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The AUA is the professional body for managers and
administrators working
in HE in the UK and Ireland. It was formed from a merger of the CUA and
the APA
(Conference of University Administrators and Association of
Polytechnic Administrators)
when the Polytechnics acquired university status, so has a history
dating back
to the 60's and 70's.
Its aim is to promote excellence in HE management and administration. It's committed to raising the profile of management and administration in HE as a profession, developing best practice and high standards in the area. Management and administration for Higher Education is to be promoted as a specialist field. Management and administration in HE has features that management and administration in other fields don't.
The AUA has a code of professional standards within which members are expected to operate and which is promoted for adoption by others. These are very simple, almost common sense or common courtesy type codes. Personal development within this code is seen as the key to achieving excellence in HE management and administration, in the belief that people are the key resource of organisations.
The AUA is not a trade union and shouldn't be confused with the work of the trade unions. It's a professional body, with different aims to trades unions, and provides things that trades unions don't.
Membership
The AUA currently has about 4,000 members in total across the UK, 75 of which belong to the UCL branch and 16 to neighbouring organisations with links to the UCL branch.
Membership is very varied. The people who join are drawn from a variety of levels and areas within HE, from student administration to finance or estates. Some members are new to HE while others have already been following some sort of career in HE management or administration. Nationally, the AUA has members who are senior managers, Vice Chancellors and directors but most members are actually middle managers and administrators. At UCL we have members who are directors or heads of department but we also have members who are administrative and clerical assistants. Our membership spreads across many areas such as:
- Academic Department Offices
- Education and Information Systems
- Estates and Facilities
- Faculty Offices
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Registry
Membership of the AUA is open to all those members of staff within UCL who are involved in management, administrative or clerical activities, are committed to promoting excellence in their work, and are willing to work to a code of professional standards.