The 1994 Group was a coalition of smaller research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom, founded in 1994 to defend these universities' interests following the creation of the

Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to governme ...

by larger research-intensive universities earlier that year. The 1994 Group originally represented seventeen universities, rising to nineteen, and then dropping to eleven. The group started to falter in 2012, when a number of high performing members left to join the

. The 1994 Group ultimately dissolved in November 2013.

Role

The group sought "to represent the views of its members on the current state and the future of higher education through discussions with the government, funding bodies, and other higher education interest groups" and " adeits views known through its research publications and in the media". University Alliance, million+, GuildHE and the

were its fellow university membership groups across the UK higher education sector.

Members at time of dissolution

Historical membership

The following table shows the membership of the group since its formation in 1994. The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), which merged with the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

to form the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, was a member of the 1994 Group until October 2004. The

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

was also a member until 2006, and the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

until July 2008.

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, Queen Mary, University of London and

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

left the 1994 group in 2012. All have now joined the

. In October, the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and University of Bath withdrew from membership of the group. The

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

also announced its intention to leave the group on 6 November 2012. On 19 December 2012 the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

announced that it would cease to participate in the group, although its membership formally ended in July 2013.

1994 Group position in league tables

Governance and management structure

The 1994 Group was headed by a board made up of the heads of member institutions. The board met formally five times a year. In addition, an annual residential conference took place in the summer where longer-term strategic issues were discussed. The board had responsibility for determining strategy and agreeing all policy papers, position statements and consultation responses, and responsibility for the governance of all joint activity. The chair was elected by board members for a three-year term of office. Professor Michael Farthing, vice-chancellor of University of Sussex, was elected chair in 2011. The chair was the national spokesperson for the group and represented its interests where a senior representative of the group was required. The chair had overall responsibility for the development and delivery of the communication strategy on behalf of the board. Previous chairs included: 1997-2000 Sir Ivor Crewe (Essex); 2000-03 Alisdair Smith (Sussex); 2003-06 Sir David Eastwood (UEA); 2006-09 Sir Steve Smith (Exeter); 2009-12 Paul Wellings CBE (Lancaster); 2012- close Michael Farthing (Sussex). The chair was assisted by a Chair's Advisory Group (CAG) elected from the board for a three-year period of office (initial membership was staggered to ensure a rolling change of membership). The CAG met on four occasions each year. CAG members had a general brief for assisting the chair in the development of all areas of group policy (including management of the relationship with the Policy Groups). The CAG had a central role in the development of relationships with government, funding bodies, and HE stakeholder organisations.

Policy groups

The 1994 Group had three high-level Policy Groups that met three times a year to discuss longer-term strategy and policy issues. The 1994 Group's Student Experience Policy Group aimed to identify the key issues surrounding student experience in the HE sector, defining the 1994 Group's own position in this context, and identifying potential areas for research and activity in the future. The Research and Enterprise Policy Group aimed to strengthen the research carried out by its members by investigating funding and other issues. The Strategic Planning and Resources Policy Group developed policies and guidelines in response legislative and financial changes affecting the group's members.

References

External links

* {{University associations and groupings in the United Kingdom College and university associations and consortia in the United Kingdom 1994 establishments in the United Kingdom 2013 disestablishments in the United Kingdom