Establishing the Trusted Voice – the Burgess Papers and 30 years of the UKCGE

Being on the UK Council for Graduate Education’s (UKCGE’s) Executive Committee for seven years, the last four as Chair, I was privileged to gain an unusually comprehensive understanding of its workings. However, I only really got to see how and why the UKCGE was first established towards the end of my tenure. Given that 2024 was the Council’s 30th anniversary year, ​‘an historical look back’ emerged as an ideal theme for the third Sir Bob Burgess memorial lecture. I therefore volunteered to take a look at the files of old Executive Committee minutes that were known to be in the Council’s digital archives … and four large .pdfs, running to a total of 1270 scanned pages, duly found their way into my inbox. 

These were largely in date-order and included: numerous formal typed and letter-headed minutes, letters and policy papers; closely typeset newsletters; scruffily-handwritten A4 sheets (often marked up by a neater hand); and various agendas and draft memos liberally embellished with yet more of that scruffy handwriting. As well as their contents, the papers introduced a conundrum: how had the central UKCGE team come into possession of an orderly archive of papers that predated the existence of that team? … whose papers had they actually been? 

1994 saw several note-worthy beginnings. Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party; Nelson Mandella was elected President of South Africa; the first women were ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England; the BBC aired a new sitcom called The Vicar of Dibley; and … the UKCGE was founded. 

That final ​‘beginning’ was no accident – the period 1993–96 was rife with proposals and policies that were to bring fundamental change to the regulation and funding of postgraduate education in the UK. These included: the 1993 government white paper ​“Realising our Potential” which presaged the research councils’ adoption of structured training support for PhD students and the ​‘1+3’ model; the 1994 ​“Brundin Report” from the research councils’ Working Group on Postgraduate Support; a 1994 proposal from UCAS to implement a national admissions framework for taught postgraduate courses (ultimately, this was not adopted); a 1995 call for evidence for the HEFCE ​“Review of Postgraduate Education”; preparatory arrangements for RAE (now REF) 1996, setting out draft ​‘volume weightings’ of research students for use in QR funding calculations; and the 1996 ​“Harris Review of Postgraduate Education”, which contained 70 recommendations focussing on Standards and Funding.

As early as 1993, some key people were recognising that the UK’s providers were poorly placed to deal with this impending slew of regulatory and funding change. Firstly, there were no mechanisms or communities through which to determine a unified position, let alone a trusted voice to convey same (even institution-level mission groups were still in their infancy, with the famed ​‘Hotel Russell meeting’ yet to take place). Secondly, unlike America and Canada, the UK had no national organisation charged with sharing good practice between providers of graduate education. While many aspects of UK Higher Education have transformed since the early 1990s the current postgraduate landscape is unrecognisable. In 1993/4, a total of 85,105 full time postgraduate students had a 42:58 split between PGT and PGR. In 2023/24, a total of 847,905 postgraduates is split 86:14. In 1994, only 19 HEIs had some form of Graduate School, 8 of which are members of the 2025 Russell Group. UKCGE reviewed and informed subsequent development of such structures in a key series of reports.

While the 1270 pages of early archived papers only go back to January 1994, they do include a Provisional Constitution dated July 1993. These were drawn up by a precursor Steering Group, established in 1993 through consultations with the research councils and CVCP (now UUK), which went on to dominate the UKCGE’s founding Executive Committee. The Chair of both the Steering Group and the inaugural Executive Committee was Professor Bob Burgess, then of Warwick University, where in 1991 he had established the first Graduate School in the UK. He went on to be Vice Chancellor of the University of Leicester for over a decade, and play significant roles with (inter alia) the Society for Research into Higher Education, the British Sociological Association, and the Higher Education Academy – he deservedly became Sir Bob (in 2012). Indeed, while he played a dominant role in the establishment of the UKCGE, his work for the council was but a footnote in what was an outstanding career — the University of Leicester website still carries page after page of glowing testimonials contributed by former colleagues after his death in 2022.

The Provisional Constitution comprised eight Objects setting out what the Council was established to promote. These included ​“the interests of graduate education in all disciplines”, ​“a distinct identity for graduate education”, professional development and status of staff and supervisors”, and ​“effective leadership and management of graduate education”. There was, though, no commitment to providing for or representing postgraduate students, for the very good reason that an existing body – the National Postgraduate Committee (NPC) – was already doing just this. From the papers, it is apparent that there was space for both bodies, and that effective cross-working was achieved. Some years later, though, the NPC was absorbed within the larger National Union of Students.

To gain influence, the Council needed to be both useful and viable – that meant attracting and retaining members. Remarkable success was achieved on the first of these – 46 institutions had signed up (and paid a £350 fee) on 4^th January 1994, but this leapt to over 80 by the 28^th of that month. The inaugural meeting of the UKCGE Executive Committee was then held in Warwick on 8^th February 1994. The second, held at London School of Economics on 8^th February, marks the unleashing of a barrage of clearly pre-planned activities – arrangements for a summer conference and AGM, two workshops, draft responses to two policy papers, financial budgeting and business model development, putative appointments, international links, press protocols — and my favourite, a paper headed ​‘Working Groups’. The typed version of this pithily states ​“If the Council is to maximise the involvement of members, we need to set up a range of working groups to investigate such topics as:” and then lists 8 topics which went on to frame much of the Council’s activity over the ensuing decades. This typed version is, though, surpassed by a (scruffily) hand-written draft, apparently dashed out in a single sitting – an iconic document which exemplifies the vision, drive and sheer brilliance of its creator: Prof Sir Bob Burgess. The resolution, of course, to the earlier noted conundrum, is that the 1270 pages are actually scans of his files.

From its beginnings, the Council set out to be a ​‘trusted voice’ that was informed and representative of all parts of the sector. This is exemplified in the way that its Working Groups were tasked with gathering data and capturing multiple viewpoints before reporting on their findings. In 1994, three initial Working Groups were set up to prepare policy papers on ​‘Graduate Schools’, ​‘Taught Masters Courses’ and ​‘Quality for Graduate Education’. Each had a named Convener and was allocated a budget to support research, group meetings, and administrative costs. As they were developed, each group’s draft report was circulated to the full committee for comment and annotation on content and compliance with the ​‘house style’. The first report to come out, on ​‘Graduate Schools’, was published in June 1995 in a print-run of 2500 soft-bound, A5 volumes. The UKCGE’s 2022 report ​‘Structures and Strategy in Doctoral Education’ was the 7^th in its series on that topic. 

The Council was initially established as an ​‘Organisation’ with an expectation that UK HEIs would pay an annual fee as full members (which they did), but that others (including individuals) could also join for a lower fee. A business model and draft budgets were drawn up and carefully monitored on that basis, and funds were duly allocated to meetings, conferences, and publications. However, it was only late in 1994 that a part-time Administrator was appointed — the beginnings of the UKCGE central team. As a result, said Administrator took on a very large workload (the first one resigned within a year) and the Council built up a large bank balance. To formalise its legal status and governance arrangements, in 1996 UKCGE applied for and gained charitable status, subject to some specific modifications to the 1993 Draft Constitution. This formalised its basis as a going concern with, e.g., annual reporting of audited accounts. Importantly, it also provided the foundations needed to develop a central team – rather than continue operating as an Executive Committee supported by a ​‘fac totum’ Administrator.

Over the ensuing decades, many many people have contributed their time, expertise and energies to the Council on a voluntary basis. In writing this potted history, I’ve studiously avoided naming any of these individually, other than Sir Bob. However, on the grounds that it doesn’t appear to exist anywhere else, I would like to take this opportunity to list those who succeeded him as Chair: 

1994 – 2000 Bob Burgess (University of Warwick)

2000 – 2006 Howard Green (Staffordshire University)

2006 – 2012 Malcolm McCrae (University of Warwick)

2012 – 2015 Mick Fuller (University of Plymouth)

2015 – 2018 Rosemary Deem (Royal Holloway, University of London)

2018 – 2020 Gill Houston (Oxford University)

2020 – 2021 Douglas Halliday (Durham University)

2021 – 2025 Doug Cleaver (Sheffield Hallam University)

2025 – Rebekah Smith McGloin (Nottingham Trent University) 

Commensurately, the size, shape and capability of the central UKCGE team has gone through many changes. Subject to Charity Commission constraints (including financial viability) there are no absolute rules on how it should be constructed or how best to balance it with the wealth of voluntary contributions. Throughout, the key driver has been to ensure effective delivery of the Council’s ​‘Aims and Objectives’. The launch of Professional Networks aimed at key sub-groups (Deans and Directors, Education Practitioners, and Supervisors) and the phased development of the ​‘Good Supervisory Framework’ and ​‘Supervisor Recognition Programme’ have all required modification of the core team. Also, the increased opportunities for online delivery of materials and, latterly, events have necessitated regular review and refinement of both skill-sets and mind-sets. 

When the challenges of lockdown hit in early 2020, the Council was in a good position to both provide expertise and invest its financial reserves at what was clearly time of need. All events were pivoted online and were, in most cases, run at zero fee. Key consultation documents were rapidly developed and published, so they could be utilised across the sector as touchpoints to steer emergency policy changes. And online workshops were run to enable a collective switch to online assessments and support mechanisms guided by ​‘individual need’. Serendipitously, the experience gained in delivering all of this provided the foundations needed to take step-change in the Council’s operation. This was realised in 2023, when institutional subscriptions were increased by 50% but online workshops and seminars were made free to those from member institutions.

The Council retains a unique status. As neither provider nor funder, it resides in something of a nether world – but by adhering to its core aim of enabling ​“collective leadership which provides an evidence-led and trusted voice”, it has an unmatched capability when it comes to representing and disseminating to the postgraduate sector. This raises the prospect of increased involvement in funded research and advocacy as well as other potential developments. 

To close, I’m delighted to acknowledge the foresight of Sir Bob’s wife Hilary and former UKCGE Chair Prof Rosemary Deem in establishing the memorial Bob Burgess Lecture – it’s a great to have an event which recognises our foundations and celebrates our founder. I’m also happy to fall back on some words provided by friend (and honorary life member) of the Council, Prof Stan Taylor: ​“I only wish that Bob Burgess, whom I knew and worked with on and off for half a century, was around to see what had become of the UKCGE. He would be absolutely thrilled that it had fulfilled his dream of becoming the representative body for graduate education in the UK, influencing public policy, and acting as a research hub.”