Leadership Team

Jackie McCoy MBE

Board Member

Zain Kanwal

Board Member

Ann Healey

Board Member

Alex Birks

Board Member

Deborah Trayhurn

Director, Higher Education Skill Works

Dave Wibberley

Board Member

Dr Simon Evans

Board Member

Jackie McCoy MBE

Board Member

Jackie McCoy, MBE, SFHEA, MIoD, is Emeritus Professor of Management Development, former Associate Dean for Development & Partnerships International at Ulster University (UU), and current Chair of the Board of Governors at Victoria College of Arts & Design (VCAD). Professor McCoy is a recognised authority in business and management and has advised government on issues relating to the Northern Ireland economy and skills, enterprise development, business growth, and the advancement of the third sector. She developed and managed international strategic partnerships, oversaw Ulster Business School’s international student intake, safeguarded the student experience, ensured compliance with UKVI regulations, and promoted global mobility opportunities for staff and students. Jackie has designed and delivered a significant portfolio of bespoke management development solutions, including the MSc in Executive Leadership, and has completed extensive national and international consultancy assignments. Her research includes co-investigation in a major international, cross-disciplinary ESRC-funded project under the Global Regional Challenges Fund. Beyond academia, she has served on Community Business Development boards, was a founder member and seven-year Chair of the Belfast International Arts Festival, and was awarded the MBE for services to higher education and the arts by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Management and Governance Framework

VCAD’s Governance Framework ensures responsible leadership, regulatory compliance, and high academic standards. The Board of Governors holds ultimate accountability for overseeing the College and ensuring that it operated in line with the CUC Code of Governance (2020) and the Office for Students (OfS) Regulatory Framework (2022).

To support effective oversight, the Board delegates specific responsibilities to its subcommittees. This structured delegation enhances transparency, strengthens decision-making, and allows the Board to maintain robust governance while ensuring efficient operational and academic management.

Board Sub-Committees

Audit, Risk & Finance Committee (ARFC)
Provides assurance on financial sustainability, internal control, and institutional risk management.
Nominations & Remuneration Committee (NRC)
Oversees appointments to governance and senior leadership roles and ensures fairness and transparency in remuneration.

Management Governance

Senior Management Team (SMT)
Responsible for strategic and operational leadership across the institution, including; student experience, academic delivery, finance, and organisational performance.
Academic Committee (AcCo)
Leads academic governance, overseeing curriculum approval, academic standards, assessment integrity, and quality of learning and teaching.
Equalty, Diversity & Inclusion Committee (EDIC)
Ensures that institutional practices promote fairness, inclusion, and equitable outcomes for all staff and students.

Sub-Committees

The Academic Committee and Senior Management Team oversee additional committees that support quality assurance, enhancement, and student engagement.

Quality Assurance & Enhancement Committee (QAEC)
Ensures continuous improvement in quality of services and delivery including teaching, learning, and assessment, and reviews the effectiveness of quality assurance processes.
Programme Committees (PC)
Monitor academic delivery at programme level, including teaching quality, student progress, and curriculum coherence.
Student Voice & Experience Committee (SVEC)
Provides a structured forum for student feedback and partnership, ensuring that student insights inform decisions affecting learning, wellbeing, and the wider experience.

Risk Management Framework

Victoria College of Art and Design (VCAD) is committed to managing risk responsibly to support effective governance, regulatory compliance, and long‑term sustainability. Our Risk Management Framework provides a structured approach to identifying, assessing, and managing risks that could affect our strategic objectives, academic quality, financial stability, and reputation.

The framework defines clear roles and responsibilities across governance, management, and staff, promotes a culture of risk awareness, and ensures risks are reviewed and monitored regularly. By aligning risk management with our institutional values and regulatory requirements, VCAD proactively protects students, staff, and stakeholders while enabling informed decision‑making and continuous improvement.

Strategy (2025–2029)

Access. Creativity. Impact.

Victoria College of Arts and Design (VCAD) exists to unlock creative potential wherever it is found. The strategy is anchored in our vision, mission, and values, which collectively guide VCAD's planning and decision-making at all levels within the institution. The principles 'Access, Creativity and Impact' define our organisational purpose and set the direction for future growth.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to be acknowledged as a reputable and ambitious higher education provider. We are focused on delivering a high-quality teaching and learning experience to individuals who might not otherwise have the chance to study, learn and succeed at the university level.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to deliver a teaching and learning environment that facilitates VCAD students to achieve their goals, reach their potential, gain industry-aligned skills and graduate as confident, creative, and responsible citizens.

OUR VALUES

Our Values guide the behaviour, decisions and interactions within our community and embody the ethical and moral code upheld by our institutions, which are:

Opportunity
We are committed to providing access to higher education for individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity.
Support
Our diverse team is dedicated to supporting each student's academic, professional and personal growth through an accessible, learning-focused and empathetic student experience.
Growth
We focus on empowering students to use their learning experiences to grow their employability, self-confidence, and personal development.
Creativity
We foster an awareness amongst students and staff that creativity is fundamental to personal, academic, and professional success.
Accountability
We promote active mentorship and encourage all members of our community to develop as informed, responsible, and accountable citizens.

OUR GOALS

Our students, many from widening participation and under‑represented backgrounds, are central to everything we do. We believe talent is universal; opportunity is not.

Over the next five years, we will build a future-facing higher education provider in art, design and creative technologies; one that combines academic rigour, industry relevance and social purpose by designing and delivering distinctive programmes that expand access, champion creativity, and create impact.

By the end of five years, we will be:

A validated provider with full academic ownership of our programmes and strong alignment to professional standards that enhance progression and opportunity
A Creative Campus of choice, shaping the future of creative practice through AI, emerging technologies and industry-leading digital ecosystems
A collaborative provider, where creativity is applied with purpose and shared success extends beyond our walls

These goals define our organisational purpose, set the direction and strategic milestones for future growth, while the strategic objectives translate these into focused areas of delivery. These, in turn, are operationalised through the Implementation Framework and Institutional Key Performance Measures.

To achieve our goals, the strategic objectives are:

To remove barriers to higher education for learners who demonstrate the potential to succeed. Success will be evidenced through access, participation, continuation, completion, and progression outcomes, particularly for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.
To deliver a high-quality educational experience through support and the nurturing of a strong sense of belonging. Success will be evidenced through student engagement, attendance, continuation, wellbeing, support utilisation, student voice activity, and student satisfaction measures.
To continuously enhance educational quality and uphold rigorous academic standards to improve student outcomes. Success will be evidenced through student outcomes, academic performance data, external examiner feedback, student feedback, and continuous improvement activity.
To deliver successful employability and graduate outcomes for students. Success will be evidenced through graduate progression, employability outcomes, industry engagement, authentic work-based learning opportunities, and employer feedback.
To ensure accountability, resilience, and long-term sustainability through robust, transparent, and effective governance. Success will be evidenced through regulatory compliance, audit outcomes, risk management effectiveness, financial sustainability, and achievement of institutional Key Performance Measures.
To strengthen and embed a culture of collegiality, wellbeing, professional development, and institutional success across the College. Success will be evidenced by staff engagement, wellbeing, retention, participation in professional development, and staff survey outcomes.

Student Voice & Representation

Student insight is embedded across VCAD’s entire Management & Governance Framework. We ensure that students contribute meaningfully to institutional decision-making by placing their perspectives within key committees and the structures that report to them.

Students contribute directly to the work of the Board of Governors, the Academic Committee, the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and all sub-committees through formal representation, structured feedback channels, and systematic reporting. Their involvement ensures that issues affecting teaching, learning, wellbeing, inclusion, and overall student experience are reflected at every level of governance.

Student Representation across VCAD Governance:

Board of Governors (BoG)
Receives regular reports on student experience, academic performance, equality matters, and outcomes from student-facing committees.
Academic Committee (Acco)
Considers student representative reports, student survey findings, programme-level feedback, and academic experience data when shaping academic policy, standards, and curriculum development.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee (EDIC)
Incorporates student-led insights on belonging, inclusivity, access, and equitable outcomes, ensuring that student experience informs EDI priorities and actions.
Programme Committees (PC)
Include student representatives as core members, ensuring programme-level teaching, assessment, resources, and feedback loops are student-driven.
Student Voice & Experience Committee (SVEC)
Serves as the central forum for all student representatives, capturing insights from other committees, surveys, workshops, feeding them into all governance levels.
Quality Assurance & Enhancement Committee (QAEC)
Reviews student feedback trends and incorporates student experience indicators into decisions on quality enhancement and academic improvement planning.

By embedding student participation across all committees and reporting pathways, VCAD ensures that students have a powerful, continuous, and meaningful role in shaping their educational experience and influencing institutional development.