[Minutes]
Minutes of the 312th (Ordinary) Meeting of Senate held on Wednesday
5 March 1997
Professor D J Wallace
Dr M Acar Professor R McCaffer
Dr C Backhouse Professor J J McGuirk
Dr J V Black Dr M P McIver
Dr W R Bowman (ab) Ms K Myers
Dr P L Byrne Professor J N Miller
Professor S Cox Professor I C Morison
Dr R K Dart Mrs M D Morley
Professor J V Dawkins Dr P N Murgatroyd
Dr D W Edwards Professor K C Parsons (ab)
Professor M Evans (ab) Dr A Price
Professor J P Feather Dr A C Pugh
Ms G A Fish Professor I Reid (ab)
Dr M Gilbert (ab) Professor P H Roberts
Dr H Gross Professor J A Saunders
Professor N A Halliwell Professor H Schröder
Professor V I Hanby Professor M Shaw
Professor A G Hargreaves Professor M Streat
Professor D J Hourston Dr G M Swallowe
Mr M Jackson Professor T G Weyman-Jones
Mr T P Jones Dr P Wild
Ms A Kanwar (ab) Professor F Wilkinson
Mrs W Llewellyn Professor C Williams
Mr P G Lewis (ab) Dr B Woodward
Professor R Lister Professor K R A Ziebeck
In attendance: Mr R A Bowyer
Dr D E Fletcher
Mr N A McHard
Dr B P Vale
By invitation: Dr J Costello
Professor B Marples
Dr R Wilcockson
Apologies
for absence were received from Dr Bowman and Professor Reid
No items were unstarred.
The Minutes of the 310th Meeting held on 27 November 1996 (SEN 96:M6) were
confirmed and were signed by the Chairman.
There were no matters arising.
The Vice-Chancellor reported to Senate that:
- .1
- The University's bid for the Academy of Sport was in the final shortlist of
three proposals and it was hoped that the outcome would be known by the end of
March. There were no outstanding difficulties regarding planning permission
for the development.
- .2
- The University had made a joint bid for Lottery Arts Funding development
and feasibility study for the Gallery of the Future. Assessors had that week
visited the University.
- .3
- A revised schedule for the Strategic Planning timetable was made available
to Senate and had already been circulated to departments.
- .4
- There was disappointment regarding the HEFCE funding settlement given the
outcome of the RAE. The University's allocation had however been influenced by
the volume of staff returned in the RAE and the shift in funding in favour of 5
and 5* departments at the expense of 4 rated departments. It was difficult to
make direct comparisons with previous allocations because equipment monies were
now included in the formula funding for teaching and research and the Funding
Council for England had taken into account savings to the University with
respect to the reduction in superannuation overheads.
-
- The allocation represented a small cash increase for the year. In the
context of the Strategic Planning Exercise a more radical approach might need
to be adopted.
-
- It was acknowledged that the University had been safety netted at a level
of £250K, but it was not required to report to HEFCE regarding its plans to
deal with this.
- .5
- Officers were to be congratulated on reducing the amount of paperwork
circulated with the Senate Agenda. It was expected that this would lead to
more focussed debates.
It was reported that:
- .1
- Resources and Planning Committee had set aside £1M over three years to
support innovations in teaching and learning. £100K had been earmarked for the
Peterborough initiative. A paper would be circulated in the near future
outlining the bidding process with a deadline for returns by the end of April.
- .2
- The semesterisation review exercise was well underway with the major areas
of difficulty having been clearly identified. A paper would be circulated to
Faculty Boards next term with a view to proposals coming to Senate in June. It
was anticipated that there would be room for flexibility within an agreed
quality assurance framework. The consultation process would be via the Faculty
Boards and was to be driven by academic considerations and concerns. This,
however, was not an opportunity to overturn an existing workable system, in
accordance with Senate's earlier views on the matter.
- .3
- Research Committee had previously allocated about £3M under the Research
Development Fund and via the Research Committee the ADRs were currently
conducting a cost benefit analysis on this expenditure. In future Research
Committee would make available up to £2.5M. Whilst the RAE was an important
barometer of the University's research activity and it was important to look
ahead to future exercises, staff must not lose sight of the wider primary
activities. New grants and contracts obtained by all Faculties over the last 6
months of 96/97 showed a decline of more than 30% compared with figures for the
same period last year. Although there might be a number of factors in this
apparent decline it was a cause for concern. It was suggested that fewer grant
applications were being made because of pressure on staff time. It was
acknowledged, however, that this pressure existed throughout the sector.
-
- The University's apparent failure to promote itself as an international
leader in certain areas of research needed to be addressed.
(SEN97-P1)
- .1
- Senate was advised that the University and LCAD had commissioned
independent external reports on their respective financial health and the
outcome had been reassuring to both parties. It was confirmed that
post-amalgamation LCAD would become Loughborough University School of Art and
Design and would join the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. On this
basis the College's Acting Director had already been attending SSH Faculty
Boards. There was no intention at present of further reviewing the Faculty
structure. Although in terms of student numbers the amalgamation would make
SSH the largest Faculty, in terms of budgetary turnover, for example, the
differences were less.
- .2
- In terms of research performance the College had achieved a 2 and a 3a .
Since this was based on a very recent approach to research this outcome was
felt to be positive. The experience of Winchester College of Art and the
University of Southampton had also been encouraging in this respect. Staff at
the College were aware of what the commitment to research entailed and their
output was of very high quality.
(SEN97-P2)
It was explained that this project was still at the feasibility stage and that
an operational phase would depend on financial investment from Peterborough and
support from HEFCE. There were concerns that 50% of the student numbers were
expected to be provided by the University and that the regional funding
initiative might not be available in future.
The £100K set aside for this initiative was to fund the development of the
project and was particularly related to staff costs involved in curricula
development. It was emphasised that any work done in this area could be used
by the University in a broader context.
Concern was expressed that a proposed 1998/99 start was very soon and it was
not yet apparent what the institution's commitments might be.
The Vice-Chancellor made it clear that the University could not proceed unless
HEFCE provided substantial funded student numbers. Peterborough must also make
a substantial financial commitment. Staff, including the AD(T)s were already
involved in the development. The University must guard against undertaking an
initiative which might lead to a loss of economies of scale.
The demand for this initiative came from Peterborough and it was expected to
cover the disciplines of Business Studies, Engineering, Science and Technology
and Education. Access to the Foundation Year was also a possibility. Many
programmes would be distance learning based. A resource centre next to the
city Library had already been made available at no cost to the University.
(SEN97-P3)
- .1
- Teaching and Learning Committee had felt that Senate had not provided
enough guidance previously on the implementation of the amendments to the
GRUA/ARUA involving the introduction of the capping of resit marks at 40%. It
was possible that Programme Boards would now be faced with students who had
commenced in different cohorts but who were completing their programmes in the
same cohort. The application of capping uniformly in these circumstances would
lead to some students being subject to retrospective capping. It was felt that
this might be unfair to students who were unaware that they would have been
subject to this regulation and that it might be difficult to defend legally.
It was estimated that up to 70 students would be affected by the new
regulation. In general it was felt that it was important that no students
should be disadvantaged, that retrospective action should be avoided and that
students should carry forward the marks previously notified to them.
-
- The Students' Union requested that the situation be made clear to students.
- .2
- Under the revised regulations most students who undertook resit
examinations would be debarred from obtaining an Honours degree. This was not
considered to be just since the resit marks would already be subject to
capping. It was agreed that in these circumstances students should be eligible
for an honours degree if their overall performance merited such an award.
-
- It was noted that the new General Regulations came into effect for all
undergraduate students in the next academic session and that AMPS would cease
to exist after the Programme Boards immediately following the 1997 Special
Assessment Period. All re-assessments after June 1997 leading to awards after
October 1997 would become subject to the new classification scheme.
(SEN97-P4)
Senate was asked to accept that the maximum duration of a research degree
should be four years and to reflect this in the University regulations. Three
years should be the expectation since many students only received funding for
that period. The PhD should not be regarded as a life's work but as a training
for research and evidence of research ability.
Some concern was expressed about the ability of overseas students, who might be
experiencing language difficulties, to meet the four year deadline. In
addition it was suggested that sponsors would prefer a student to be able to
submit a thesis shortly after the four year deadline than not at all. It was
also argued that the requirement to undergo research training might be
adversely affecting completion rates. It was, however, reported that the four
year submission rate for overseas students were generally very high. Those
student who had already received training in general performed very well in
terms of PhD submissions. External bodies expected submissions within four
years and the University's performance was monitored in this respect.
There was some discussion about the incentives which could be introduced to
encourage prompt submission. Some departments were offering prizes to students
who met specified deadlines. Concern was expressed by the Students' Union
about introducing a high writing up fee which might disadvantage candidates on
low incomes. It was emphasised that departments must take the opportunity to
identify problems at an early stage and where appropriate suspend a student's
studies or make use of part-time registration.
It was RESOLVED to approve the introduction of the requirement that all
full-time research students should submit their theses within four years of
their initial registration date for students commencing in October 1997 and
thereafter.
(SEN97-P5)
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of the Teaching and Learning Committee
and on the advice of the Curriculum Sub-Committee to recommend to Council the
following:
- i)
- For introduction in the 1996/97 session:
- MSc Automotive Systems Engineering (self financing) and the consequent
discontinuation of the MSc in Advanced Automotive Engineering
- ii)
- For introduction in the 1997/98 session:
- MSc Engineering Management (self financing)
- BSc Mathematics and Management
- LPC Back Care Management (self financing)
- MSc Financial Economics/MSc International Economics and Finance/MSc
Monetary Economics/MSc Economics and Finance and the consequent discontinuation
of the MSc in European Economics and Finance and the MSc in Economics
- iii)
- The discontinuation of the following programmes:
- BEng/MEng Mechanical and Materials Engineering - September 1997 entry
- BEng/MEng Mechanical and Optical Engineering - September 1997 entry
- MA Modern French Studies - September 1997 entry
- MA Post War German Studies - September 1997 entry
- iv)
- To approve the retitling of BSc Mathematics and Education to Mathematics
with Education - September 1997 entry.
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of the Teaching and Learning Committee
and where appropriate on the advice of the Curriculum Sub-Committee:
- .1
- Bachelor of Library Studies
- (SEN97-P6)
-
- To approve revised arrangements for the award of BLS to students importing
credit from French and African institutions previously approved by Senate.
- .2
- Personal Tutoring and Academic Guidance
- (SEN97-P7)
-
- To approve minimum standards on Personal Tutoring and Academic Guidance.
- .3
- Optional Module Availability
- (SEN97-P8)
-
- To approve a proposal concerning the availability of optional
modules.
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of Ordinances and Regulations Committee:
- .1
- To approve amendments to the General Regulations for Undergraduate Awards;
the General Regulations for Higher Awards by Course; the General Regulations
for Modular Postgraduate Awards in respect of;
- i)
- the clarification of the Attendance Requirement
- (SEN97-P9)
- ii)
- the introduction of consistent procedures for handling requests for Leave
of Absence
- (SEN97-P10)
- .2
- To approve amendments to the General Regulations and Assessment Regulations
for Undergraduate Awards to accommodate the new degree classification scheme
and associated changes approved by Senate at its meeting on 27 November
1996.
- (SEN97-P11)
- .3
- To recommend to Council that Ordinances and Regulations Committee be
authorised to make as appropriate amendments to Ordinances and Regulations
necessitated by the introduction of Faculty boards.
It was noted that the date of the Winter Degree Congregation would be Tuesday
16 December 1997.
Reports from the following Committees were received:
- (SEN97-P12) Research Committee of 8 January 1997 and Research Committee
of 6 February 1997
- (SEN97-P13)
Ordinances and Regulations Committee of 7 February 1997
- (SEN97-P14) Resources and Planning Committee of 14 February 1997
- (SEN97-P15)
Teaching and Learning Committee of 13 February 1997
- .1
- A member of Senate reported that while reducing the amount of paper in
circulation on the agenda was to be commended, the timescale within which
notice had to be given to unstar an item was very tight. This was complicated
by the need to look up the papers on the Information Gateway at an early stage.
It was confirmed that papers were available at least 3 working days prior to
the deadline for unstarring. It was not possible to circulate the papers any
earlier nor to allow a later deadline for unstarring since time was required to
investigate issues raised in this way and, if necessary, to notify members of
any item unstarred. It might in future be possible to be more flexible
regarding unstarring items for the purposes of clarification.
- .2
- It was noted that a member of Senate had sought clarification regarding
agenda item 11.3 and having received reassurance had not unstarred this item.
The point at which departments would not be allowed to withdraw optional
modules on the grounds of module viability would be the point after which the
module database was frozen, normally week 5 of semester 1. This would be
reported to the next meeting of Teaching and Learning Committee.
Friday, 27 June 1997 (am). Please note the change to the usual day of the
Senate meeting.
Author - Nick McHard
March 1997
Copyright (c) Loughborough University. All rights reserved.