COLLABORATIVE BUSINESS EVALUATION (BUSINESS SIGN OFF)
If an existing Validated Centre wishes to submit a proposal for new business to be
considered they should always contact the CPO to discuss the proposal before work
begins on the business evaluation forms. If a potential new Validated Centre is proposed
via a School or College contact then the details must be passed to CPO to initiate the
process. In all cases, proposals coming from new or existing partners CPO will contact
the partner to establish some specifics. The discussion does not have to be lengthy,
however it is essential in order to ensure the Centre is fully advised on:
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the correct business evaluation form that will be required,
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the level of Committee scrutiny that will be required,
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any other stakeholders that may benefit from an initial discussion such as the link
School and the College Finance and Planning Manager,
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any other Schools already working with the proposed partner,
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any past associations or relationships with the prospective partner.
This initial discussion will enable CPO to:
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Initiate the Business Evaluation Form,
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Add the proposal to the NTU collaborative business evaluation tracking document,
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Give early notification to stakeholders mentioned above of the pending
prospective business and in addition CADQ who, for planning purposes, will need
to be aware as early as possible of any potential approval event after the
business sign off process is complete.
Business evaluation is undertaken in two parts, outline and full. Validated Centres are
only required to complete the Outline Form.
Outline Proposal
The outline proposal is used as a first step in undertaking a business evaluation. It is a
precursor to a full business case and its function is to provide brief information so that:
1. The School Executive can assess whether the proposal is sufficiently appealing to
explore further and make a thorough business investigation (the full business
case).
2. The College Management Team can assess whether
a. the proposal is attractive to the College;
b. there are any conflicts of interest; and,
c. the College can provide the resources needed to help the School carry out
a full business case and bring the proposal to fruition, in the timescales
indicated.
When a Validated Centre indicates they wish to submit a proposal, CPO will complete the
relevant section of the outline by gathering information of the proposal at the initial
discussion stage. This process is always initiated by CPO. At this stage CPO will notify
the following stakeholders that a proposal has been initiated; the Dean of the link
School, the Associate Dean, the relevant College and Finance Planning Manager(s),
CADQ, and Legal Services.
If the proposal is for a change to an existing course the Validated Centre is also required
to complete a Reporting Proposed Changes to Courses form which will be considered via
the Validation Service Sub Committee (VSSC). CPO will liaise with the Centre and CADQ
on this process.
The form is then sent to the Validated Centre for completion with instructions to return
the form to CPO to the following dedicated inbox: CPOcollaborativesignoff@ntu.ac.uk
Only the outline form is sent to the Centre so Section A should capture all the
information required to enable the SEG and CMT to make an informed decision.
Once CPO has received the completed form it is sent to the Dean and Associate Dean of
the link School and the College Finance and Planning Manager, for completion of
Sections C and D respectively.
The outline comprises a brief written summary of the proposal, plus a presentation of the
case to the School Executive (Gate 1). If successful, the outline form is presented to the
College Management Team (Gate 2). There is a streamlined process option available
after Gate 1 should the School wish to progress the proposal to full evaluation at this
stage.
CPO should be notified of the outcome of each stage via the minutes.
Full business case
At this stage, if the outline proposal has been successful, a full business case will be
undertaken. The outline form should be sent by the CMT Administrator to the College
Finance and Planning Manager with instructions to proceed.
The full business case requires much more detailed financial evaluation, due diligence
investigations and also financial negotiations with the partner.
The full business case form does not seek any additional information from the Validated
Centre so is sent to the School and College at the same time as the outline form. The
full business case form should be retained by the College Finance and Planning Manager
and married up with the outline form once approval to proceed is confirmed. The
College Finance and Planning Manager should contact CPO prior to undertaking the full
business evaluation to confirm if any details of the proposal have changed since the
outline was completed (Section G).
The College Finance and Planning Manager may wish to consult CPO in regards to the
number of potential verifier visits and costs.
The full business case comprises a written summary and financial details (and
attachments) of the proposal and should be attached to the outline business case, and is
presented back to the School Executive (Gate 3) and if successful onto the College
Management Team (Gate 4). If the streamlined process had been previously agreed by
School Executive at the outline stage then it should all be presented directly to the
College Management Team (Gate 4) and by-passing Gate 3.
If CMT sign off is successful, the Head of College is asked to present the full case to the
University Internationalisation Committee (UIC) for overseas proposals (Gate 5) and
then onto the University Executive Team (UET). UK proposals go directly to the
University Executive Team (UET) (Gate 6).
CPO should be notified of the outcome of each stage via the minutes. The signed outline
and full forms should be returned to CPO who will in turn notify the Validated Centre of
the outcome and, if successful, instruct CADQ to commence academic approval.
Streamlined Sign-off process
There is no provision for “fast tracking” collaborative proposals. Due to the risk involved
with collaborative provision there is a requirement to ensure business and academic
approval are fully separated out and follow a linear process.
However, if a School identifies a collaborative proposal that it wishes to consider quickly,
the business approval process can be shortened, and the minimum NTU sign off
requirement can be employed. This streamlined process does not ‘skip’ any of the Gates
but allows presentation to Gates 1 and 2 once rather than twice.
Institutional and Course Review business case
Typically the period of approval for Validated Centres and courses is 3 years and an
institutional and course review should be scheduled prior to the expiry date of the
Institutional Agreement.
Business evaluation will take place prior to a periodic Institutional and Course Review
and sign off should be confirmed before the commencement of the academic Review
event by CADQ.
Unlike all other VS proposals, review business evaluation is not considered at outline and
full stages but is considered as one continuous process, and recorded on one Review
form.
CPO will contact the Centre one year prior to the expiry of the current Institutional
Agreement to initiate the process. Sign off should be fully completed 10 months prior to
the expiry date of the Agreement. So, if an Agreement is due to expire on 31 August
(standard) then the sign off should be completed by the end of October in the preceding
year. Please note that some Centres’ Agreements have non-standard dates but the
timeline remains the same.
CPO will send the Review form to the Centre for the completion of Section A, with
instructions to return it to the dedicated inbox in CPO at
CPOcollaborativesignoff@ntu.ac.uk
Section B, completed by CPO, provides an opportunity for the evaluation of the
relationship with the Centre and confirmation, or otherwise, of adherence to the post
validation operational requirements over the past 3 years. CPO manage the ongoing
relationships with Validated Centres and are best placed to provide relevant information
on the past performance of the Centre.
When Sections A and B are complete, CPO will send the form to the Dean and Associate
Dean of the link School and the College Finance and Planning Manager, for completion of
Sections C and D respectively.
At School and College level the Review comprises a written summary of the proposal,
payment history, and re-negotiation of the financial schedule for the next period. Due
diligence may be required if there have been any significant changes to the Centre
management or there are any other external factors to take into consideration, for
example the stability of the host country.
The Review case is presented to the School Executive (Gate 1) and, if successful, to the
College Management Team (Gate 2), and again, if successful the University
Internationalisation Committee for overseas reviews only (Gate 3), and ultimately the
University Executive Team (UET). The form provides space for all decisions to be
recorded and who should be notified at each stage.
CPO should be notified of the outcome of each stage via the minutes. The Review form,
signed at all stages should be returned to CPO after UET. CPO will notify the Validated
Centre of the outcome and, if successful, instruct CADQ to commence academic review.
The timeline of completion of sign off being 10 months prior to the expiry date of the
Agreement is set to allow sufficient time for a number activities or processes to be
followed prior to the commencement of the renewed Institutional Agreement and next
period of approval. This begins with the Centre producing the documentation required for
the Review, followed by a period of iteration with CADQ in the lead up to the event, the
organisation of the event itself, time for the Centre to meet any conditions set at the
Review and, once met, the signing of the renewed contract.
Contracts
All collaborative provision is subject to a formal contract. Legal Services have developed
a standard template for Validation Service arrangements. The contract comprises three
sections, the Institutional Agreement, the Financial Schedule and the Schedule of
Courses.
Following a successful validation or review CPO will draw up the Institutional
Agreement section of the contract, extracting the relevant information from the CADQ
report following the event.
The Schedule of Courses is a list appended to the contract which lists all of the courses,
the delivery site, the language of instruction and the period of approval covered by the
contract. The Schedule of Courses may be updated with additional courses following
successful validation within the period of the contract without obtaining new signatures –
this is done by CPO.
The Financial Schedule is drawn up by the College Finance and Planning Manager
following financial negotiations with the Centre. The College Finance and Planning
Manager is responsible for ensuring that the finances agreed with the Centre are
captured in the Schedule and that they are reviewed as necessary (the only exception to
this is the Further Education College’s – the Financial Schedule for the FECs is drawn up
and renewed by CPO as standard charges apply). Financial Schedules are used by CPO
as a working document to invoice the Validated Centres so clarity is important.
Contacts should only be signed after a successful academic approval or review event but
before the date of commencement and enrolment of students at the Validated Centres.
Signed Contracts for Validation Service arrangements are held centrally in CPO.
The following business evaluation forms are included in this section:
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CBE-A1 New Validated Centre – Outline
CBE-A2 New Validated Centre – Full
CBE-A3 New course at a new or existing Validated Centre – Outline
CBE-A4 New course at a new or existing Validated Centre – Full
CBE-A5 Additional delivery site – Outline
CBE-A6 Additional delivery site – Full
CBE-A7 Additional cohort(s) to existing course – Outline
CBE-A8 Additional cohort(s) to existing course – Full
CBE-RVS Periodical Institutional and Course Review
Please contact CPO for all new business enquiries – CPO will forward the appropriate
form for completion.