Information about reports by AIMS prior to July
2003 may be found in the archive.
The list below shows
reports produced by AIMS & Associates since incorporation in 2003. Unless otherwise specified, any
report may be available on request, subject to a small charge for
administration and to authorisation from the institution that commissioned
it. The
summaries indicate the type and extent of work carried out and
some of the benefits achieved for the institutions concerned. Because of
confidentiality, they do not refer to all issues raised nor to all proposals.
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Recruitment and Admission of Postgraduate Research Students | 2/5/58 (February 2008) |
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Systems Audit | Issued by SUMS. AIMS' reference 2/21/1 (October 2007) |
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Value for Money of Printing and Copying in Higher Education | Issued by SCHOMS. AIMS' reference 2/21/19 (June 2007) |
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Occupational Health and Safety Unit | 2/7/51 (February 2007) |
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Survey of the Views of Postgraduate Research Students on Registration | 2/5/57 (December 2006) |
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Staff Appraisal and Development Scheme | 2/5/56 (January 2006) |
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Delivery of IT Services | 2/17/2 (October 2005) |
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Strategy for Corporate Reprographics and Photocopying | 2/15/127 (July 2005) |
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Governance and Management of Research | 2/5/55 (July 2005) |
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Approval and Evaluation of Short Courses | 2/5/54 (April 2005) |
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Software for Computerised Timetabling | 2/17/1 (April 2005) |
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SITS Timetabling System | 2/1/17 (February 2005) |
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Biennial Benchmarking Survey of Computerised Timetabling in HE | 2/1/28 (December 2004) |
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Value for Money Review of the Registry | 2/14/1 (October 2004) |
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Allocation of Accommodation to New Undergraduate Students | 2/3/87 (April 2004) |
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Pre-QAA Baseroom Document Audit | 2/5/53 (February 2004) |
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Faculty Academic Processes | 2/5/52 (January 2004) |
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Provision, Procurement and Use of Legal Services | 2/4/80 (September 2003) |
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Support Services in the Vice-Chancellor and President's Office | 2/12/1 (July 2003) |
The summaries below are to indicate the type and extent of work carried out and some of the benefits achieved for the institutions concerned. Because of confidentiality, they do not refer to all issues raised nor to all proposals made by AIMS & Associates.
The assignment was commissioned by the University because of pressure on the OHSU. The report commented on the arrangements for the OHSU and its important role within the structure for the management of Occupational Health and Safety in the University. It recognised the strong Institutional support for Health and Safety matters, compared arrangements with those at other universities and considered the effects of statutory and regulatory developments. It made recommendations concerning policies, strategic management and operational improvements, including transfers of responsibility within the University's organisational structures. (Report reference 2/7/52, February 2007).
The review examined the functions and effectiveness of all parts of the Registry in relation to the needs and capabilities of departments, schools and faculties, gathering information from staff, users and senior management. The Registry had operated in a rapidly changing environment for approximately two years and further changes were imminent.
The report concluded that the Registry provided good Value for Money for its services, and also made a number of proposals, including a review of the use of databases in departments and faculties, changes to certain student administrative processes and the introduction of service level statements. It also proposed the review of sections in other parts of the University that duplicated the functions of the Registry (Report reference 2/14/1, July 2004).
SUMS (Southern Universities Management Services) asked AIMS to produce an inventory of computer systems at KCL, for use in a corporate review and reorganisation within the Institution. The report was managed and coordinated by SUMS and issued as a SUMS report. (Report issued by SUMS. AIMS' reference 2/21/1, October 2007).
Halls Offices experienced great pressure in the brief period between the final deadline date for applications for accommodation and the start of student induction. Examination of the system showed that this was an effect of the popularity of the halls, the University’s prioritisation policy and the deadline date. The report recommended changes to make the system more efficient for the University and fairer for the applicants.
The extension to Halls Offices of access to the Student Record system enabled several other improvements. The report also recommended greater standardisation of information sent out by halls, and an internal review of all statements of expectations of student conduct in residences (Report reference 2/3/87, April 2004).
The University provides legal services from several of its administrative and other support areas, and spends significant amounts on externally provided legal services. The assignment was to improve the value for money of the provision, whether “in-house” or “bought-in”. The twenty-four recommendations included providing training workshops and monitoring their effects on legal costs; and the establishment of a central non-research contracts support unit, mirroring some of the functions of the well-established service provided for research contracts.
The new unit, created largely by the redesignation of existing staff, would deal with the significant quantity (by value) of non-research contracts and the unknown risk attached. The report proposed means by which the new unit could be funded, and the monitoring of costs and benefits, with routine reports to enable senior management to confirm that the benefits outweighed the costs (Report Reference 2/4/80, September 2003).
The review examined the arrangements for large reprographic and photocopying machines within the University and compared them with good practice elsewhere, in HE and other large public organisations. It identified several benchmarks and key performance indicators that could be used by the University to make internal comparisons and to inform decisions about the required number and location of machines (Report Reference 2/15/127, July 2005).
The review covered Annual Programme Review (APR) and the associated reports; and the processes for programme amendment and the introduction of new programmes. It included a risk assessment, examples of good practice and confidence judgements and made recommendations for enhancement (Report Reference 2/5/52, January 2004).
This audit, carried out prior to a QAA Institutional Audit, involved examining a sample of the documents in school baserooms to determine the extent of availability of the information required by the University’s Quality Assurance Handbook and of other core information and identify examples of good practice. It identified risks, reached an overall confidence judgement and recommended improvements. The detailed findings were circulated to each School visited prior to the Institutional Audit (Report Reference 2/5/53, February 2004).
The report, produced for the Academic Audit Committee, examined the existing processes and their effectiveness. It made proposals for improvements, gave examples of good practice, recommended actions by the University and outlined several other strategic issues raised duringthe review (Report Reference 2/5/54, April 2005).
All arrangements for the governance and management of research were examined to identify anomalies that had accumulated as a result of the fundamental re-organisation of research that had occurred within the University over a considerable period of time. They related to the functions of committees and management staff, and the relationships between different parts of the University. The report made proposals about all these matters (Report Reference 2/5/55, July 2005).
The Academic Audit Committee asked AIMS to investigate the extent to which the Appraisal and Development Scheme was used, to obtain and summarise the views of staff and to make proposals for improvements. AIMS found some discrepancies in the use of the scheme within the University, identified recent improvements in the way it was used, and made seven suggestions for the Committee to consider referring to a University Working Party that was then examining the Appraisal Scheme. Report Reference 2/5/56, January 2006).
The Academic Audit Committee asked AIMS to assist with a survey of the opinions of Postgraduate Research Students on the registration proceses, as part of a wider review of the process that was being conducted by the University. The views of students were recorded through interviews at registration. Most interviews lasted between 1 1/2 and 2 minutes. It was clear from the comments made by students and by University staff that considerable improvements had been made to the procedures during the previous year. Among other matters, the report was able to summarise students' opinions of the date and time of registration, the procedures and the instructions provided prior to registration. It was also able to suggest eight areas for consideration by the University in its review of the processes, eight matters for further consideration and three operational issues where improvements were possible. (Report Reference 2/5/57, December 2006).
The Academic Audit Committee asked AIMS to assist with work to review the admissions processes and procedures for PGR students, including consistency, staff training, turnaround times and the appointment of supervisors, to identify areas of good practice and to make recommendations for improvements to the PGR admissions process and its implementation. The report identified eight possible points of improvement where procedures varied and recommended the provision of further guidance in seven other areas. (Report Reference 2/5/58, February 2008).
AIMS was appointed as a member of a team to consider printing and photocopying within HE in a review funded by HEFCE and managed by SCHOMS (Standing Conference of Heads of Media Services). The report, which is available on line from the SCHOMS' website, is in nine sections: the Business Case for Change; VFM Studies; an Audit Toolkit; Print Procurement; Cost Advantages of Internal Print Units; Outsourced Printing; VAT on Print in Universities; Operational Practice and a Review of Technologies.
AIMS' contributions included the Business Case for Change, the Audit Toolkit and the Guide to Operational Practice. (Report issued by SCHOMS. AIMS' reference 2/21/19, June 2007).
The University had specified its requirements in relation to a corporate software system to produce teaching timetables, and had invited responses from several suppliers. AIMS & Associates assisted the University in evaluating the responses, identifying possible shortfalls, and advising on possible additional corporate requirements that were not in the original specifications. The report also considered the risks and value for money attached to each response and proposed means by which the University could differentiate between them (Report Reference 2/17/1, April 2005).
The The University asked AIMS to examine the arrangements for the delivery of IT services, to review the conclusions and proposals of recent internal reports, to discuss good practice in the issues that were identified and to consider the issue of BCS accreditation. The report compared arrangements with those at seven other institutions. It made eleven recommendations and identified eighteen further issues of good practice for consideration by the University. (Report Reference 2/17/2, October 2005).
The review was to assess the existing service provision and make recommendations for the effective and efficient resourcing, organisation, management and operation of the direct support services in the Office.
The report recommended significant changes and simplifications in the working procedures, greater use of electronic tools to track the progress of activities that had been passed to other offices, and changes in filing routines to reduce the physical difficulty of handling heavy folders. It provided evidence of increased workloads and reasons for the increase. It proposed the conversion of adjacent areas to provide a more congenial working space (Report Reference 2/12/1, July 2003).
This biennial report analyses aspects of current approaches to corporate timetabling in the UK. The report is available on-line from the website and is of interest to anyone involved with or considering the introduction of computerised central timetabling (Report Reference 2/1/18, November 2004).
The report describes the current implementation of the SITS timetabling system, which is part of the very popular SITS student record system. The report is confidential and not available for release on request, but will be used to inform future assignments in this area (Report Reference 2/1/17, February 2005).