The Council
COUN04-M9
Minutes of the 312th meeting of the University Council held
on Tuesday 21 December 2004.
Members:
Sir Bryan
Carsberg (Chair); Dr M Acar; Mr P S
Blake; Mr J B C Blood; Dr R H Boissier;
Professor W R Bowman; Mr G Chivers (ab); Mr P E Davenport; Ms V Dhupa (ab);
Professor M Gilbert; Professor P Golding; Mr J F Harper; Mr P J K Haslehurst;
Ms N Honey (ab);
Sir John Jennings; Mr R S M Kirkwood; Dr M Meskimmon; Mr M Moghal; Mr W M Moss;
Mr J Mutton (ab); Professor R Parry-Jones (ab); Mr S Proffitt; Professor P H
Roberts; Mr J Scott (ab);
Mrs J A M Strong; Mrs M C Tomlinson (ab); Professor Sir David Wallace; Mr R
Wilson;
Dr C S Woodruff (ab); Dr A A Woods
In attendance:
Professor C J Backhouse; Professor M Bell; Professor N A
Halliwell; Professor T Kavanagh; Professor R McCaffer; Professor K C Parsons;
Mr H M Pearson; Mr J M Town; Mr J H Walker;
Ms M T Whyte
Ms K J Newcombe for item 04/135,
Mr R A Hill for item 04/136 and Dr J C Nutkins for items 04/139 & 04/140
Apologies for absence were received
from:
Mr J
Mutton, Professor R Parry-Jones, Mr J Scott and Dr C S Woodruff
At the
suggestion of the Chair, Council AGREED that the order of future agendas should
be changed so that the Matters for Report were the final items for discussion.
04/132 Minutes
It was RESOLVED to CONFIRM the Minutes of the 310th Meeting of the Council held on 29 October 2004 [COUN04-M7] subject to tabled amendments and noting that Mr W Moss was in fact present at the meeting.
04/133 Vice-Chancellor's Business
04/133.1 Department Closures in the Sector
Further to recent announcements by other
institutions of academic department closures, particularly chemistry and
physics, the Vice-Chancellor reassured Council members that there were no such
plans at Loughborough University. The
Vice-Chancellor and the Dean of Science had prepared a statement to this effect
which had been circulated to staff in the Department of Chemistry.
There had been calls for additional support
from the government for subjects such as chemistry and physics. HEFCE had denied recent allegations in the
Times Higher Education Supplement that only 5 or 5* research rated departments
would receive additional support and stated that they were awaiting guidance
from the Secretary of State. It was
hoped that criteria for support would relate more widely to the vibrancy of
individual departments – for example both the Chemistry and Physics departments
at Loughborough University had recruited to target in terms of UK/EU undergraduate
students. The Vice-Chancellor had
written to Sir Alan Wilson, Director General of the Department for Education
and Skills, who had found it helpful input.
04/133.2 Budget (2004/05) Update
There were 160 hall vacancies at the end of the first term which would have a negative effect on the Student Accommodation Services business plan. Work was underway to ensure that a different policy for allocating hall places would be followed in future years. This may involve necessary risks to ensure optimum occupancy after the initial settling in period.
There had also been an unexpected shortfall (against targets) in international recruitment which would impact upon the overall budget. Universities across the sector had experienced a similar problem and the University was taking action to ensure that the same thing did not happen again. Increases in applications would be treated slightly more cautiously and more modest targets set.
Some of the financial shortfall would be made up but the net effect was likely to be a 50% reduction to the operational surplus.
04/133.3 Grant Letter
The Secretary of State had recently written to HEFCE, outlining the budget for the sector for 2005/06.
04/133.4 CETL Bids
Having successfully passed through
the first phase of the process, the University was optimistic that its two bids
for Centres of Excellence in Teaching and Learning would also be successful in
the second phase. Results would be
announced on 20 January.
04/134 Matters
for Reports
04/134.1 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)
Research Grants and
Contracts
COUN04-P94(A) & COUN04-P94(B)
The PVCR presented the latest research grant and contract data which included large grants from Chemical Engineering and the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. There had been a slight dip in the number of applications compared to the same point last year although the overall amount applied for was about the same.
RAE 2008
The 15 main panel chairs had
been appointed and announced. The 67
sub-panel chairs (nominated by external bodies) had also been appointed and
would be announced shortly. Four
members of staff from Loughborough University had been appointed as sub-panel
chairs which was testimony to the growing research reputation of the
University. [Note added: the subsequent announcement named five chairs from
Loughborough University. This number
is, with Oxford, second only to Cambridge, and a remarkable outcome given the
relative sizes of each university.]
04/134.2 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching)
Student Intake Targets 2005
Preliminary intake targets for 2005 were being discussed with departments. The UK/EU undergraduate population would not increase. This was in line with University policy which recognised the concerns of local residents. Based on recent experience, more modest targets for international postgraduates were being set.
Applications for 2005 Entry
Applications had increased across the sector and this was
thought to be partly as a result of online applications. However, Loughborough’s increase (19%) was
somewhat higher than the national average.
Applications had increased in all three Faculties.
Clearing – Popularity Analysis
Recent data from UCAS had shown that Loughborough University was in the
top ten for universities searched on the first day of Clearing. This illustrated the university’s
popularity.
04/134.3 Director
of Business Partnerships, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer
COUN04-P95
The Director of Business Partnerships, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer presented his report to Council, details of which were contained in the agenda paper. In addition, he reported that Derek Mapp had agreed to chair the Intellectual Property Advisory Board.
04/134.4 Director of External Relations
COUN04-P96
Further to discussions at the last meeting of Council, the Public Relations Office had released a statement relating to the Estates Strategy. This had received a small amount of press coverage.
The University was establishing a Marketing Team which would bring together existing expertise from across the campus into one forum. The model was intended to both recognise the need for segmented marketing due to the diversity of activities undertaken by the University, and attempt to integrate the approaches and enable individuals to share best practice. Marketing initiatives must add value at a corporate and unit level and the team would be looking at ways in which to measure and monitor the impact of marketing activities.
The Alumni President recounted a recent trip to North America which had included meeting Loughborough Alumni and visiting American Institutions to learn about their approach to Alumni and fundraising. A key message was the importance of engaging students with Alumni at an early stage in their relationship with the University.
04/135 University
Accounts
04/135.1 Financial Statements
COUN04-P97
The
Bursar introduced the University Financial Statements for the year ended 31
July
2004 and made the following comments:
§
Compared to the previous
year, there was a substantial increase in interest payable. This was due to the first full year of
Holywell Park being included in the accounts.
Depreciation had also increased for the same reason.
§
Income had increased, £4M of
which was due to exceptional items.
§
There had been an increase in
research grants and contracts income which compared favourably with other
universities.
§
Income from international
student recruitment had increased by £4M to £14.1M. Council congratulated the Vice-Chancellor and the International
Office on their efforts to build relations overseas, in particular with
China. However, there was concern that
the market growth had slowed down substantially.
§
The University’s net debt
stood at just over £10M.
§
Cash flow was strong.
§
The majority of capital
expenditure had been covered by capital grant.
§
There had been a net increase
in the number of staff employed by the University. Associated staff costs had increased accordingly.
§
The contribution rate to the
Local Government pension scheme would rise by 30% over the next three years. The USS pension scheme looked stronger; the
next valuation was due in March 2005.
§
The government was looking
for a 2.5% efficiency gain across the public sector. Higher education would not necessarily be expected to achieve
this and the former Secretary of State had stated his intention to protect the
unit of resource. Independent of, but
relevant to, government requirements for efficiency gains, the University was
embarking upon a series of VFM reviews of support services.
The Chair of Council emphasised the importance of explaining to all staff the detail behind the headline surplus figure to enable them to understand and accept the need for operational surplus. Action: Bursar
The Chair of the Audit Committee confirmed that Audit Committee had been entirely satisfied with the presentation of the accounts.
Council APPROVED the adoption of accounts for 2003/04.
04/135.2 Financial Compliance Review
2003/04
COUN04-P98
As a major borrower, the University was subject to formal banking covenants. The agenda paper demonstrated that the University was currently compliant with all covenants. If student residences were built with University money, the University would come close to breaching the debt servicing ratio in 2005/06. However, the University was in discussion with its principal lender about the debt structure and did not consider this to be a major concern.
In terms of the University’s own financial strategy, the Bursar reported that:
۰ Surplus was ahead of 3% turnover
۰ Net current assets were above 5% of turnover
۰ Long and short term creditors did not exceed 60% of total assets
۰ Because of expenditure on halls of residence, in 2006/07, the University was likely to exceed the annualised service costs as a percentage of income agreed with the Funding Council at the time of the acquisition of Holywell Park. However, the Bursar was confident that this figure could be renegotiated.
In response to a query, the Bursar confirmed
that there were a range of measures in place to protect aspects of the
University’s borrowing against changes to the interest rate. This was an issue regularly discussed by the Treasurer’s Committee.
04/135.3 Income Summary 2003/04
COUN04-P99
Council received a summary of University income in
2003/04.
04/136 Estates Strategy
The Director of Estates reported that, since the last meeting of Council, the University had appointed a team of Master-planners to revisit the existing campus and were expected to report to the Estates Strategy Review Group at the end of January.
The University would be making an outline submission regarding campus land usage categories (including Holywell Park) to the Charnwood Borough Council Local Development Framework in late January. Council was satisfied with the progress being made.
04/137 Capital Programme
04/137.1 Progress Report
COUN04-P100
Council received a progress report on the Capital Programme and noted that a number of substantial projects were about to commence.
04/137.2 Burleigh Court
COUN04-P101
Council received an update on the project and AGREED to delegate authority to the Chair to progress the project through the final stage of the Capital Project Procedures. Tenders were due towards the end of January. A small advisory group would meet in early February to consider the tenders and the business case and advise the Chair of Council accordingly.
04/137.3 Residential Halls Strategy
COUN04-P102
Council received an update from the Bursar. It was important for the University to demonstrate its commitment to building more residences on campus. Subject to planning permission and budget, it was expected that a project to build residences on Car Park 7 would commence in 2005.
04/138 Residential Hall Fees
COUN04-P103
Meetings had been held with representatives of
Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU) to agree increases to the residential hall
fees. Jason Scott and Deepak Patel were
thanked for their responsible negotiations.
Council APPROVED a rate of increase of 7.5% (subject
to possible slight modification pending outcomes of negotiations between LSU
and Computing Services) for residential hall fees for 2005/06.
04/139 Tuition Fees and Access Agreement
COUN04-P104
The PVCT introduced the proposed Office of Fair Access (OFFA) Agreement. An initial draft had been submitted to OFFA and had received favourable feedback. The University intended to submit a final draft to OFFA before Christmas. Formal OFFA acceptance of the agreement was required before the University could implement the £3K tuition fee agreed by Council in October 2004. The paper covered four key areas: i) bursary support, ii) provision of financial advice to students, iii) outreach work and iv) milestones to be achieved.
The Academic Registrar had found OFFA to be helpful and was reasonably confident that the University’s proposals would be accepted without too much change. The more challenging aspect for the University was the effect that tuition fees and the proposed bursary scheme would have on student recruitment.
The agreement contained self-set targets for increasing under represented groups. The targets were challenging but realistic. However, the University would not be penalised if it did not meet them.
OFFA would publish the University’s agreement on its website when it had been approved (expected March 2005) and so the University needed to be ready to respond accordingly. The External Relations Office was helping to develop a comprehensive internal communication plan to brief all staff as well as advising on external communications.
Council APPROVED the draft Access agreement.
04/140 Committees Review Project
COUN04-P105
The Academic Registrar introduced her report of the
Committees Review Project. The aim of
the review had been largely to investigate whether the existing structures and
processes represented the most effective use of staff time. Senate had considered the report at its
meeting on 15 December and the Vice-Chancellor summarised its reaction as
follows:
۰
There should be a
separation of operational and policy decision-making bodies. This would help to reduce the amount of
redundant reporting to parent committees and improve effectiveness.
۰
There was a feeling
that the senior committees of the University tended to be made up of the same
people and that there needed to be more opportunities for frontline staff to be
involved in policy development.
University committee work should be formally recognised through
departmental workload models.
۰
Lay members’
contributions were much appreciated.
۰
Whilst
acknowledging the need to improve efficiency in the decision-making processes,
a reduction in size or scope of committees needed to be balanced against the
preservation of collegiality by ensuring adequate representation from different
interest groups.
۰
New committee
members would appreciate training on the purposes and structures of the
committee system.
۰
The University
needed to try and improve membership diversity on Committees.
Council welcomed the report and agreed that it was a
useful starting point for a complex and difficult project. During discussion, the following comments
were made:
۰
A number of members
objected to the recommendation that the University move towards shorter, less
discursive minutes. Longer minutes put
decisions into context and aided understanding of the issues being faced by the
University. Important information could
be lost if only the outcomes of decisions, rather than the process by which
those decisions were reached, were formally recorded.
۰
Council supported
the recommendation that individual committees should self evaluate their terms
of reference on a regular basis.
۰
The decision-making
process could be improved if agendas and papers made it absolute clear what
decision a committee was required to make and whether or not it needed to be
referred to a higher body.
۰
It would be helpful
if guidance were issued to Committee Chairs, particularly lay members,
regarding operational lines of responsibility in the areas covered by their
Committee. In a particular example
cited, the Committee Chair had been unclear about who to inform when he became
concerned that actions identified at the meeting were not being progressed.
۰
Academic
departments would appreciate clearer mechanisms for feeding comments back to a
committee about decisions which affected them.
The Academic Registrar would rework the report on the basis of the
comments received so far and re-present it at a later date. ACTION: Academic Registrar
04/141 CUC
Governance Code and Principles
The Registrar had circulated the revised Guide on Governance issued by CUC to members in advance of the meeting. University practice was generally in line with the CUC recommendations but the Registrar identified three key areas for action:
1)
Compile a Statement of Council Responsibilities. The Registrar would draft a statement for
consideration at the next meeting. ACTION:
Registrar
2) Tighten up procedures for filling vacancies on Council. ACTION: Registrar
3) Undertake a Review of the Effectiveness of Council in 2005. The Registrar would consult with the Chair of Council and bring recommendations forward to the next meeting.ACTION: Registrar
Mr Wilson, who had attended a CUC seminar with the Registrar, added the following comments:
۰ Council received reports from many committees but spent little time discussing them.
۰ It would help Council members to understand how well the University was performing if they had performance indicators against which to assess performance. The Chair agreed that this would be a useful exercise, so long as it was carefully designed and did not take too much time to prepare the information. The Registrar would give this some thought. ACTION: Registrar
Other members commented that the Council Away Days at which the University Strategic Plan was discussed were a useful forum for discussing issues in detail as there was often not enough time to do so in the regularly scheduled meetings. The effectiveness of Council was not usually discussed at the Away Day but it might be a useful and interesting topic to include at the next one.
04/142 Treasurer’s Committee
04/142.1 Report of Meeting: 23 November 2004
COUN04-P106
Council received the report of the meeting
and noted the following items:
۰
A HEFCE Audit
would take place in February/March 2005.
Risk Management would feature on the agenda.
۰
The Committee
had expressed its concerns regarding the Finance Information System on a number
of occasions but was pleased to note that progress was now being made.
۰
The Committee
was concerned that the University did not have adequate mechanisms for
monitoring/reporting of student aged debt.
۰
The Committee
had spent some time looking at endowed funds and how to monitor them to ensure
that they were being used for the purposes for which they were donated. The long term aim was to try to combine the
purposes of the various Trusts to enable greater flexibility.
04/142.2 Report of Joint Meeting with Audit Committee: 23
November 2004
COUN04-P107
Council received the report of the joint meeting of Audit Committee and Treasurer’s.
04/143 Audit Committee
04/143.1 Report of Meeting: 28 October
2004
COUN04-P108
Council received the
report of the meeting. The
Committee had spent some time discussing the VFM report on the structure of
Computing Services and Corporate Information Services. The post of Director for the Division of
Information Services and Systems (DISS) had since been approved and was open
internally to the four existing service heads of DISS.
04/143.2 Meetings with External
Auditors: 23 November 2004
COUN04-P109
Council received a report of Meetings with External Auditors.
04/143.3 Annual Report of the Audit
Committee 2003/04
COUN04-P110
Council received the Annual
Report of the Audit Committee for 2003/04 which included the report of the
Internal Auditors.
04/144 Membership of Council Committees
COUN04-P111
Council RATIFIED appointments to vacancies on Council Committees and Joint
Committees with Senate.
04/145 Senate
COUN04-P112
Council APPROVED the
following recommendations referred by Senate at its meeting held on 26 November
2004:
.1 Programme
Proposals (as detailed in the agenda paper)
.2 Establishment
of New Prizes, Amendments to Existing Prizes and Discontinuation of Prizes
.3 Amendments to the Constitution and Terms of Reference of
Joint Senate and Council Committees.
04/146 University Ordinances
Council CONFIRMED amendments to Ordinance XXXIII: Diplomas and Certificates, previously approved in October 2004.
04/147 Common Seal
COUN04-P113
Council RATIFIED the action of the Registrar in affixing the University Seal to the documents listed.
04/148 Charities Bill
COUN04-P114
Council received an update from
the Bursar and Registrar with regard to the Charities Bill and the University’s
“exempt charity” status.
04/149 Freedom of Information Act 2000
COUN04-P115
Council received a report on the
University’s progress towards compliance with the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
04/150 Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations
COUN04-P116
Council received a report
explaining the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations.
04/151 Annual Alumni Report
COUN04-P117
Council received the Alumni Annual
Report.
04/152 Loughborough University Development Trust
COUN04-P118
Council received a report from the
Loughborough University Development Trust and summary financial statements for
the period to 31 July 2004.
04/153 Reports of Committees
COUN04-P119
Council received reports from the following Committees.
i) Health,
Safety and Environmental Committee – 17 November 2004
ii) Performance
Monitoring Group – 2 December 2004
iii) Research
Committee – 28 October 2004
iv) Resources
and Planning Committee – 29 October 2004
v) Senate –
26 November and 15 December 2004
vi) Student
Services Committee – 3 November 2004
04/154 Date of Next Meeting
Friday 1 April 2005
Date – January 2005
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