The Council

COUN09-M5

Minutes of the meeting of the University Council held on Friday 9 October 2009.

Members:

Sir Bryan Carsberg (Chair); Dr Memis Acar; Dr Jo Aldridge (ab); Dr Anja Baumhoff; John Blackwell; Penny Coates (ab); Arthur Deakin (ab); Brian Dent; Gifty Edila; Sir John Gains; Professor Neil Halliwell; Rob Hulme; Sir John Jennings; Jamie Morgado; Jim Murphy; Jim Mutton; Terry Neale; Professor Ric Parker; Professor Richard Parry-Jones (ab); Professor Shirley Pearce; Simon Proffitt; Professor Ian Reid; Mark Sismey-Durrant; Jackie Strong (ab); Nigel Tamplin; Philip Wilkinson-Blake; Alan A Woods; Dr Dominic Wring (ab).

In attendance:

Professor Morag Bell; Professor Phill Dickens; Professor Terry Kavanagh; Professor Chris Linton; Dr Jennifer Nutkins; Professor Ken Parsons; Miranda Routledge; Will Spinks; Professor Tony Thorpe; Jon Walker; Caroline Walker

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dr Jo Aldridge; Penny Coates; Arthur Deakin; Richard Parry-Jones; Dr Dominic Wring

09/69 Chairman’s Introduction

The Chair welcomed new members of Council to the meeting.

09/70 Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 9 July 2009 [COUN09-M3] were CONFIRMED.

09/71 Matters Arising from the Minutes

09/71.1 Appraisal of Audit Committee members

Further to Minute 09/43.2, bearing in mind the strong channels of communication and reporting in place, Council AGREED that it would not be necessary to introduce a formal appraisal system for the Chair of the Audit Committee by the Chair of Council. It was further AGREED that decisions regarding appraisal of Audit Committee members should rest with the Committee itself.

09/71.2 Other Matters Arising

There were no other matters arising.

09/72 Duties and Responsibilities of Members of Council/Overview of Forthcoming Business

09/72.1 Duties and Responsibilities of Members of Council/Statement of Responsibilities of Council

COUN09-P104

It was common practice that, at the first meeting of each academic year, Council should note its duties and responsibilities and consider the key issues likely to emerge in the year ahead. As the governing body, Council was ultimately responsible for approving, and monitoring progress towards achievement of the Strategic Plan and for ensuring that the University was well-managed. In particular, Council should ensure that the appropriate financial controls and risk management arrangements were in place.

The detail of the documents presented would need to be amended if changes to the Charter and Statutes (appearing later on the agenda) were approved by Council and subsequently by the Privy Council. Action: Asst Secretary

09/72.2 Overview of Year’s Forthcoming Business

COUN09-P105: NOTED

09/73 University Budget

The Director of Finance reported that the audit of the 2008-09 accounts was still underway and a full report would be made to Council in November as usual. Within those accounts, the University was expecting to declare a surplus of £6.6M which exceeded the value of £4.5M presented to Council in July. The increased surplus was the result of several relatively small differences from budget and not attributable to any major factor. The increased surplus was a good result and would contribute to the University’s ambitious capital programme.

The current projection for the 2009-10 budget was a surplus of £9.5M. Whilst there had been positive and negative movements within the budget, the overall position remained much as it had been when agreed in July. The HEFCE allocation had been cut by £500K but was expected to be balanced by savings on costs. The first quarter position would be reported to Council in November.

09/74 Matters for Report

09/74.1 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)

(i) Research Grants and Contracts

COUN09-P106: NOTED

09/74.2 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching)

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor gave a verbal report on student recruitment for 2009-10. Whilst it was too early to release the formal figures, the University could report a successful year with recruitment across all categories being close to or on target.

UK/EU undergraduate recruitment was well within the previous year’s target and so would not be subject to any financial penalty from the Funding Council. Entry grades across all subjects had increased and 80% of students had achieved or exceeded their offer grades. No department had entered Clearing in 2009.

Initial concerns regarding the effect of the new Points Based System for immigration on international recruitment appeared to be unfounded. There was no evidence to suggest that visa delays had worsened and international student recruitment was on target.

Postgraduate recruitment had exceeded targets, particularly with respect to UK/EU students.

09/74.3 Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise)

COUN09-P107: NOTED

09/75 Confirmation of Amendments to University Charter and Statutes

09/75.1 Further to Minute 09/47.1, Council CONFIRMED amendments to the Charter to remove references to Court

09/75.2 Further to Minute 09/47.2, Council CONFIRMED amendments to Statutes I, II, III, IV, VII, IX, (repeal of XII), XIII, XIV, XV, XX, and XXV to remove references to Court.

Statutes IX The Registrar and XIII Council are also amended:

(i) To remove reference to the Registrar acting as secretary to Council and to allow Council to appoint its secretary from amongst the administrative staff.

(ii) To make explicit Council’s responsibility for risk management.

These changes needed to be submitted to Privy Council for approval and were subject to any amendments it might make. Action: Secretary

09/76 New Amendment to University Charter

COUN09-P108

Council CONSIDERED proposals to amend paragraph 5 of the Charter. It was confirmed that degree conferring powers were covered elsewhere in the Statutes. The amendment was unanimously supported. The amendments would need to be confirmed at the November meeting before being recommended to the Privy Council. Council therefore APPROVED the Special Resolution to make amendments to the Charter and Statutes, subject to any changes that the Privy Council should require.

Secretary’s Note: The conferring of Degrees and other Awards is governed by Statute XIX: Congregations.

09/77 Amendment to Ordinance

COUN09-P109

On the recommendation of the Chair of Senate, Council APPROVED amendments to Ordinance XXXIII.

09/78 Careers Centre Advisory Board

COUN09-P110

Council APPROVED amendments to the title and Terms of Reference of the Careers Centre Advisory Board.

09/79 Membership of Council 2009/10

COUN09-P111

Council NOTED the membership of Council for 2009/10 thus far determined.

09/80 Council Membership of Committees 2009/10

COUN09-P112

Council NOTED appointments to vacancies on Council Committees and Joint Committees with Senate.

09/81 Graduation Ceremonies 2009/10

Council NOTED the dates of Graduation Ceremonies to be held in the academic year 2009/10 as follows:

Monday 14 December 2009

Thursday 15 July, Friday 16 July, Monday 19 July and Tuesday 20 July 2010.

09/82 Academic Officers, Directors and Heads of Department

COUN09-P113: NOTED

09/83 Any Other Business

Council NOTED that the Vice-Chancellor and the Chair of Council had approved the East Park Design Centre enabling works, the costs of which were within the limits delegated to them.