Conditions of Membership
UCEA conditions of membership are reviewed by the UCEA Board on an annual basis.
UCEA asks that members review the conditions of membership annually when members are invited to subscribe or re-subscribe.
1. Membership
1.1. UCEA Membership is at organisational level (and not at individual level).
1.2. The UCEA Board retains the right to approve applications for membership from any new or past member organisation. Only those organisations which meet UCEA’s Criteria of Membership will be considered.
1.3. The UCEA Board retains the right to terminate an organisation’s membership should that organisation be deemed no longer eligible or should the conduct of that organisation cause damage or harm to the reputation of UCEA or its members.
1.4. Member organisations that undergo significant changes in their corporate form, including mergers, will be subject to review of their eligibility and subscription by UCEA’s Board, effective from the point of change.
2. Contacts at member organisations
2.1. Each organisation is asked to identify and designate the appropriate individuals working within that organisation WHO it wishes to receive UCEA materials and/or to have access to member resources on the UCEA website. UCEA will by default identify the Head of Institution / CEO and HR Director post-holders as key organisational contacts; others can be added on request.
2.2. UCEA reserves the right to question (through the key organisational contact/s) the inclusion of a named individual on circulation lists or to be set up for a website account if it needs to clarify whether the person is in an appropriate role.
2.3. Members are asked to take all practical steps to keep the individual contact records UCEA holds for their organisation accurate and up to date, by notifying UCEA (enquiries@ucea.ac.uk) of both leavers and new appointments for whom website access should be granted and/or receipt of UCEA materials is required or for whom access should be disabled.
2.4. UCEA will write to members through the key contacts at least annually to request they undertake a review of the named contacts at their organisation and their level of access permission.
3. Website registration
3.1. Eligible staff at member organisations will be sent a unique email invitation to register to access the members’ area of the UCEA website. Registration can only be completed using an institutional email address (e.g. jane.smith@ucea.ac.uk).
3.2. Individuals must not share their log in details with others.
4. Resources and access
4.1. Access to member-only content on the UCEA website is granted in three permission levels, Updates-only, Member and Sensitive. UCEA will only grant access to any of these permission levels with the written authority of the HR Director or Head of Institution (or equivalent key organisation contact). Key organisation contacts have a responsibility to manage and maintain the currency of these permissions using the ‘My Organisation’ section of the UCEA website. UCEA will send an annual reminder to key organisation contacts of the permissions in place, seeking confirmations or amendments.
4.2. UCEA materials, or extracts from them, which are not publicly available on the UCEA website cannot be made public or distributed to other organisations or individuals without UCEA’s explicit prior consent. If an organisation operates in a collaborative group, e.g. for shared services, it may not share UCEA documents with the other parties in the group unless all of the other parties are UCEA members in their own right.
4.3. Membership organisations and individuals may utilise UCEA ‘members only’ resources (which have been sent directly to them, or obtained via the UCEA website) within their organisation only. Contacts with access to UCEA material may only distribute such material within their organisation to those in appropriate senior and professional roles. Particularly sensitive resources will be clearly marked by UCEA with further confidential restrictions and instructions.
4.4. In order that UCEA can be effective in its work representing sector employers, member organisations are expected to do their utmost to assist in responding upon request to UCEA information and data gathering exercises. In turn UCEA will endeavour to provide back to members useful analysis and benchmarking material where possible.
4.5. For information relating to Freedom of Information Act queries, please see our guidance on FOI requests for UCEA documents.
5. Subscriptions
5.1. UCEA subscription fees are revised annually, following the decision of the UCEA Board and to reflect matters such as inflation, the requirement for significant additional resources or significant changes in the Staff FTE count at the organisation. Members will be notified of any fee changes in writing via their subscription renewal notice. Membership fees follow a formula that varies depending on an organisation’s staff FTE numbers. Members must supply UCEA with their most recent FTE numbers upon request.
5.2. The subscription year runs from 1 August to 31 July. Members are invited to renew annually, with invoices for the forthcoming year generally sent in July.
5.3. Should organisations merge during a membership year, each shall pay a full year subscription with a revised single subscription for the merged institution becoming due from the beginning of the next membership year (i.e. from 1 August).
5.4. The UCEA Board may suspend membership benefits (i.e. access to and distribution of materials and use of all UCEA services) of any member not paying the due subscription within three months of initial invoicing.
5.5. Member organisations may at any time withdraw (in writing) from UCEA membership by providing a minimum of six months’ notice to the Company.
5.6. UCEA may also give notice to a member organisation that it is terminating membership, by giving six months’ notice in writing.
5.7. UCEA reserves the right to change these conditions of Membership at any time and advises member organisations to consult the UCEA website for the most current version. Members will be advised in writing of any changes, though the key organisational contacts and the Conditions of Membership will be circulated to all member organisations annually.
