London Metropolitan University bosses cleared by inquiry - no involvement in financial scandal
Published: 21 May 2010
by TOM FOOT
AN independent investigation has cleared London Metropolitan University bosses of any wrongdoing in last year’s financial scandal.
Hundreds of academic jobs were axed and departments shut after the Holloway-based university was asked to repay £35million to the government.
The university had wrongly reported student drop-out rates to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) over three years. But a report from international law firm Eversheds, commissioned by London Met, found there was “no basis for disciplinary action” against the university’s director of finance Pam Nelson and deputy vice-chancellor Dr Robert Aylett.
In a statement, vice-chancellor Professor Malcolm Gillies said: “Through this external report – the fifth report into this sorry tale – the threat of any disciplinary action is lifted from individual colleagues. However, the university recognises there is need for reform of senior management arrangements, and development of a more open style of university administration.”
Prof Gillies was appointed following the departure of former vice-chancellor Brian Roper in April 2009 after details of repayment demands emerged. The university has agreed to repay £10million to Hefce in September. Drop-out rates were reported as between two and four per cent when the annual average was 30 per cent.