Minutes of the 270th Meeting of the University Council held on 20 October 2000.
Members:
Dr. J K Green (Chair); Dr. C.J. Backhouse; Mr. H. Barber (ab); Mr. J.B.C. Blood (ab); Mr. R.H. Boissier; Professor W.R. Bowman; Mr. P. Boydon (ab); Dr. T.G.M. Brooks; Dr. S. Campbell (ab); Professor L.M. Cantor; Sir Bryan Carsberg (ab); Dr. M.J.Catton; Mr. M. Crowhurst; Professor J.V. Dawkins; Ms. V. Dhupa (ab); Professor M. Evans (ab); Dr. A.N. Fairbairn ; Mr. D. Gough (ab); Professor C. Hanson; Mr. P. Harrisson (ab); Mr. P.J.K. Haslehurst; Dr. T. Higgins; Ms. N. Honey; Mrs. J.E.Hull; Professor T.J. Kavanagh; Dr. G. Mason; Mr. E.O. Maxwell ; Professor R. McCaffer; Mr. M. Moghal (ab);Professor I.C.Morison (ab); Mr. W.M. Moss; Dr P.N. Murgatroyd; Dr. L.R. Mustoe (ab); Mr. J. Mutton; Dr. A. Osbaldestin; Mrs. W.M. Pilkington; Dr. C. Reddrop (ab); Sir Denis Rooke; Dr. J.F. Rowland; Ven. I. Stanes; Mrs. J.A.M. Strong (ab); Mrs. M. C. Tomlinson; Mr. D.R.F. Walker; Professor D.J. Wallace; Ms. E. Wallace (ab); Mr. J.B. White; Mr. C.S. Woodruff (ab).
In attendance: Ms. H. Baldwin; Professor P.H. Roberts; Professor N.A. Halliwell; Mrs F.M. Hannah; Mr H M Pearson; Mr. J.M. Town.
Mr. M. Brown & Mr. J. Walker for item 00/108 & 109
Professor K.D. Eason for item 00/110
Mr. H. Jones for item 00/111
Apologies for absence were received from
Mr. J. Blood; Mr. P. Boydon; Dr. S. Campbell; Sir Bryan Carsberg; Ms. V. Dhupa; Professor M. Evans; Mr P. Harrisson; Mr. M. Moghal; Professor I.C. Morison; Dr. L.R. Mustoe; Dr. C. Reddrop; Mrs. J.A.M. Strong; Mr. C.S. Woodruff; Professor H. Thomason; Professor Alty.
It was RESOLVED to confirm the Minutes of the 268th Meeting of Council held on 19 July 2000 subject to amendments to Minute 00/63 to read as follows:
Council considered proposals to amend the Charter and Statutes to replace "Schools of Studies" and "Boards of Studies" by "Faculties" and "Faculty Boards". A member suggested that the proposed amendments did not cover all references to Schools of Studies and Faculty Boards within the current Charter and Statutes. It was agreed that the proposals be amended to include "and any other references within the Charter and Statutes" to overcome this. Another member suggested that the proposals violated the 14 day rule in paragraph 25 of the Charter. The Registrar pointed out that, in accordance with paragraph 25, notification of the meeting had been given at the last Council and on previous occasions. Notification of the proposed changes had been given to Council at its 264th meeting on 16 February 2000.
A member pointed out that the proposed changes had not been discussed by General Assembly and that this was contrary to the requirements laid down in the Charter (Para 17). The Registrar reported to Council that he had been informed that it was accepted practice at Loughborough not to put proposed changes to Charter and Statutes to the General Assembly'.
It was RESOLVED (by 26 votes to 1 with 4 abstentions) to APPROVE a special resolution to recommend amendments to the Charter, Statutes XII, XIV, XVI, XXV and any other references within the Charter and Statutes.
The Registrar reported that the period between the previous Council meeting in July and the current meeting exceeded three months and for this reason the Special Resolution to recommend amendments to Charter and Statutes was not being submitted to Council for confirmation. Also in view of the comments made by members of Council, a meeting of General Assembly would be called for consideration of the proposed amendments.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor as Chair of Performance Monitoring Group tabled a draft report from the meeting held on 12 October 2000. This had been designed to provide further information for Council members in support of statements on the financial performance of departments, institutes and companies as requested at the last meeting of Council. Members endorsed the format of the report and noted that the complete version would be available for the next meeting.
The Deputy Chair of Council reported on the disappointing response to his request after the last meeting that members pass details of possible contacts to the Development Office. It was suggested that members might be reluctant to do this because they were unsure whether they could remain anonymous. The Deputy Chair of Council assured members that people would only be approached with the permission of the source who could remain anonymous if preferred.
Members were informed that the closing date for return of the questionnaires would be extended. It was suggested that consideration be given to circulating the questionnaires to past members and the Registrar agreed to do this. A member suggested that it might also be useful to obtain the views of newly appointed members of Council.
ACTION: Registrar
A member questioned whether any financial provision had been made for work required to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. The Bursar reported that no provision had been made to date but that this would form part of the budget discussions for 2001/02. Under the terms of the Act, the work, at an estimated cost of £600,000, had to be completed by 2004. The importance of completing this work as soon as possible was emphasised and it was noted that proposals would shortly be considered by Equal Opportunities Committee.
In response to a member, the Vice-Chancellor reported on the great success of the scheme for the award of the Loughborough University Medal. A member asked that it should be noted that the scheme did not have universal support.
The publication of the calendar was welcomed. A member questioned the inclusion of all Pro-Vice-Chancellors on Resources and Planning Committee and Operations Sub-Committee and suggested that this was contrary to the spirit of the discussions at Council which had resulted in a limit of two being placed on the membership of Senate and Council. The Registrar indicated that similar changes had not been requested for other committees. The Registrar was asked to give further consideration to this issue.
ACTION: Registrar
The Vice-Chancellor reported on the following matters:
.1 It seemed likely that further government discussion of top-up fees would be deferred until after the next election. The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) had established a Committee to consider options but it was unlikely to result in a single way forward because of the diversity of views represented.
Universities had benefited from an improved funding allocation this year but there was no guarantee that this would continue. The CVCP was pressing for the second stage of a comprehensive spending review since only the Higher Education Sector was excluded from the 3 year projections published.
.2 Proposals for the development of the e-University were being considered and this might provide the opportunity for the University to become involved in the globalisation of higher education in specific areas. The potential financial benefit to the University was raised and the Vice-Chancellor indicated that the University would only become involved on a commercial basis within a sound business planning framework.
.3 The latest performance indicators published by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) provided benchmarked data comparing similar Universities. Loughborough performed well across the board and particularly well on continuation and completion rates.
.4 The Department of Information Science was to be congratulated on achieving the maximum score of 24 in its recent External Subject Review (ESR). Congratulations were also extended to the Quality Assessment Unit which provided outstanding academic and administrative support to the ESR process in departments.
.5 Loughborough Campus Radio was currently undertaking a world record attempt, proceeds from which would go to Rag and members expressed their support.
COUN00-P69
The Treasurer reported on the meeting held on 10 October 2000 and summarised the Committees recommendations relating to the Capital Programme as follows:
The Committee had noted the estimated cost of the project at £29.6M and the likely revenue costs. Lottery funding was available and the University's contribution would be approximately £9M if all projects went ahead. Revenue costs of between £300,000 and £550,000 were estimated but in the long-term the project was expected to be self-funding. The Committee had accepted the business case and recommended that Council approve the move to Stage D.
The proposal was based on the principle that the partner would purchase the lease for the residences for a capital sum. In return the partner would refurbish the properties and run them in accordance with conditions agreed with the University. The main advantages to the University would be the capital sum obtained and the refurbishment of the property at no cost. The Committee had recommended that Council give preliminary approval to the scheme but the Treasurer emphasised that the agreements with the partner should be examined by Officers and the University Solicitors with the utmost care before final agreement was reached.
The Committee had recommended to Council that the proposal should move to Stage D.
COUN00-P68
The Bursar introduced the Capital Programme and summarised the significant developments since the last meeting. Members were reminded that Council approval was needed to move projects in excess of £4 million to Stage D. The specific issues on which Council was being asked to make decisions were as follows:
Council was also asked to note the decision of Resources and Planning Committee to move the Library Management System Replacement to Stage E and the Second Tennis Centre to Stage D.
During discussions the following points were made:
At the conclusion of the discussion Council RESOLVED:
(i) to APPROVE the move of the English Institute of Sport to Stage D (by 20 votes for, 4 against and 7 abstentions).
(Professor Bowman requested that his vote against the proposal be registered).
(ii) to APPROVE the move of the Off-Campus Halls Refurbishment Scheme to Stage D.
(iii) to CONFIRM the move of the Student Village Refurbishment Scheme (Phase 4) to Stage D at a cost of £4.8M.
Council NOTED the decisions of Resources and Planning Committee to move the Library Management System Replacement to Stage E and the Second Tennis Centre to Stage D.
Council considered proposals for the establishment of the Research School in Ergonomics and Human Factors together with an unconfirmed minute from the meeting of Resources and Planning Committee held on 13 October 2000.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) explained that the University had considerable strengths in the Human Factors area but these were dispersed over the two Research Institutes, ICE and HUSAT, and the Department of Human Sciences. Both Research Institutes had been operating at a deficit and the aim of the proposal was to integrate the activities in a Research School. Professor Eason, the Director Designate of the School, indicated that Loughborough had the greatest concentration of Human Factors Researchers in the country. The historical fragmentation of effort had been difficult and he felt that the creation of the School would provide a major opportunity for the University to develop its work in this area.
A member asked about the anticipated grade in the next Research Assessment Exercise. The Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) explained that the situation was complicated by the fact that staff in these areas would be returned to three different panels. The formation of the School would however provide evidence of research vitality.
Another member asked about the impact of the Centre Site Refurbishment on the proposed creation of the School. The DVC explained that options for the development of the Centre Site would be presented to Senate for consideration. These proposals would encompass the proposed School.
A member expressed some concern about the impact of the proposed School on the Department's teaching which had recently received a score of 24 in the ESR. The Director Designate gave assurances that the process of establishing the Research School and involving academic staff from the department had been carefully considered and discussed in detail with those involved to ensure that teaching would not be affected.
A member of Council highlighted the importance of staff to the success of the proposed Research School and expressed the view that the recent introduction of six month employment contracts had had an adverse effect on staff morale. Members of Council were informed that the proposed School was in a transition period; attempts were being made to align the contracts of staff from the constituent Research Institutes and moves were being made to review the contracts of core staff with the aim of transferring some to open-ended contracts. There was some discussion on this issue. A member expressed the view that on the formation of the School, no member of staff should be given an employment contract on terms that were worse that their current contract. The Director Designate of the School explained that staff were not being asked to accept new contracts on the formation of the School. However, as contracts came up for renewal, they were assessed individually and the decision on the length of contract was subject to the usual constraints. The DVC pointed out that extending the contracts of staff beyond this period could have an impact on the number of staff who could be retained. Council was also informed that many staff in Research Institutes and departments were on fixed-term contracts and it was essential for the University to review the periods of such contracts on renewal in the light of the availability of external funds.
A member of Council asked whether the staff concerned were being asked to accept contracts that were less favourable than their current contracts. In response, a member indicated that the contracts were inferior by virtue of the length of contract offered. However, another member of Council pointed out that this was not unique to staff in the proposed Research School; many staff in departments were on fixed-term contracts and the periods of extension were always linked to the availability of external funds which in some cases could be as short as two months.
A formal amendment to the proposals was proposed and seconded as follows:
That those staff whose contracts are renewed following the formation of the Institute should have contracts no less favourable than their existing contracts.
The amendment was rejected (by 21 votes to 4 with 5 abstentions)
Council RESOLVED TO APPROVE, subject to Senate's confirmation, the formation of the Research School in Ergonomics and Human Factors from 1 October 2000.
COUN00-P71
Council received a report on intakes to undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes and extended its congratulations on the improvement in international student recruitment. In response to a member, Mr Jones indicated that the figures included 125 new entrants to the foundation year compared to 110 in 1999/2000.
COUN00-P72
Council noted arrangements for the Council Briefing Meeting on 8 November 2000.
COUN00-P73
A member of Council expressed the view that the membership list was incorrect in that four of the eight members listed as being elected by Senate were not elected but filled by the invitation of the Vice-Chancellor. This issue had been raised at Council in October 1999 but the member felt that the minutes of that meeting inadequately recorded the discussions which had taken place. The Registrar reminded members that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 1999 had been confirmed by Council at its subsequent meeting and signed by the Chair. Another member suggested that Senate was disenfranchised by the decision to fill these vacancies by invitation and recommended that the individuals involved should only serve for one year.
Council RESOLVED to abide by its previous decision taken on 20 October 1999.
COUN00-P74
It was RESOLVED to APPROVE a list of appointments to vacancies on Council Committees and Joint Committees with Senate.
COUN00-P75
It was RESOLVED to ratify the action of the Registrar in affixing the University Seal to the documents listed.
COUN00-P76
The duties and responsibilities of members of Council were noted.
COUN00-P77
Notes for the Guidance of members of University Committees were received.
COUN00-P78
The outcomes on the Operational Plan for 1999/00 were NOTED.
COUN00-P79
The Operational Plan for 2000/01 was received.
Council noted that the 2001 Annual Meeting of the University Court would be held at 2.00pm on Wednesday 7 February 2001.
Council noted the dates of the Degree Congregations to be held in the Summer 2001 as follows:
Thursday 12 July
Friday 13 July
Monday 16 July
Tuesday 17 July
Monday 18 December 2000
Friday 16 February 2001 (if required)
Friday 6 April 2001
Wednesday 18 July 2001
Author - Fidelma Hannah
Date - November 2000
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