Brian Roper (born 15 December 1949) is a British economist and former
vice-chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (f ...
.
Career
Roper was born and raised in southeast London, and studied economics at the
University of Wales
The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff †...
. After a stint at
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
he studied for a master's degree at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
.
In 1980s Roper held a number of administrative posts at the
Newcastle Polytechnic
, mottoeng = A lifetime of learning
, established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status
, type = Public
, budget = Â ...
, including the Head of the School of Economics, the Head of the Faculty of Professional Studies and assistant director.
[.]
Roper then moved to
Oxford Polytechnic
Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences.
Polytechnic may also refer to:
Educatio ...
(renamed in 1992 into
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
) to take up the deputy director post there.
He later served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
In early 1994 Roper moved to the
University of North London
The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...
to become Vice-Chancellor there. He remained at that post until the 2002 merger of North London with
London Guildhall University
London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...
, which produced the
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (f ...
.
London Metropolitan University
After the merger
Roderick Floud
Sir Roderick Castle Floud FBA (born 1 April 1942) is a British economic historian and a leader in the field of anthropometric history. He has been provost of the London Guildhall University, vice-chancellor and president of the London Metropoli ...
was appointed as the vice-chancellor and chief academic officer and Brian Roper appointed as the chief executive and accounting officer.
Effective 1 April 2004, Brian Roper became the Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, with Roderick Floud becoming the university's president.
His salary for 2006-7 was £276,000
before bonuses, making him the highest paid vice-chancellor in the country. Since the formation of London Met he caused controversy due to the receipt of large pay increases. In February 2005 the
Times Higher Education
''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education.
Ownership
TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
reported that he was the "biggest winner" among V-Cs over the past decade, having seen a 124% increase in his salary. It also noted that his pay rise from 2003 to 2004 occurred at a time when the university was seeking job cuts "because the institution has failed to meet internal financial targets".
Role in London Met financial crisis
In 2009 Roper resigned his position as London Metropolitan's Vice-Chancellor in the wake of a
financial crisis
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
at the university that followed from submission of inaccurate data on its
drop-out rate, resulting in overpayments of government support. One report commissioned by the university 18 months after his departure found that Roper had "the major responsibility and culpability" for the financial situation: It alleged that Roper and some members of the executive were aware that the university had been applying its own interpretation of funding rules on student drop-outs – rather than the funding council's – since 2003, but took no action. The university's
board of governors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...
and
audit committee
An audit committee is a committee of an organisation's board of directors which is responsible for oversight of the financial reporting process, selection of the independent auditor, and receipt of audit results both internal and external.
In a U. ...
had an
oversight
Oversight may refer to:
Governance
*Regulation – rulemaking
*Separation of powers in state governance (checks and balances) - the concept of separate branches of government or agencies exercising authority over one another
*Checks and control ...
role, which made them ultimately "accountable for a financial failure of this magnitude" and meant that they "must take overall responsibility". A subsequent report was however commissioned by the university to "institute an investigation into
the role of the senior staff mentioned in the Melville and Deloitte
reports". The conclusion of that report by the law firm Eversheds was that "We have seen no evidence that there was any attempt or collusion to manipulate the
student records system or to code the software running the system to maximise the
number of completions returned to HESES or HESA. We believe the systems were set up
in a way that maximised the returns by accident with no thought given to the mismatch
of completion and progression definitions between HEFCE and the University in its
academic regulations and the impact of that on the coding of the student record systems
or the submission of the HESES or HESA returns". (https://web.archive.org/web/20120502013013/http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/fms/MRSite/psd/secretarys-office/FOI-Classes/DELOITTES-1.pdf).
Views
In 1997 Roper was a vocal opponent of the government's plans to increase student tuition fees, arguing that such a move would significantly reduce university enrolment by low-income students. He also spoke against the use of
A-levels
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
as the sole screening test in university admissions, arguing that the students' background and social circumstances must also be taken into account.
During his service as the London Metropolitan's Vice-Chancellor, Roper was involved in a series of contentious battles with the union representing the university's lecturers.
In 2008, Roper attacked the government funding of
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, calling them "
finishing school
A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...
s" that had not delivered on government priorities for
social mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...
.
[.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Brian
1949 births
Alumni of the University of Wales
Alumni of the University of Manchester
English economists
Living people
Vice-Chancellors by university in England