Tax payer and the cost of Student Lifecycle Project

University of Glasgow did not have the information requested.

Dear Sir or Madam,

First of all I wish to provide you with a bit of background so that you can give me an answer that I will be able to understand.

As a Scottish tax payer I am fully behind the Universities.

From entries on the whatdotheyknow.com website I have noticed that the University of Glasgow has embarked on an initiative, the Student Lifecycle Project, which will cost millions of pounds and take years to complete.

To understand what this project is about I have studied various documents and comments provided by the University.

What puzzles me is the absence of a clear justification for such a huge investment particularly in the current economic climate. Your literature related to this project appears to be a load of management jargon that is meaningless to Joe Public. My real concern is that for an investment of such magnitude, you seem to be unable to provide any evidence of substantial financial or academic returns. The amount of money involved could break the back of the University and then we, the public, will have to bail the University out. Even if the University can sustain this expenditure without any concrete evidence of financial or academic returns, it would lead me to feel that the University of Glasgow is being over funded by our Government and I will be compelled to contact my MSP and MP to express my concerns. As a tax payer I would like to be sure that you are prudent with £13 million pounds of public money. However, given the number of entries in the whatdotheyknow.com website in relation to the University’s Finance System implementation and your replies to them does not fill me with a great deal of confidence.

I would be grateful if you could answer a few simple questions to reassure me that you know what you are doing with our money.

Here are my questions:

a. What are the success criteria for the student lifecycle project?

b. For each of the success criteria, please send me details of when each will be materialised and how the success will be measured?

c. Has an external and independent body assessed the viability of this project? If so could I please see the report?

In your reply please refrain from using management jargon and get straight to the point.

Yours faithfully,

Cameron Buchan

David Black left an annotation ()

“Even if the University can sustain this expenditure without any concrete evidence of financial or academic returns, it would lead me to feel that the University of Glasgow is being over funded by our Government and I will be compelled to contact my MSP and MP to express my concerns.”

I am not sure about being over funded but in order to pay for this project the cost will be passed on to the academics and as a result academic activities will suffer.

FOI Office, University of Glasgow

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Buchan,

Further to your Freedom of Information request dated 11 September 2009
timed 07:21 hours. Please find letter of acknowledgement attached.

You will find that the University's acknowledgement of your information
request is in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this
email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it
preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with
fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download
a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer
by clicking on to the following URL:

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Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 4920

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
G12 8QQ

The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

FOI Office, University of Glasgow

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Buchan,

Please find attached the University's response to your Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 request dated 11 September 2009 timed
07:21.

You will find that the University's response to your information
requestis in PDF (Portable Document Format) file(s) attached to this
email.

The PDF file format is used for electronic distribution because it
preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with
fonts, colours, images, and layout. To open a PDF file you can download
a free program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer
by clicking on to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/...

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office

Direct Line: +44 (0)141 330 2523
Fax: 0141 330 4920

Gilbert Scott Building
University of Glasgow
University Avenue
Glasgow G12 8QQ
G12 8QQ

The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401