A BIG change in how higher education is run in the Island has been announced.
The Isle of Man College and International Business School will be brought under a single management structure headed by Professor Ronald Barr who is principal of the college.
The transition to the new organisation will begin immediately.
Just last month director of the business school Professor Ged Watts - who was suspended - resigned.
At the May 24 sitting of the House of Keys Education and Children Minister Eddie Teare highlighted an overspend at the business school.
He told members there had been a "total adverse variance against the agreed budget of £319,156 for the year".
Mr Teare added that when the likelihood of an overspend at the IBS became apparent in January this year the
department took immediate action to limit spending on fixed assets and said the matter was being investigated.
Yesterday isleofman.com asked the Department of Education and Children (DEC) whether the investigation had been completed and whether the outcome would be made public.
A spokesperson said: "The investigation has been completed but as this was an internal investigation the findings will not be made public."
The DEC said the decision to create the single management structure follows a review by the department. Mr Teare reached the decision after consulting with members of the senior management team in the department.
Both the College and International Business School offer a range of degree and other higher education qualifications in partnership with UK universities and awarding bodies.
Chief executive officer of the DEC Stuart Dobson said: "Given the need to drive for business efficiency, the time is appropriate to streamline the running of higher education."
The change in the running of the International Business School will be phased over a period of two to three months and it is being stressed that no students on existing courses will be affected.
The Nunnery, Douglas, will continue to be the location for many higher education courses.
Professor Barr said: "In liaison with the department, I will now consider how further and higher education across both institutions can best be delivered.
"There is the potential to extend the offer over time and we will further develop our programme of training to support business development."
The International Business School has 55 undergraduate and 20 postgraduate students on its academic programmes and a further 137 students on professional programmes.
Professor Barr has been Principal of the College, which has some 8,000 full and part-time students, since September 2010. Prior to that he was the deputy principal for two years.
