University pledges action after senior officer’s fraud conviction

A university has promised to take “appropriate action” after its chief operating officer was found guilty of fraud at a court martial.

Major General Nick Welch, who has been chief operating officer at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) since 2019, was convicted of conning the British army out of £48,000 in private school fees at Bulford Military Court.

The former assistant chief of the general staff was found to have misused a continuity of education allowance by falsely claiming that he spent most of his time at his London address while sending his children to schools in Dorset. The court ruled that he and his wife had actually spent most of his time at their home in Dorset.

Welch, who retired from the army in the year before he took up the AUB role, was the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815.

An AUB spokesman said that the university was “aware of a guilty verdict reached in court proceedings against Nick Welch, which predate Mr Welch’s employment by Arts University Bournemouth”.

“The university is now reviewing its position pending necessary post-trial sentencing, after which the university board of governors and leadership team will take appropriate action,” the spokesman said.

Welch was due to be sentenced on 26 March.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com