Council Regulations 1 of 2020

Administration, purpose and powers

8. The committee shall be responsible to Council for the proper administration of the scheme including distribution of income under the scheme in accordance with these regulations.

9. (1) The current scheme shall run for a fixed period from year 0, being the year ending 31 July 2019, through to year 10, being the year ending 31 July 2029, with a mid-term review as set out in regulation 11 below.

(2) The scheme shall generate a fixed annual income as follows, with individual college contributions calculated as set out in regulation 12 below:

(3) The total fixed annual income for years 4 to 10 will be determined by multiplying £4.5 million by the index value of CPI for the July falling immediately before the start of that financial year and then dividing the product by 107.9 (being the index value of CPI for July 2019).

10.(1) The income received under the scheme shall be fully distributed each year and shall be used for the following purposes:

(a) for year 0, £3 million to improve graduate access in ‘recipient colleges and Permanent Private Halls’, being those agreed by the committee in accordance with regulation 10.(3) below (‘the graduate scholarship portion’);

(b) for years 1 to 10:

(i) £3 million (plus CPI in years 4-10) to make grants to build endowment in ‘recipient colleges’, being those with the lowest taxable assets per student as agreed by the committee under regulation 10.(2)(a) (‘the endowment portion’); and

(ii) the balance to improve undergraduate access in colleges and Permanent Private Halls by supporting university wide, evidence-based, evaluated access projects, prioritising the Opportunity Oxford and Foundation Oxford programmes (‘the access portion’).

(2) The committee shall have the power:

(a) to determine the list of recipient colleges entitled to make an application for an endowment grant under the scheme;

(b) to determine the list of recipient colleges and Permanent Private Halls entitled to make an application for a graduate scholarship grant under the scheme;

(c) to make rulings on the income of colleges for the purpose of the scheme, and on their consequent liability to contribute;

(d) to call for reports from colleges to amplify their financial statements and calculations;

(e) to call for information and reports from Permanent Private Halls which provide equivalent information to that obtained from colleges;

(f) to determine what payments made under the scheme will meet the purpose of the scheme;

(g) to carry out whatever investigation may be necessary in order to ascertain that payments have been used as intended; and

(h) to charge interest on late payment of contributions at the official rate of interest (that is to say, the rate applicable under Section 178 of the Finance Act 1989, or any statute amending or replacing that section).

(3) The committee shall make recommendations to Council on the distribution of the graduate scholarship portion of the scheme to colleges and Permanent Private Halls and the payments shall be made only to those colleges or Permanent Private Halls that appear on the list of recipient colleges and Permanent Private Halls determined for this purpose by the committee.

(4) The committee shall make recommendations to Council at least once a year on the distribution of the endowment portion of the scheme to recipient colleges and the criteria for making a grant will be satisfied if a college:

(a) appears on the list of recipient colleges created by the committee; and

(b) submits to the committee for review a plan which satisfactorily shows how the grant will assist their strategy for endowment funding.

(5) The access portion of the scheme shall be paid annually to the Access Fund Management Board, to be established under Part 5 below, who will use the payment as described in regulation 10.(1)(b)(ii).

(6) The committee shall report annually to Council on the way in which the income under the scheme has been distributed and this report will be shared with the Conference of Colleges.

11. The committee shall carry out a mid-term review of the scheme, to:

(1) consider whether the list of recipient colleges for the endowment portion requires revision for years 6 to 10 of the scheme; and

(2) examine whether any part of the access portion should be used to fund graduate access projects during years 6 to 10 of the scheme, taking into account the recommendations of the Access Fund Management Board 

and shall report to Council on its findings.

Calculation of sums payable by colleges

12. The sum payable each year by each college for years 1 to 10 of the scheme shall be calculated as follows:

(1) Find the average of the taxable assets (calculated in accordance with regulation 15 below) for the five years prior to the current year of the scheme.

(2) Use the average taxable assets figure to calculate the college contribution by applying the following bands and rates:

(3) Check whether the calculated college contribution amounts to less than 0.5% of the average taxable assets of the college and rebate any college where this requirement is not satisfied.

(4) Add together the college contributions of all those colleges not excluded under regulation 12.(3) above to give the total college contribution.

(5) Calculate the adjusted college contributions by comparing the total college contribution to the fixed annual income (as set out in regulation 9.(2) above) for the relevant year and:

(a) if the total college contribution (‘TCC’) is less than the fixed annual income (‘FAI’), calculate the percentage increase that would need to be applied to the total college contribution to give the annual sum ((FAI-TCC)/TCCx100) and apply this percentage increase to each of the college contributions; or

(b) if the total college contribution is more than the fixed annual income, calculate the percentage decrease that would need to be applied to the total college contribution to give the annual sum ((TCC-FAI)/TCCx100) and apply this percentage decrease to each of the college contributions.

13. The sum payable by each college for year 0 of the scheme shall be equal to the sum paid to the fund by that college for the year ending on 31 July 2017.

14. At the same time as submitting its annual financial statements under section 10 of Statute XV, each college shall also submit a statement in the form set out in the Schedule to these regulations.

Meaning of taxable assets

15. For the purposes of the scheme, taxable assets will be calculated to be:

(1) the aggregate of the following:

(a) total funds less tangible fixed assets per the consolidated audited financial statements of the college at 31 July;

(b) 30 per cent of conference and function income included in the consolidated audited financial statements of the college at 31 July, multiplied by 100/4; and

(c) total funds per the consolidated audited financial statements of any entity over which the college exercises control or dominant influence, or whose objectives are mainly or exclusively confined to the benefit of the college, if the financial statements of that entity are not consolidated with those of the college - such financial statements to be drawn up not more than 12 months preceding the 31 July at which the college’s financial statements are drawn up;

less funds included in total funds per the consolidated audited financial statements of the college at 31 July which must be applied by the college as sole trustee for purposes wholly outside the objects of the college; and

(2) less allowances for exceptional obligations, multiplied by 100/4.

16.(1) There shall be excluded from conference and function income all fees, dues, establishment charges and charges for meals which are paid to the college by or on behalf of student members of the college who are members of the University; and also charges paid to the college by senior members of the college in connection with their employment by the college, or in connection with their membership of the college or its common room.

(2) Conference and function income shall otherwise include all fees and charges paid to the college by or on behalf of all parties, including visiting students who are not members of the University, and all fees and charges paid to the college in respect of conferences and functions organised by or on behalf of members of the college.

17. If a contributing college considers that its endowment is burdened by some charge or obligation of an exceptional nature in respect of which a deduction ought fairly to be made, it may submit a written application to the committee. The committee shall consider that application and may at its discretion decide what deduction (if any) shall be allowed to the college in respect of that charge or obligation (whether imposed on the college or accepted voluntarily by the college for reasons which the committee considers reasonable having regard to the interest not necessarily only of the college but if appropriate also of the University and colleges as a whole).

New colleges

18. For any new college created after 31 July 2018:

(1) if the new college has taxable assets of more than £50 million it will be required to participate in the scheme on the same basis as existing colleges; and

(2) if the new college is in the lower bracket of wealth it will not automatically become a recipient college.

19. Where a new college is required to participate in the scheme and it is not excluded under regulation 12.(3) above, its contribution will be in addition to the fixed annual income and will be calculated as follows:

(1) Find the average of the taxable assets (calculated in accordance with regulation 12 above) for the five years prior to the current year of the scheme (or where the college has been in existence for fewer than five years, the average of however many years it has been in existence).

(2) Use the average taxable assets figure to calculate the college contribution by applying the bands and rates set out at regulation 12.(2).

(3) Apply the same percentage increase or percentage decrease to the college contribution as is applied to the other colleges under regulation 12.(5).

20. (1) The Access Fund Management Board (‘the board’) shall consist of:

(a) the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), who shall be co-chair of the board

(b) the chair of the Admissions Executive, who shall be co-chair of the board

(c) one representative of the Conference of Colleges’ estates bursars, elected by the Conference of Colleges

(d) one head of department or chair of faculty board, appointed by the Education Committee

(e) the Chair of Senior Tutors’ Committee or their nominee

(f) the Chair of Conference Graduate Committee or their nominee

(g) an Associate Head of either Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division or Medical Sciences Division, or their nominee

(h) An Associate Head of either Social Sciences Division or Humanities, or their nominee

(2) The appointed and elected members shall hold office for three years.

(3) Members shall serve no more than two consecutive full terms of office. Casual terms of office shall not count towards this limit.

(4) Notwithstanding regulation 4(3) above, the General Purposes Committee of Council may determine that one further consecutive period is permitted in an individual case.

(5) The following will also be entitled to attend meetings of the board:

(a) the Director, Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach

(b) one officer from the Academic Administration Division

(c) one officer from the Conference of Colleges Secretariat

21. The board shall be responsible for the proper administration and distribution of the access portion of the scheme, which will include:

(a) preparing an annual plan for expenditure to ensure that the access portion of the scheme is used in a timely way;

(b) when preparing the annual plan, taking account of the funding needed by and available for undergraduate access throughout the University;

(c) publicising the availability of funds from the access portion, to encourage applications for funding; and

(d) reporting to the College Contributions Committee at least once a year on the distribution of the access portion.

22. The funds in the access portion of the scheme may also be used to support fundraising to place the Opportunity Oxford and Foundation Oxford programmes on a fully funded footing and release funds for other access priorities.

23. The board shall carry out a mid-term review of the access portion to:

(a) set the priorities during years 6 to 10 of the scheme; and

(b) examine whether any part of the access portion should be used to fund graduate access projects

and shall report on the outcome of this review to the Education Committee, the College Contributions Committee and the Conference of Colleges by the end of Hilary term 2024, which report will feed into the College Contributions Committee’s mid-term review under regulation 11 above.

24. A college aggrieved by a decision of the committee under these regulations may appeal to Council.

The Schedule

Statement of Assets and Contribution

Year ended 31 July