Minutes of the 264th Meeting of the University Council held on 16th February 2000.
Members:
Dr. J K Green (Chair); Dr. C.J. Backhouse; Mr. H. Barber (ab); Mr. G. Barfield (ab); Mr. J.B.C. Blood; Mr. R.H. Boissier; Professor W.R. Bowman; Dr. T.G.M. Brooks (ab); Professor L.M. Cantor (ab); Professor J.V. Dawkins; Ms. V. Dhupa (ab); Professor M. Evans; Dr. A.N. Fairbairn; Professor J.P. Feather; Mr. W. Flint (ab); Mr. G.P. Fothergill (ab); Mr. S.J. Gorton; Mr. D. Gough (ab); Professor C. Hanson (ab); Miss J.E.L. Harvatt (ab); Mr. P.J.K. Haslehurst; Dr. R.A. Haskins (ab); Dr. T. Higgins; Professor J.R. Hough; Professor T.J. Kavanagh; Dr. G. Mason; Mr. E.O. Maxwell; Professor R. McCaffer; Mr. A. Milne; Mr. M. Moghal (ab); Mr. W.M. Moss; Dr P.N. Murgatroyd; Dr. L.R. Mustoe; Mrs. W.M. Pilkington; Dr. C. Reddrop (ab); Professor I. Reid; Sir Denis Rooke; Mr. J.F. Rowland; Dr. A.W. Rudge (ab); Ven. I. Stanes; Mrs. J.A.M. Strong (ab); Mr. D.R.F. Walker (ab); Professor D.J. Wallace; Ms E. Wallace; Mr. C.S. Woodruff.
In attendance: Professor N.A.Halliwell; Mr D.L. Wolfe; Professor I.C. Morison; Mr H M Pearson; Mr. J.M. Town.
Apologies for absence were received from: Ms Dhupa; Professor Hanson; Dr Rudge; Dr. T.G.M. Brooks; Professor L.M. Cantor; Miss J.E.L.Harvatt; Dr. R.A. Haskins; Dr. C. Reddrop; Mrs J.A.M. Strong; Sir Bryan Carsberg; Mr W. Flint; Mr M. Moghal: Mr G.P. Fothergill.
Minute 99/113 - Amendments to Charter, Statutes and Ordinances - having been amended to read as given below, it was RESOLVED to confirm the minutes of the 262nd Meeting of Council held on 20 December 1999.
COUN99-P65
Revised proposals relating to the appointment and terms of office of the Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Deans were considered. The Registrar reminded members of the reasons for the proposed changes, which were to remove the anomalies in the current process governing the appointment of Deans and Pro-Vice-Chancellors and their terms of office, to amend the limit on the number of Pro-Vice-Chancellors, and to involve Council in the appointment of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Deans. The proposals under consideration had been revised to take account of comments made at the previous meeting of Council. The revised proposals had been considered by Senate at its last meeting and amendments suggested by Senate had been incorporated into the current document.
The main changes from the original proposals considered by Council were:
During discussion the following issues were raised:
ACTION: Registrar
It was RESOLVED to:
.1 Recording of Votes
It was noted that there was currently no consistency in regard to the recording of votes taken at Council. It was AGREED that, with immediate effect, the figures of any vote taken at Council would be recorded in the minutes should this be requested by any member at the time.
.2 Minute 99/113 - Amendments to Charter and Statutes
It was RESOLVED (by 23 votes to 2 with 3 abstentions) to confirm the following Special Resolution for amendments to the Charter and to Statute VI:-
.3 Minute 99/117 - Treasurer's Committee
The Bursar indicated that the issue raised at the previous meeting was still under discussion.
.4 Minute 99/115 - Capital Programme
A member sought clarification of Council's acceptance in principle of a contribution of £17 million (70% of the total cost) from the Lottery Board for the UKSI Sports Projects. The Bursar confirmed the implication that the University had agreed in principle to fund up to £7 million, although in practice this was unlikely to be required in full; fund-raising would help to reduce it, as well as using other sources of funding for some elements. The Chair added that the usual procedures in regard to the approval of expenditure would apply, with all items over £1 million requiring explicit Council approval.
.5 Amendments to the Minutes
It was AGREED that, in future, notice should be given to the Registrar of any intention to challenge unconfirmed minutes, the deadline being the same as for starred items.
The Vice-Chancellor reported that the University was on target to reach its highest ever income from new research grants and contracts with over £15 million having been awarded in the first 6 months of the current academic year; he drew particular attention to the award of a contract of £3.5 million by the DfEE to the Centre for Research in Social Policy.
Student applications from overseas had increased, but further effort was needed to sustain and increase numbers, and in particular to convert applications into actual students.
Sixteen Subject Centres had been established by the UK Funding Councils as part of the National Learning and Teaching Support Network Programme. Loughborough had been selected as the Engineering Centre and as a partner with the University of Ulster in the Information and Computer Science Centre.
The University had been awarded the highest funding band for "Reach-out to Business and Community", £200K for this academic year and £300K per annum thereafter.
The University was about to undergo its most complex External Subject Review to date, with the work of LUSAD and the Department of Design and Technology being assessed.
The recent Council briefing meeting had been very successful, and a large number of interesting suggestions had emerged. These were broadly in line with the University's Strategic Plan. Management would develop a formal response and action plan, which would be available for information at the next Council meeting.
The Vice-Chancellor reported on outstanding sporting achievements in women's football (reached the last 16 of the FA Cup), men's rugby (defeated in the semi-final of the European Cup) and women's hockey (about to play in the semi-final of the English Hockey Association Cup).
The LUSAD Gallery was currently closed to accommodate the Base Room for the forthcoming External Subject Review; a new exhibition would open on 4th March. There was also new exhibition space in the Students' Union Extension.
In reply to a question he reported that the construction of the new Engineering Buildings was proceeding on schedule, and that every effort was being made to remain within budget. The Village Refurbishment was on schedule and on budget. As far as the new Finance System was concerned, the software contract was the subject of legal discussions; nonetheless it was still hoped to have a system in place by 1 August 2000; key decisions would need to be taken at the end of March.
The Registrar introduced proposed changes to Statutes XIII and XIV concerning Pro-Vice-Chancellors' membership of Senate and Council. He indicated that other changes required to replace Schools with Faculties would be presented to Council in due course. He also invited Council to consider an addition to the procedures for the appointment of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Deans, relating to the Pro-Vice-Chancellors' membership of Senate and Council.
One member contended that the proposed Special Resolution had been put forward in contravention of Paragraph 25 of the Charter, which required that fourteen days' notice be given of any meeting at which such a change was proposed. The Registrar responded that notice of the meeting had been given at the December 1999 meeting of Council, at which the proposed change had been discussed.
Another member suggested that General Assembly and Senate had not been properly consulted in accordance with the requirements of the Charter. However, it was reported that the proposed change had been discussed at Senate, and it was generally felt that any further delay would be unacceptable.
It was RESOLVED to approve a Special Resolution as follows:
Amendment to Statutes: That the Statutes XIII and XIV relating to Pro-Vice-Chancellors' membership of Senate and Council be amended as in Annex A, viz:-
Statute XIII: The Council: to read
1. The Council shall consist of the following persons, namely:
(ii) Ex-Officio Members
(a) Internal
The Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Treasurer, two of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors to be nominated by the Chairman of Senate.
Statute XIV: The Senate: to read
1. The Senate shall consist of the following Persons, namely:
Ex-officio Members
It was further AGREED that paragraph 6 of the proposed procedures be amended to read: "Members of the Joint Committees shall undertake formal consultation".
.1 Progress Report (COUN00-P3)
The Bursar presented a report on proposed capital projects. In the unlikely event of them all being realised within the assumed timescale, the Building Fund would move into a deficit of some £14 million by 2002. He felt it unlikely that the University would be able to continue annually to transfer £2 million to its Building Fund, which meant that it would take longer for the Fund to return to a neutral position. It might be necessary to seek HEFCE's consent to exceed the threshold for external borrowing.
Council proceeded to discuss a number of projects as follows:
The running costs of the new swimming pool would be £300,000 per annum, although the net additional cost to the University would be reduced to approximately £60,000 per annum by the closure of the two existing pools. Mr Boissier would be chairing a fund raising campaign which would seek to endow the revenue costs and to match the external funding.
Council approved a recommendation of Resources and Planning Committee that expenditure on the third phase of the Student Village Refurbishment be limited to £3.25 million.
Council was informed that all appropriate Departments had been consulted and would continue to be involved. In reply to a question it was stated that East Site Refurbishment had been subsumed within the various proposed sports developments and a JIF bid.
These 4 proposed developments were all part of the UKSI National Network Centre initiative, and were to be the subject of bids to the National Lottery. There would be a number of bids from other regional centres.
The JIF bid was likely to be deferred.
The proposed Public Private Partnership would involve the refurbishment of some 600 rooms.
.2 Capital Project Procedures (COUN00-P4)
It was RESOLVED to approve Capital Project Procedures as proposed.
It was noted that Executive Management Group would be requested to approve the initiation of any project by means of a very brief note; it was AGREED that this note should be reported to Council when the project first formally appeared on the capital projects list. It was further AGREED that each new project should have a formally identified sponsor, being a Member and not an Officer of the University.
.3 Burleigh Court (COUN00-P5)
The Chair of the Burleigh Court Board presented a position paper outlining initial plans for extending Burleigh Court, and discussing various possible financial arrangements. It was felt that further growth was limited by lack of capacity and, particularly in the light of business likely to be generated by the Ford College, it was proposed to add one hundred bedrooms, additional seminar rooms and office space, and to expand Burleigh Springs.
The Board felt the financial risks of this proposal were minimal, with an investment of £7.2 million yielding a 10% return. Various financial packages were being explored with the aid of KPMG. The main options were:-
(i) The University to fund directly
(ii) Joint venture with a hotelier
(iii) Public Private Partnership
The Treasurer indicated that these options had been considered by the Treasurer's Committee at a meeting earlier in the day, in the context of Burleigh Court's overall Business Plan. He agreed with the Board that a joint venture with a hotelier was undesirable, in that the University should not lose control. He questioned whether development of Burleigh Court was part of the University's core business, and felt that the Public Private Partnership route should be further explored, notwithstanding the inevitably longer timescale involved. It was noted that the financial calculations included annual depreciation for buildings at 2% and contents at 20%. If the Public Private Partnership route were followed, it was essential to ensure that ownership of the buildings reverted to the University after repayment of the loan.
.4 UK Sports Institute (COUN00-P6)
Council received a progress report and noted that a fund raising campaign to raise £7 million to meet the University's contribution towards the development of the UKSI National Network Centre would be launched shortly. It was further noted that Resources and Planning Committee had approved a budget provision of £826K for professional fees in connection with the bids.
Council was informed that in order to be able to achieve a Grade 5 in Unit 30 (Mechanical, Manufacturing and Aeronautical Engineering) in the forthcoming Research Assessment Exercise, it was necessary to score highly in the quality of research output, the extent of postgraduate activity, evidence of esteem by external funders, and evidence of standing and vitality. It was felt that Loughborough scored highly in all areas except the extent of postgraduate activity, and accordingly it was proposed to fund 45 PhD scholarships, available to both home and overseas students, in order to strengthen the case for a Grade 5. The net annual cost to the Faculty of Engineering would be £293K.
Members agreed that achieving a Grade 5 was a high priority for the University. Nonetheless a number of reservations were expressed in regard to whether the Assessment Panel would value internally funded research students as highly as externally funded students, and whether PhD students in their first year of study would be of any great significance in the evaluation. The Treasurer observed that the University was under severe financial pressure, that the Faculty was already in deficit, and that the investment in the new Engineering Buildings should in itself be enough to attract research students without further financial inducements.
The Dean of Engineering said that all these issues had been considered, and that the internal nature of the funding would not be taken into account by the panel, of which he was a member. Competitor Universities were taking similar action. He was confident that high quality students could be recruited from overseas institutions with which the University already collaborated. The Faculty would effectively fund the initiative by not filling a vacant Chair and two vacant Lectureships pending the receipt of the additional income which he confidently expected the initiative to generate.
It was suggested that initiatives such as this should not be funded by further squeezing staff numbers but by delaying the capital building programme.
It was RESOLVED to support the proposal.
COUN00-P8
Further to Minute 99/60.3 of the 259th Meeting it was RESOLVED to approve a list of appointments to outstanding vacancies on Council Committees and Joint Committees with Senate.
It was RESOLVED to ratify the action of the Chair in recommending to Court that Dr T Higgins be re-appointed as Treasurer of the University from 9 February 2000 to the annual meeting of Court in 2003.
COUN00-P9
Pursuant to Statute XVIII, on the recommendation of the Chair of Senate and with the advice of the Honorary Degrees Committee, it was RESOLVED to approve the issuing of invitations to persons to receive Honorary Degrees at Degree Congregations in 2000.
It was AGREED that a progress report be presented to the next meeting on the twinning of lay members of Council with academic Departments
Wednesday, 5 April 2000, 10.15am
Author - D L Wolfe
Date - February 2000
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