UKeU (Hansard, 22 March 2004)

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on UKeU; and what discussions took place between UKeU and the Open University before it was launched. [162513]

§ Alan Johnson
The Government have provided £62 million to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for the eUniversities project. I understand HEFCE has provided £32.6 million to date to the eLearning Holding Company for investment in UKeU. A further £7 million has been used for the set up of the project and various public good programmes for the support of e-learning in higher education institutions.
The eUniversities project was overseen from its outset by the HEFCE working in partnership with other funding bodies and the UK higher education sector. It was steered by a group with a wide representation from the HE sector, and the then Vice-Chancellor of the Open University was a special adviser to that group. The Open University, working with Cambridge University, was also one of UKeU's first pilot providers and is engaged in the eChina programme managed by UKeU.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have enrolled in UKeU since it was launched; and what the average cost has been of educating each student. [162514]

§ Alan Johnson
Students are enrolled in programmes provided by UK higher education institutions through UKeU. As at November 2003, I understand that 900 students were enrolled.
The £32 million invested to date through the Holding Company in UKeU has mainly supported the creation of an infrastructure to underpin e-learning in UK higher education institutions, rather than individual courses, whose costs per student vary according to their subject and content.

§ Mr. Wyatt
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will merge UKeU with the Open University. [162515]

§ Alan Johnson
The future business direction and structure of UKeU is a matter for its board, taking into account the views of its major shareholder (the Holding Company—representing the views of the UK higher education sector) and its major funder, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). HEFCE is currently holding restructuring discussions634W with the boards of UKeU and the eLearning Holding Company, to identify the best way forward to secure value from the venture for the higher education sector.