankings, in almost all cases coming second on the global world stage behind the US. In the latest Times Higher Education World Rankings 10 UK Universities were included in the top 100 and one of the key factors in scoring is the depth and breadth of facilities available to the students. It is our job to ensure that the facilities continue to be world class to attract the best possible students from across the UK and internationally.
The annual conference is an excellent chance for Directors of Estates to meet up and talk about what the challenges and successes of their year have been but more importantly, they will also hear from some leading speakers, who understand the climate they are working in and are exemplars in our sector who we will all be able to learn from.
It is through sharing best practice and supporting our Directors of Estates that AUDE will continue to ensure we are providing innovative ways of working and putting students right at the heart of everything we do.