RAM takes honours at Hartpury College

RAM’s proven track record in education makes it the obvious choice

Hartpury College, the Gloucestershire based further & higher education institute, has selected RAM's Fixed Asset Management solution to manage its growing range of assets.

Hartpury, an Associate Faculty of the University of the West of England, is famous for its agricultural, equine and animal science courses. The college, which was established in 1947, is one of the UK's top land-based higher education institutions and has hosted a number of international equine events at its centre of excellence.

Hartpury is particularly proud of its new sporting facilities, home of the Gloucestershire Rugby Academy, a joint venture set up between the college and Gloucester Rugby Football Club.

Since 1990, the college has seen substantial growth, with the number of students rising from 70 to 1800. As a result, Hartpury has followed a programme of intensive capital investment. However, its financial systems had become far too complex with capital and inventory items being managed across a large number of spreadsheets.

“Our auditors were no longer satisfied with our spreadsheet system,” recalls John Hawkswell, Hartpury's Deputy Principal. “After such an intense period of growth, it became a priority to find a more comprehensive and stable solution that could report on the detailed history of our assets.”

The finance team then began to undertake an evaluation of the systems offered by Fixed Asset Management suppliers. “We first looked to our college finance system”, explained Hawkswell, “but its lack of functionality was a definite concern for us. RAM on the other hand, met all the criteria set out in our detailed brief and was selected over other specialist systems because its range of functionality was superior. The fact that it came so highly recommended from other institutes and had a proven track record of fulfilling objectives in the education sector made it an obvious choice.”

Hartpury, which has an annual turnover of £10m, uses the RAM's system to track its assets across a broad range of categories. Its significant investment in resources, particularly IT equipment, has dramatically increased the importance of fixed asset management within the organisation.

“The benefits of using this product are clear,” concluded Hawkswell. “We now have a flexible system that meets our complex requirement to manage assets that are inherited, purchased or partially funded. The fact that it can apportion government and commercial grants across our asset register makes it an invaluable tool.”

“Moreover, we can now demonstrate a detailed analysis of asset history to the auditors and senior management team. The extensive range of standardised reports allows us to have instant access to any combination or level of information required.”

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