Leicester Vaughan College Community Benefit Society
As a community benefit society, Leicester Vaughan College is run by a board of directors. The current board members have been co-opted to run the Society during the start-up period of the institution. After this one-and-half year period, an annual general meeting will be held in which all members of the society will be encouraged to vote to decide who will sit on the board. The board will make decisions about significant institutional policy rather than the day-to-day running of the College. The College will have an academic committee, with student representation, which oversees the quality of the courses and other teaching and learning matters.
Anyone can be a member of the Society who subscribes to its objects (see below). You do not have to be either a member of staff or student to join: just someone who cares about accessible university-level adult education in Leicester and the surrounding county and region. Students and staff are not required to be members. The cost of membership is £1 per year.
If you would like to become a member of Leicester Vaughan College Community Benefit Society please fill in the membership form and return it to contact@vaughan.coop or post it to Leicester Vaughan College, c/o Leicester Adult Education Centre, 54 Belvoir Street, Leicester LE1 6QL.
Our Objects
Our aims are to:
- provide university-level education [Higher Education] to those over 18 in Leicester and beyond
- offer education which is centred on fully-accredited face-to-face, part-time learning and is open to anyone who can benefit from it professionally, personally or intellectually
- continue and expand the Vaughan tradition of providing adult learners in Leicester with high quality university-level education, which is compatible with the requirements of working and personal lives
- develop courses which reflect local needs, and our local and economic context, including non-accredited courses
- build, through the values and ethics of co-operation, an institution which prioritizes education over profit
We will support:
- the provision of education and opportunities for a broad range of students from diverse communities
- an equitable and sustainable working context for adult educators and all who work and learn as part of the College
- an alternative and sustainable model of Higher Education focused on the needs of students, staff and the wider community, delivered through co-operation
Our Objects in full
“The objects of the Society shall be to carry on any business for the benefit of the community by providing flexible, university-level education which is aimed primarily at mature students, and delivered in an equitable and sustainable context for staff.
We, the Society members, believe in education as a public good: it benefits both society as a whole and its diverse communities by enabling self-improvement, mutual-improvement and civic participation.
The Society exists to provide those over 18 in Leicester and beyond with university-level education [Higher Education]. This education is centred on fully-accredited, face-to-face, part-time learning and is open to anyone who can benefit from it professionally, personally or intellectually. It offers individuals opportunities to develop, change or advance their lives and careers. It benefits communities through solidarity, co-operation and gaining the tools to address the challenges faced by society.
We will continue and expand the Vaughan tradition of providing adult learners in Leicester with high quality university-level education, which is compatible with the requirements of working and personal lives. We will secure the provision of this kind of education and opportunities for a broad range of students from diverse communities. We will support an equitable and sustainable working context for adult educators and all who work and learn as part of the College. We will ensure the courses we develop reflect local needs and our local and economic context. Through co-operation, we will provide an alternative, reproducible and sustainable model of Higher Education focused on the needs of students, staff and the wider community.
We will use these values and the ethics of co-operation to build an institution which prioritises education over profit.”