| Description | Minutes of the committee appointed as a result of a contract agreed between the University of Birmingham and the Department of Employment in 1989 as part of the government initiative Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) which aimed to equip graduates with specific skills needed for employment. The committee's terms of reference were to assist the Director of Enterprise in the strategic management of the University's Access to Enterprise Programme; to discuss and approve plans submitted by the Schools for inclusion in the Programme, to ensure that these plans are consistent with the agreed objectives of the Programme, and to establish a timetable for their implementation; to monitor the progress of the programme in meeting its agreed objective, by receiving reports from the Schools and through the University's procedures for monitoring academic performance and standards; to approve reports on the Programme for submission to the University Council and the Training Agency; and to approve annually the extension of the contract with the Training Agency. The committee also provided a forum for discussion with the University's external partners in the Programme. The day-to-day administration of the Programme was undertaken by a small Executive group which would meet monthly, and the main committee met three times a year and reported to University Council
Membership consisted of the Director of the Enterprise Programme as chair; the Director of the I.B.M. Information Centre; the Director and one other member of the Office of Research Support and Industrial Liaison; the Director of Careers Service; a representative of the Centre for Computer-Based Learning; one lay member of University Council; School Enterprise Counsellors; representatives from industrial, commercial and public sector organisations associated with the Programme; a representative from Birmingham Polytechnic; and the Vice-President (Education and Communications) of the Guild of Students. Representatives of the Training Agency also attended.
The first meeting was held on 30 January 1990 and the minutes contain discussion about the objectives and structure of the Access to Enterprise project, a five year development project to facilitate and support development of the curricula in the Schools so that components relevant to the 'world of work' and to the subsequent employment of students after graduation were included. The programme was intended to equip students with the personal skills they would need, and each participating School would have an 'Enterprise development' year in which changes to courses were put in place. An Enterprise Counsellor was recruited for each School. Skills listed in papers relating to the project include resourcefulness, leadership, management, team work, flexibility, the development of Information Technology and Business Technology skills for use in academic work and future careers; direct experience of work through project work, case studies and work experience placement; and knowledge of business practice, project management and new venture creation. Support was provided through the IBM Information Centre, the Centre for Computer Based Learning and Staff Development Unit
The committee considered and approved proposals from the Schools, and minutes of subsequent committee meetings contain copies of reports, and plans for curriculum development and other papers submitted by Schools, such as School Enterprise Plans. Minutes include figures for the breakdown of expenditure, reports on meetings with employer partners and papers on collaborative projects with employers; discussion of staff development issues; case studies for enterprise in individual Schools; and copies of the Access to Enterprise annual report. There are also references to the summer vacation employment fair; and discussion of the Enterprise Evaluation Strategy. Minutes of the meeting held on 2 July 1991 include copies of reports from participating Schools evaluating Enterprise activities during the implementation year 1990-1991
Minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 1991 include a copy of a report entitled 'The First Year of Enterprise in Higher Education', a case study by the Tavistock Institute on the Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) initiative.
Papers for the meeting held on 16 November 1994 include a copy of the Access to Enterprise final report, marking the end of the formal project, and so presumably also the end of the committee's terms of reference |