Council

COUN01-M7

Minutes of the 280th Meeting of the University Council held on 26 October 2001.

Members

Sir Bryan Carsberg (Chair); Dr C J Backhouse; Mr J B C Blood; Dr R H Boissier (ab);
Dr T G M Brooks; Dr S Campbell (ab); Dr M J Catton; Ms V Dhupa; Dr M Gilbert; Professor C Hanson (ab); Mr P Harrisson (ab); Mr P J K Haslehurst; Dr T Higgins;
Ms N Honey; Mrs J E Hull; Ms H Jenkinson; Professor T J Kavanagh; Mr E O Maxwell;
Professor R McCaffer; Mr M Moghal; Mr D Morris; Mr W M Moss; Dr P N Murgatroyd;
Dr L R Mustoe; Mr J Mutton; Mrs W M Pilkington; Sir Denis Rooke; Dr J F Rowland;
Ven I Stanes (ab); Mrs J A M Strong; Mrs M C Tomlinson; Mr D R F Walker;
Professor D J Wallace; Mr J B White; Mr C S Woodruff (ab)

In attendance:

Professor J L Alty; Miss H E Baldwin; Professor N A Halliwell; Professor I C Morison;
Mr H M Pearson; Professor P H Roberts; Mr J M Town; Miss M T Whyte
Mr M C Brown and Mr R A Hill for the item relating to minute 01/108

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dr R Boissier; Dr S Campbell, Professor C Hanson, Mr P Harrisson, Ven I Stanes,
Mr C S Woodruff


The Chair made an opening statement regarding the presence of observers at future Council meetings. The Pro-Vice Chancellors and the three Deans would continue to attend meetings of Council, as they frequently made valuable contributions to discussion. It was noted that one of the three Deans was currently a member of Council (elected by the Senate) with full voting rights until 31 July 2002.

The Book of Remembrance for the student, Miss Chu Yi, who died on 9 October 2001, was circulated for Council members to sign.

01/103 Minutes

It was RESOLVED to confirm the Minutes of the 278th Meeting of Council held on 18 July 2001 [COUN01-M5].

01/104 Business of the Agenda

The item relating to minute 01/105.1 was unstarred.

01/105 Matters Arising from the Minutes

.1 Further to Minute 01/56 (2) Privy Council

Council noted that changes to Statute XIII.1 regarding the size of Council, and the creation of Statute XXVII (Transitional Arrangements for the Council), as agreed by Council, had been approved by the Privy Council on 27 July 2001.

Members were informed that remaining changes to Charter and Statutes, as agreed by Council, would be considered by the Privy Council at its meeting on 30 October.

.2 Further to Minute 01/58 (v) Vice Chancellors Business

COUN01-P69

Council received a copy of the Human Resources Strategy submitted to the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE).

.3 Other Matters Arising

A member queried progress regarding the circulation of the Engineering Building Report to members of Council. The Bursar reported that legal advice was currently being sought.

01/106 Vice-Chancellor's Business

(i) The Department of European Studies had scored 23/24 in the last External Subject Review. This was the last assessment of its kind to be conducted by the TQA at Loughborough University. The score achieved by European Studies maintained the excellent record of the University. In all 16 assessments, Student Support and Guidance had achieved the maximum score of 4/4.

(ii) Research Grants and Contracts income for 2000/2001 was just under £25M compared with just under £21M in 1999/2000. This represented an increase of 18%. WEDC had been awarded a new research grant of £4.4M, the largest to date in the University. The Faculty of Engineering was due to receive an EPSRC research grant for Innovation Management and Construction worth £14.5M over the next five years.

(iii) Since the last meeting of Council, the University had been placed 8th in the 'Daily Telegraph' league table and 11th (equal with Bristol) in the 'Sunday Times' league table. The 'Daily Telegraph' ranking had been based on teaching quality scores whereas the 'Sunday Times' ranking was more broadly based and reflected research quality, as well as the quality of teaching . Members of Council were reminded that the University's place in the newspaper league tables was volatile from year to year, and depended on the way in which different parameters were measured and weighted.

(iv) The University's bids to the Higher Education Innovation Fund for Knowledge Transfer, University Challenge Fund, and Science Enterprise Challenge (led by University of Nottingham) had been successful.

(v) The Vice-Chancellor had made two trips to China over the summer, the second accompanying Lord Sainsbury, and as a member of a party of UK Vice-Chancellors led by the new Chief Executive of HEFCE, Sir Howard Newby. He had also visited a number of Chinese Universities and institutions. Fostering strong links with China presented the University with huge opportunities in respect of student recruitment and research collaboration.

(vi) Council noted various student achievements detailed in the latest edition of news@lboro.

(vii) The Vice-Chancellor was looking forward to Council's Strategic Planning Conference, which was being held on 30 October 2001.

Members were encouraged by the Vice-Chancellor's report and wished to record their appreciation to the University for these achievements.

01/107 Capital Programme

COUN01-P70

.1 Progress Report

The Bursar gave a progress report on the Capital Programme as summarised in the Agenda paper. Council's attention was drawn to the following new projects:

The Bursar had been informed that the swimming pool was on target, both in terms of timing and budget. Both the Hockey Pitch and the Sports Administration projects were in progress.

Council's attention was drawn to the fact that long term borrowing on the Capital Plan remained beneath the Funding Council threshold throughout the period covered by the plan in the agenda paper. It was predicted that the net current asset target would be breached in years 2001/02 to 2003/04. It was noted that actual expenditures were likely to be delayed due to natural slippage of projects. The Treasurer's Committee had discussed this issue and was expected to bring new proposals to the next meeting of Council.

The Chair of Estates Management Committee (EMC) reported that EMC had considered a Combined Heat and Power Scheme but had received advice to the effect that the installation of a single generator Combined Heat and Power unit to supply one section of the campus would be an unnecessary risk.

A member commented on the fact that the Capital Programme did not appear to include any plans for new lecture rooms. This was a worry both in terms of increasing student numbers and the fact that existing rooms were not fit for purpose. It was felt that the University needed to address this issue urgently. The Bursar responded that the University recognised these concerns and had secured £1.5M from the Funding Council. The teaching and learning infrastructure and lecture theatre provision would be a high priority for the use of this money. The Chair of Estates Management Committee reported that the Space Working Group was investigating the usage of lecture theatres. A member commented that the data gathered on lecture theatre usage should be interpreted carefully as they were based on utilisation rather than demand.

A member asked for clarification on whether there had been an undertaking to refurbish the Centre Site. The Bursar responded that no clear plans had been agreed but that piecemeal refurbishment of the Centre Site was under way. There was still progress to be made and this item should be kept on the agenda for further consideration.

.2 LTA Regional Centre of Excellence

On the recommendation of Resources and Planning Committee, Council AGREED to:

  1. move the project to Stage E, final approval, subject to the approval of revenue projections by the Treasurer's Committee. The Bursar reported that he had seen the revenue projections and felt that they were satisfactory.
  2. authorise Estates Management Committee to approve the design subject to a cost limit of £2M. The Chair of Estates Management Committee reported that designs had now been approved and had been sent to LTA for approval.

01/108 Ashby Road Halls Refurbishment Scheme

COUN01-P71 (plus supplementary paper)

The Bursar reported that a number of meetings with local residents had taken place since the last meeting of Council, the detail of which was summarised in the agenda paper. A letter from local residents' representatives was tabled at the meeting. Council members were reminded that planning permission for both the Harry French and William Morris components of this project had been refused on 21 June 2001 against the advice of Charnwood Borough Planning Officers. Council was asked to approve a number of recommendations contained in the paper including the following:

A full discussion followed during which the following points were raised:

Council APPROVED the set of recommendations detailed in the agenda papers including an appeal against the William Morris decision.

01/109 Student Intake Position 2001

COUN01-P72

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching) presented a report on the student intake position as at 15 October 2001.

Despite UK/EU undergraduate applications being down, the figures showed that intake targets were likely to be met, with A-level standards maintained. International undergraduate intake had shown significant improvement.

UK/EU postgraduate taught numbers were lower than expected although it was recognised that this was a sector wide problem. There had been an uptake in international postgraduate taught market and intake was likely to be significantly better than last year. As illustrated by the figures in the agenda paper, international postgraduate taught students were currently 'bunched' in particular departments. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching) would like to see a more equal spread across faculties and departments in future years.

China was an important international market. The University was also exploring other international markets and was confident of a reasonable amount of success despite the recent international events.

The University was in the process of submitting bids for additional student numbers to the Funding Council. The anticipated success of these bids, combined with the achievements of this year, had led to an agreed increase of the quota for UK/EU undergraduate intake from 2855 to 2978. It was expected that most of the growth would occur in the Faculty of Science. It was noted that such an increase would put additional pressure on the University's resources and infrastructure.

01/110 Membership of Council and its Committees

.1 Council Membership

COUN01-P73

The membership of Council for 2001/02 was NOTED.

.2 Council Committees and Joint Committees with Senate

COUN01-P74

Further to minute 01/71.3 of the 278th Meeting, Council APPROVED a list of appointments to vacancies on Council Committees and Joint Committees with Senate.

01/111 Senate

COUN01-P75

Council APPROVED a recommendation, referred by Senate at its 343rd meeting on 24 October 2001, to establish of a Centre for Nonlinear Mathematics and Applications, with effect from 12 November 2001

01/112 Common Seal

COUN01-P76

Council ratified the action of the Registrar in affixing the University Seal to the documents listed in the agenda paper.

01/113 Duties and Responsibilities of Members of Council

COUN01-P77

The duties and responsibilities of members of Council were NOTED.

01/114 Notes for the Guidance of Members of University Committees

COUN01-P78

Council received the Notes for the Guidance of Members of University Committees.

01/115 Notes of Guidance on Capital Projects

COUN01-P79

Council received the Notes of Guidance on Capital Projects.

01/116 Operational Plan 2001/02

COUN01-P80

Council received a copy of the Operational Plan for 2001/02, which incorporated outcomes for 2000/01.

01/117 University Court

Council NOTED that the 2002 Annual Meeting of the University Court would be held at
2.00 pm on Wednesday 20 February 2002.

01/118 Degree Congregations in Summer 2002

Council NOTED the dates of Degree Congregations to be held in the Summer 2002 as follows:

Thursday 11 July
Friday 12 July
Monday 15 July
Tuesday 16 July

01/119 Reports of Committees

Council received reports from the following Committees.

  1. Student Services Committee of 13 June 2001
  2. COUN01-P81

  3. Resources and Planning Committee of 5 October 2001
  4. COUN01-P82

  5. Performance Monitoring Group of 11 October 2001

COUN01-P83


01/120 Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 18 December 2001 (am)


Author – Miranda Whyte
Date - November 2001
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