Faculty of Science
Faculty Board
SCI10-M2
Minutes of the Meeting of the Faculty Board held on 20
May 2010
Members: Professor
Observers: Jo Corlett (ab), Dr Sandie Dann (ab), Shirley Horner,
Professor Rachel
Thomson (ab).
Apologies for Absence: Professor Feo Kusmartsev, Peter Lund, Dr Martin Smith.
In attendance:
10/1 Welcome
Members were welcomed to the meeting. Professor
Paul Chung was welcomed back to the Board in his new role as Associate Dean
(Research). Professor Dawson was congratulated on being appointed Associate
Dean (Teaching) from August 2010.
10/2
Minutes
The
minutes of the Meeting of the Science Faculty Board (SCI09:M2) held on 12
November 2009 were confirmed.
10/3
Matters arising from the Minutes
09/31 Matters
Arising: Dean’s Report: Loughborough Design School: The proposal to
create Loughborough Design School had been approved by Senate and Council, and
the School would come into existence in August 2010.
10/4
Career Destinations
SCI10-P1
Susan Reed, Careers Advisor, attended for this item
Susan Reed summarised the key findings of the 2008/09 Graduate Destinations Survey. She noted that, when viewing the report and making year on year comparisons, members needed to bear in mind that Human Biology and Psychology provision had moved to the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and thus were no longer included in the destination information for the Faculty of Science.
The survey had revealed that the employment rate for the Faculty’s graduates was lower than in the previous year, but this could be due to a larger proportion (over a quarter) opting to enter postgraduate study. The unemployment rate was down on the previous year and was lower than that for the rest of the University. A greater percentage of those who had found employment were in graduate level roles, and those who had undertaken an industrial placement had had greater success in finding employment. The median salary for the Faculty’s graduates was similar to the previous year, and the average salary for those who had undertaken placements continued to be higher than for those who had not.
Ms Reed outlined the schemes which were run by the Careers Centre. She noted in particular the success of the University’s Employability Award Programme, the Employer Mentoring Scheme and the longstanding Insight into Management scheme. She urged departments to encourage their students to make use of the Alumni Careers Mentors Database which contained details of alumni who could provide them with valuable advice and support. ACTION: HODs
Staff did not appear to be aware of the employment internship schemes which were open to graduates. These were advertised to students, but departments were not necessarily made aware of them in order to promote them further.
The 2008/09 Graduate Destinations Survey report is available on the Careers Centre’s website at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/section/reports/reports.html.
10/5 Dean’s Report
i University Financial Position: The University’s HEFCE grant
letter had revealed that
its total recurrent grant for 2010/11 would be 1.2 per cent higher than in
2009/10. This was better than had been expected but represented a cut in real
terms. The recently-elected government had announced that an emergency budget
would take place in June, and it was anticipated that this could be used to announce
further cuts to HE funding. The University would continue to aim to cut its
costs over the following three years or to increase its income sufficiently to
avoid some cuts.
ii University Structure
SCI10-P2 + TABLED PAPER
Members noted the interim report of the University Structure
Project Management Board and a tabled paper detailing an alternative proposal
for the structure consisting of seven schools, one of which was a School of
Science. The interim report and alternative proposal were to be considered by
ELT, and a final report would be prepared for consideration by Senate in June.
The
Project Management Board had received comments from staff on its first report.
Most objections to the new structure were from individuals who were not
persuaded by the financial case for change and/or who were opposed to changes
which would affect the Engineering brand or the services provided centrally by the
Faculty of Engineering. The Dean noted that the new structure was intended to
place the University in a position to protect its core business at a time when
universities were facing significant financial cuts, rather than to make
savings per se, and therefore it would be difficult to provide evidence of
benefits of the structural changes at this stage.
It
was noted that the tabled alternative proposal put forward a single Engineering
school which could satisfy those who wished to retain an Engineering entity in
place of the existing Faculty of Engineering.
The alternative proposal met with some
support. However, a number of members voiced their reservations about the proposed
new structure. Their primary concern related to the different sizes of the
schools presented in the alternative proposal which, they believed, would
result in smaller schools receiving the same level of representation as
significantly larger ones.
iii Carbon
Emissions: The
University had been challenged to reduce its
carbon emissions by 48 per cent by 2020.
iv Graduation
2012: It was noted that the main 2012 graduation ceremonies were
to take place in September rather than in July.
10/6 Associate Dean’s (Research) Report
i REF Update: The University had obtained
some feedback following the REF consultation process. It was anticipated that
the census date would be in, or around, August 2013. Returned staff would be
asked to provide details of up to four publications. Esteem would no longer be
used as a measure. However, impact would be. The AD(R) would provide
departments with further details of the REF as soon as they were made available. ACTION:AD(R)
ii Postgraduate
Research Student Issues: Departments had been set PG(R) student recruitment
targets and would be the subject of reviews of PG(R) provision. They would in
future need to monitor the engagement of their international students. The
University would be required to report any who had not been in touch with their
department for a period of two months to the Immigration Service.
iii Other Issues
a)
Graduate School: Since the last meeting, Professor Feather had been
appointed Dean of the Graduate School.
b) Studentships: The University had
advertised 50 Development Fund studentships in the THE. Departments would be asked to forward applications from suitable candidates
to the AD(R) after the 11 June closing date for applications.
Summer
studentships had been awarded to five students in the Faculty. It was hoped
that the scheme would be repeated in 2011.
The
Faculty had been allocated two half Centenary Studentships for students
entering in October 2010.
c) Publications Management System: The University had put out to tender
for a publications management system. It was hoped that the new system would be
in place after the summer.
d) EPSRC Demand
Management: EPSRC had introduced its demand management process.
Individuals who had had three unsuccessful bids would be required to go through
a cooling off period.
EPSRC
was making use of Turnitin software to identify
resubmitted applications. The AD(R) was to make the Research Team aware of this
and seek clarification on what EPSRC classed as a resubmission. ACTION:
AD(R)
10/7 Associate Dean’s (Teaching) Report
i Recruitment 2010
SCI10-P3
a) Targets: Members noted targets and
application statistics for the 2010 intake. It was anticipated that the Faculty
would find itself in a similar recruitment position, generally, to the previous
year.
b) UG UK/EU:
The Faculty had made more offers and had received more replies from applicants
than in the previous year. However the number of firm acceptances received and
the conversion rate had gone down.
c) UG International: Applications and acceptances
were down on the previous year. As a consequence, the Faculty may find it more
difficult to meet its target than in previous years. Departments may wish to
refer applications from individuals with borderline English qualifications to
the AD(T). ACTION: HODs
d) PGT UK/EU: The number of applications
continued to be relatively small. It was noted that the number of PGT
applications received could be higher than indicated in the statistics. It was
possible that some applications might not have been logged yet due to delays in
the processing of applications caused by the loss of three members of staff in the
PGT Admissions Office. The Academic Registry was aware of concern within the
Faculty about delays in the processing of PGT applications and had taken steps
to address the situation.
Departments
were encouraged to promote their postgraduate programmes to their finalists.
ACTION: HODs
e) PGT International: The number of
applications had increased, and the number of UFs was a little higher than in the
previous year. However, the number of offers was down on the previous year. It
was noted that the exact number of applications was not yet known due to delays
in the processing of applications.
f)
International Recruitment: Departments
were encouraged to continue to focus on international recruitment. ACTION:
HODs
ii Other Issues
a) National Student Survey: The University’s
response rate of 76 per cent compared favourably with the national rate of 63
per cent. This was an improvement on the previous year when the
University’s response rate was 74
per cent.
b) Teaching Quality: There had been no major teaching quality
issues within the Faculty during 2009/10. The Department of Information Science
had been the subject of a periodic programme review.
10/8 Award of Research Degrees
SCI10-P4
(tabled)
Faculty Board APPROVED the award of Higher Degrees to candidates whose examinations had been conducted since the last meeting of Senate.
10/9 Personal Titles
Faculty Board NOTED that the following members of the Faculty had been awarded personal titles since the last meeting:
Dr Mo Song Chair in Polymer Science and
Nanotechnology (From 1 Jan 2010)
Dr Uwe Thiele Chair in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical
Physics (From 1 Dec 2009)
They were
congratulated on their new titles.
10/10 Curriculum Sub-Committee
It
was NOTED that Curriculum Sub-Committee had recommended to Learning and
Teaching Committee approval of the following subject to certain matters being
agreed to the satisfaction of the AD(T):
i New
Programme Proposals
BSc, DPS Design Ergonomics (from Oct 2011)
MSc
Internet Computing and Networking (from Oct 2010)*
ii Changes to Programme Titles
MSc Materials for Industry to MSc Materials Science and Technology (from Oct 2010 entry)*
iii Discontinuation
of Programmes (subject to approval of Directorate and Operations Committee)
BSc/MComp Computer Science and
E-Business (last intake Oct 2010)
* Later approved by
Learning and Teaching Committee
10/11 Annual
Programme Review
SCI10-P5
A
report from the AD(T) was NOTED.
10/12 Associate Dean (Teaching): Actions between meetings
It was
NOTED that the AD(T) had taken action between meetings
as detailed in the agenda.
10/13 Staff-Student Committees
It was
NOTED that reports of Staff-Student Committee meetings had been deposited with
the Secretary as detailed in the agenda.
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10/14 Faculty IT Support Report
SCI10-P6
NOTED.
10/15 Faculty e-Learning Officer Report
SCI10-P7
NOTED.
10/16 Faculty Quality Enhancement Officer Report
SCI10-P8
NOTED.
10/17 Faculty Board Membership
Members
NOTED that there were eight vacancies for co-opted members and a vacancy for an
elected departmental representative from the Department of Information Science.
10/18 Valediction for Retiring Members
Faculty
Board thanked the following retiring members of the Board for whom this would
be the last meeting: D Harris, Dr M Harrison, Professor R Haslam, Dr N
Mansfield, J Richardson, Professor P Warwick.
Professor
Haslam and Mr Richardson were congratulated on the part that they had played in
the development of Loughborough Design School and were thanked for their considerable
contribution to the University as heads of departments.
Professor
Warwick, who was to retire later in the year, was thanked for his significant
contribution both to his department as its head and to the Faculty generally.
Dr Harrison, who was also to retire
later in the year, was thanked for his sustained contribution to the Faculty in
his role as Associate Dean (Teaching) over six years.
10/19 Dates of Future Meetings
To be advised
M Ashby
June 2010
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All rights reserved.