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The Wellington Group The “Wellington Group” is an informal, periodic seminar of higher education policy and institutional leaders from seven countries – Australia , Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. This group meets to discuss the higher education issues these countries share in common, such as: widening participation and success in higher education, providing affordable access, financing the full range of teaching and research in postsecondary education, closing class- and race-based achievement gaps, and maintaining globally competitive workforces and R&D investments . The group evolved from a series of bilateral exchanges begun in 1999 between a group of English higher education leaders, assembled by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and a group of U.S. higher education leaders. James R. Mingle, then Executive Director of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) and David Longanecker, Executive Director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, assembled the initial U.S. group. At a May 2004 meeting in Ditchley Park, England, the group was expanded to include representatives from the seven countries currently involved. When representatives from these seven countries met again in March 2007 in Wellington, New Zealand, they resolved to continue their periodic exchanges and adopted the name “Wellington Group.” The members have agreed to rotate responsibilities for hosting the meeting; the next meeting of the group is scheduled for July 16-18, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. To provide ample opportunities for in-depth discussion, participation in meetings of the Wellington Group is limited to approximately five representatives from each country. As outlined below, each country has designated a country coordinator to organize its participation and select a diverse group of participants for each meeting. The host country develops the program for each meeting in close collaboration with the country coordinators. Australia: Colin Walters, Country Coordinator Colin Walters, Manager of the Higher Education Group in the federal department of education, science and training, is responsible for higher education policy and programs, including core funding for universities, student loan programs, quality and accountability issues. The 2007 Australian delegation will likely consist of two federal policy leaders, one state policy executive, and two university Vice-Chancellors (CEOs). Canada: Fiona Deller, Country Coordinator Fiona Deller is Coordinator for Postsecondary Education for the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), an association of education policy makers in the Canadian provinces. The Canadian delegation for 2007 will consist of two representatives from the Council of Ministers of Education (provincial government), two from the federal government, including Neil Bouwer, Director General of the national Learning Policy Directorate, Human Resources and Social Development, and one from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. England: Cliff Hancock, Country Coordinator Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive, HEFCE is responsible for assembling the English team, working with Cliff Hancock, the International Manager for HEFCE. For 2007, the members will include Diana Warwick, Chief Executive, Universities UK; Bahram Bekhradnia, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute; Michael Wharton, Vice Provost of University College London, and, provisionally at this stage, Ruth Thompson, Acting Director General for Higher Education for the national Department for Education and Skills. Ireland: Tom Boland, Country Coordinator Tom Boland, Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Authority in Ireland, will assemble the Irish team and participate personally in the meeting and its planning. Although the Irish delegation is not yet assembled, its previous delegations have included university and technical institute CEOs, policy experts, and national higher education leaders. New Zealand: Colin Webb, Country Coordinator Colin Webb, Deputy Chief Executive for the Tertiary Education Commission in New Zealand, will assemble the delegation from New Zealand. As in the past the New Zealand delegation will likely consist of one university Vice-Chancellor, one Polytechnic chief executive, two representatives from the Tertiary Education Commission, and the Chief Executive or a senior leader from the Ministry of Education. Scotland: Roger McClure, Country Coordinator Roger McClure, Chief Executive of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC), attended the last Wellington meeting alone. He will participate in the Chicago meeting and, to the extent feasible, will bring additional higher education leaders from Scotland. United States: Paul Lingenfelter, Country Coordinator Paul Lingenfelter, President of the association of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), will assemble the U.S. delegation and host the 2007 meeting of the Wellington Group in Chicago. The planned U.S. delegation will include state executives, at least one representative from the U.S. Department of Education, one or more leaders from national institutional associations, and leading U.S. policy analysts. |