Article
Moving on
Polly Curtis speaks to Professor Leslie Wagner about his achievements as vice-chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University as he retires from the post after 10 years
Professor Leslie Wagner has marked his retirement after 10 years as vice-chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University with a row. In a valedictory lecture last week he made his great defence of so-called "Mickey Mouse degrees". "Your course can have a trendy name and yet be rigorous. Equally it can be very traditional but un-rigorous. But those using the term 'Mickey Mouse' are not looking for rational argument. They are looking for the broadest possible brush to tar everything they don't like." David Beckham and EastEnders were subjects worthy of rigorous academic scrutiny, he added.
Professor Wagner may not agree with Margaret Hodge over the newly established degrees, but he shares other opinions with the government. Foundation degrees for one; a major advocate of the two-year job-related degrees, he will be using the first year of his retirement to head a taskforce overseeing their expansion. He'll also be leading the teaching academy, another of the government's higher education babies.
Professor Wagner is recognised as a leader in widening participation, and has experimented - successfully - with LMU. In 10 years he's overseen the doubling of student numbers, a take-over of Harrogate further education college and the increase in applied research. He's seen the university become a major player in the city and given it a £20m makeover.
"When I came here I said this is a place with six front doors and no back door. This place had no focal point, you had to walk through a car park to get to an entrance. We wanted to make the statement that we are here," he says. The Leslie Silver building was completed in 2000 and put LMU firmly on the map. Professor Wagner is pleased with the result. He says they no longer have to defend themselves for being "only the poly".
"When I arrived, we had only just come out of local authority control. There was still a bit of resentment that the college was taken away from the city. We had to put our elbows out a bit and insist that we could contribute and be seen as equal to the University of Leeds," he says, adding: "We unashamedly went for growth."
And growth is what LMU got. With Leeds classed as one of the most attractive cities for students, and with LMU's reputation growing, student numbers rocketed. However, Professor Wagner is concerned about whether the university can sustain this growth. "There's some evidence to say that the 'Leeds factor' may not be as strong as it was. We have another expansion of numbers this year, and a decline in applications. Whether we fill those we'll find out once we get into clearing." It's not a university-wide problem, he adds, but one focused on particular departments facing nationwide declines, such as computing.
But it's not Professor Wagner's problem. From next term it will be left to his successor, Professor Simon Lee, to sort out, as will be deciding what to charge once top-up fees are introduced.
"I would hold to the view that you charge the maximum until you have a good reason not to," says Professor Wagner. "As a vice-chancellor I may have a view about what is good for the country, but I'm not paid to ask what is good for the country, I'm paid to ask what is good for Leeds metropolitan. We had 14,000 full-time students this year, if I put the maximum in - and I can still get the students - I raise the income by £28m - that's 25% of our total.
"The question is would the students come at the maximum price? The question is what will everyone else do? Would you forgo £28m? Imagine what we could do with salaries?"
He says that if it were his job to decide what to charge for his courses, he'd call in the experts, and spend "a good deal of money" on business consultants to calculate the risk for him. However, he adds: "It's not my problem. But I think it is a major problem."