[Minutes]
Minutes of the 314th (Ordinary) Meeting of Senate held on Friday
27 June 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 Ms K Myers
Dr P L Byrne (ab) Professor J N Miller (ab)
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 Dr W J Overton
Professor M Evans Professor K C Parsons (ab)
Professor J P Feather Dr A Price (ab)
Ms G A Fish (ab) Dr A C Pugh
Dr M Gilbert Professor I Reid
Dr H Gross Professor P H Roberts (ab)
Professor N A Halliwell Professor J A Saunders
Professor V I Hanby Professor H Schröder
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 Dr B Woodward
Professor R Lister Professor K R A Ziebeck (ab)
In attendance: Mr R A Bowyer
Dr D E Fletcher
Mr N A McHard
Dr B P Vale
By invitation: Dr J Costello
Dr R Wilcockson
Apologies
for absence were received from Professor Miller, Dr Price and
Professor Roberts
No items were unstarred.
The Minutes of the 312th Meeting held on 5 March 1997 were confirmed and
signed, subject to the addition of Professor M Evans to the list of members
present.
There were no matters arising.
The Vice-Chancellor reported to Senate that:
- .1
- A problem had arisen with respect to the elections to the membership of
Senate in that the Department of Chemical Engineering had not received ballot
papers. Since all candidates put forward from the Faculty of Engineering had
been elected to Senate through various routes, it was agreed to take no further
action. In future departments would be required to notify the Academic
Registry of receipt of their ballot papers.
- .2
- The meeting of the Board of Governors of Loughborough College of Art and
Design had voted unanimously in favour of full merger with the University from
1 August 1998. Senate noted that the two institutions were already merged for
academic purposes and the proposal for full merger would be considered by the
University Council on 16 July 1997. Senate warmly welcomed the Board of
Governors' decision and members acknowledged the great esteem in which the
College was held nationally.
- .3
- Discussions were continuing with respect to developments in Peterborough.
Nevertheless a number of issues remained, in particular the need to secure
funding locally and funded places from HEFCE.
- .4
- External development funding of £290K had been secured for the Gallery of
the Future. It would now be possible to commission innovative works.
- .5
- Unless an increase in the MASN could be secured for 1998/99 the University
might exceed its target and it may be necessary to review intake quotas for
October 1998. Other factors such as the Dearing Report and the new HEFCE
funding formula would also need to be taken into account. It was anticipated
that the publication of the Dearing Report might be slightly delayed pending
resolution of the question of the level and extent of student loans.
- .6
- The Vice-Chancellor had written against a suggestion that the Dearing
report might recommend funding only of 5 and 5* departments for research
because it was too artificial an approach. A decision needed to be taken
between funding for internationally competitive research or that for nationally
competitive work.
- .7
- A concert given by the music scholars was very well received and
demonstrated the success of the music scholarships scheme.
- .8
- Loughborough Students' Union was to be warmly congratulated in achieving
its IIP award and for raising another record amount for charity through RAG.
- .9
- The Departments of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering and Transport
Studies, and Manufacturing Engineering were to be thoroughly congratulated on
achieving scores of 23/24 in recent TQA assessments.
- .10
- The UK Sports Council evaluation in respect of the British Academy of Sport
was expected imminently.
It was reported that in May 1998 that University would receive an audit visit
from QAA. It would be essentially an audit about mechanisms which would not
involve academic departments to any great extent. At present it was felt that
the University could be fairly confident regarding its existing systems.
(SEN97-P20)
- .1
- The Vice-Chancellor reminded Senate that the Strategic Plan was updated
every 2 years and the exercise was timely following the outcome of the
RAE. The Plan incorporated inputs from Faculties as well as Resources and
Planning Committee and would be forwarded to Council for onward transmission to
HEFCE. It was proposed that each section be considered in turn. Senate was
content with the overview contained in the document, subject to incorporating a
reference to the University's concern for the environment.
- .2
- In the Research Strategy section it was suggested that the precise level of
funds committed by the University to research should be stated.
-
- The Vice-Chancellor emphasised the importance of the completion rate target
set for research students, given that full-time research students would be
funded by HEFCE only for 3 years. No funding was received for subsequent
years. There was some discussion concerning the difficulties of recruiting
research students. The University had invested in studentships to boost
recruitment. To a certain extent the University's success in equipping its
graduates for employment ran counter to its ability to recruit its own
graduates for research. It was felt that a longer term scheme aimed at
undergraduates might retain some potential research students. It was also felt
that the current restriction on Research Council awards to EU students as "fees
only" limited the ability to recruit. The Vice-Chancellor agreed to pursue
this with EPSRC. A clear statement on the University's objective to increase
research student numbers should be incorporated.
-
- Clarification was sought regarding the infrastructural support available to
support research initiatives and research students. It was envisaged that
there could be some rationalisation at departmental level to support Faculties
and centrally from for example, the External Relations Office. The proposed
12% increase in research contracts and grants was a very significant target and
would be a great challenge. The baseline was the £16M income in this academic
year.
-
- The PVC(R) acknowledged the contributions of AD(R)s and Deans to this
section.
- .3
- The targets in the section on Teaching and Learning Strategy would have an
immediate and obvious impact. They were intended to encourage innovation and
achieve efficiency gains. Concern was expressed about the projected 10%
decrease in admissions via concessions and clearing. It was emphasised that
this should not lead to a lowering of entry standards nor prevent the
University from recruiting able students through clearing. It was agreed that
such a statement should nevertheless be incorporated because it was a strategic
objective. In order to maintain recruitment it was important to ensure
candidates and parents visited the campus. The need for a co-ordinated
approach with respect to recruitment marketing from the Publicity and
Admissions Offices was recognised.
-
- It was felt that the success of the Foundation Programme should be
recognised and incorporated in the Plan. It was agreed that paragraph 3.4.4
should be revised to refer to all forms of assessment.
- .4
- The Student Experience section had recently been incorporated into the Plan
and recognised the importance of the environment and support for students.
Paragraph 4.3.3 should be amended to refer to LSU and its own Advice and
Welfare Section and the employment exchange. It was further agreed that the
opportunities for personal development afforded by participation in Hall
activities and industrial placements should be recorded. The support given by
the University to disabled students should also be stated explicitly. A member
of Senate raised the issue of ensuring that the diversity of the student
population, including part-time and distance learning students, should also be
recognised and catered for. The core activity of the University was to deliver
quality education and research but the opportunities and support offered at
Loughborough University would enhance the quality of the student experience and
differentiate the University from its competitors. The overall role that the
support services in general played in ensuring the quality of student
experience was recognised.
-
- It was noted that the University was still regarded as a male dominated
environment, but that merger with LCAD would redress the gender imbalance to a
certain extent.
- .5
- The section on Human Resources emphasised the importance of staff
management and development through training. The importance of providing
adequate childcare facilities for all staff was acknowledged with respect to
both the Nursery and the Playscheme. It was accepted that improvements in this
area should be incorporated in the Plan. A reference to technical staff
training should also be included in this section and it was noted that the
Engineering Faculty in particular wished to take action in this area.
- .6
- At present there was an imbalance between central computing services and
those at Faculty and Departmental level, which should be resolved in favour of
the latter. The proposals in this section had been discussed with the Acting
Librarian and her comments had been addressed.
- .7
- It was noted that a number of very significant projects were contained in
the Estate Strategy. With respect to a new swimming pool the outcome of the
Central Consortium bid for the British Academy of Sport was awaited. If the
Academy bid was successful then the EHB pool would be closed and the remaining
pool would be refurbished. If the University was not successful it was hoped
that a new 50m pool would nevertheless be constructed with Lottery funding. It
was felt that the new building schemes were not at variance with the
University's environmental policy because the existing pools, for example, were
very inefficient in terms of energy use. It was agreed that a reference to the
University' space utilisation policy should be incorporated.
- .8
- The introduction of a cascade model and income streaming enabled the true
identification of costs.
- .9
- The section on Managing Change was considered to be critical to achieving
the operational plan. There would be a review of all central and departmental
support services and IT provision. It was also felt that there should be a
clear external communication strategy which would include fund raising. There
should be in this context a reference to the Development and Alumni Offices.
- .10
- The final version of the Plan would be sent to HEFCE after Council's
meeting on 16 July and would be circulated to all members of staff via the
Information Gateway.
(SEN97-P21)
- .1
- On the recommendation of Teaching and Learning Committee Senate considered
proposals following the review of semesterisation. The review had been a
response to academic considerations and earlier versions of the proposals had
been circulated to Faculty Boards and General Assembly. Members of Senate had
also received the recommendations of the General Assembly which related
specifically to year long modules and to September re-sit examinations.
- .2
- Senate was asked to consider whether the proposals submitted by the General
Assembly constituted amendments to the paper under consideration. It was
argued that the proposals were too far-reaching to be considered as amendments
and that if they were adopted the paper submitted to Senate would need to be
withdrawn for further consideration. After some discussion it was agreed that
Senate should vote on whether the proposals were to be considered as
amendments; if not then they would be put to Senate as motions, debated and
voted on.
- .3
- Senate considered the recommendations of General Assembly that in respect
of Years C and D `departments shall be able to determine the number of year
long and combined modules in Years C and D of undergraduate degrees. The
decision by departments would depend on the academic appropriateness of their
undergraduate programmes and require the approval of their Faculties'.
-
- Senate voted by a majority of 20 to 7 that this did not constitute an
amendment. The recommendation that it be considered as a separate motion was
formally put to Senate by Dr W R Bowman and seconded by Dr P Murgatroyd. In
support of the motion it was argued that it was not the intention to reverse
semesterisation. A crucial part of the student experience was the presentation
of the project and it was the intention of the amendment to enhance the
arrangements for project assessment. The importance of project work developing
into research was noted. Departments should be enabled to develop their
teaching with the guidance of Faculties. It was suggested that a compromise
could be reached by assessing and completing 30 credits rather than 40 at the
end of Semester 1.
-
- Nevertheless the view was put that the paper under consideration already
gave departments great flexibility. Increasing the amount of discretion
regarding year long modules would undermine the fundamental principles of
semesterisation.
-
- The motion was put to Senate and defeated by a majority of 23 against the
motion 6 in favour.
- .4
- Senate considered the recommendation from General Assembly that
'departments shall determine whether September Resit examinations are held for
their undergraduate programmes. The decision by departments would depend on
the academic appropriateness for their undergraduate programmes and require
approval of their Faculties'.
-
- Senate voted by a majority of 19 to 8 that this was not an amendment.
Accordingly the recommendation was formally put to Senate as a motion. It was
stated in support of this motion that September re-sit examinations placed a
heavy burden on all staff and were disruptive to research. Some students might
suffer financial hardship by being unable to gain employment during the summer
because of the need to study. In some disciplines it would be easier to obtain
temporary employment by taking a year out. It was advanced that some students
might seek tactical advantage from the resits.
-
- The view was expressed that such a proposal could not operate at
departmental level because of interdepartmental collaboration; it could only
operate at module level. It would be very difficult to operate for a
department which provided a lot of service teaching. Senate was reminded that
students were not represented at General Assembly. The issue of financial
hardship was an emotive one, but the Access Funds were available to provide
some support. There was little evidence to show that students failed
examinations tactically and this would be addressed by the capping of
marks.
-
- The motion was defeated by a majority of 25 votes against and 5 in favour.
- .5
- Senate proceeded to discuss the paper from Teaching and Learning Committee.
the Engineering Faulty requested a more flexible approach to the assessment of
project work and suggested a 30:30 credit unit split between semesters. It was
felt that there were a number of ways of dealing with this issue. The proposal
was designed to ensure that the load on the student was evenly spread. It was
agreed that an amendment should be made to paragraph ii) on p2 of the paper to
read 'That in all University based years of all taught undergraduate
programmes a minimum of 40 credit units be assessed in the first semester' in
order to encompass partial assessment of year long projects at the end of
semester one. There was some concern as to how the credits would be assessed
if they were not completed. It was agreed that the requirement for feedback
should be addressed in the module specification. It was noted that the
proposals contained in paragraphs i) and ii) of the paper applied to full-time
students.
- .6
- The possibility of abolishing Module Boards prior to 1998/99 was discussed.
It was reported that this would involve considerable amendments to the
University Regulations. The PVC(T) and the Academic Secretary undertook to
review the position as a matter of urgency and consider whether it would be
feasible to introduce the abolition of Module Boards at an earlier date.
-
- It was confirmed that there was no change to the resit arrangements for
finalists.
-
- It was RESOLVED subject to the foregoing amendment to approve the proposals
concerning the review of semesterisation.
(SEN97-P22)
Senate considered proposals regarding changes to the membership of Council.
The issue raised had been debated for some time. It was proposed that in order
to maintain the overall balance of membership only 2 out of the 8 members of
Court elected to Council should be former members of staff of the University.
The Secretary of State for Education did not wish to exercise his right to
nominate to membership of Council and it was proposed that this vacancy be
added to the category of co-opted membership. Senate offered no comments on
the proposals which would now go back to Council for formal consideration.
(SEN97-P23)
It was RESOLVED to recommend to Council the establishment of a School of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
(SEN97-P24)
Senate considered proposals from Staff Review Committee concerning the
delegation of promotions to Senior Lecturer and equivalent promotions to
Faculties. It was RESOLVED to recommend to Council proposals regarding
promotions to Senior Lectureships and equivalent promotions subject to the
inclusion of an elected member of Staff Review Committee in the Faculty meeting
at which such decisions are made.
(SEN97-P25)
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 the introduction in the 1997/98 session:
- IGDS MSc Surface Design and Engineering
- MSc in Management (self financing)
- MSc in Waste and Environmental Risk Management (self financing), (revision
and retitling of Hazardous Waste Management)
- ii)
- For introduction in the 1998/99 session:
- BSc/MChem Chemistry with Environmental Science
- BSc/MChem Chemistry with a European Language
- BSc/MChem Chemistry with Information Studies
- BSc/MChem Chemistry with Forensic Analysis
- iii)
- The discontinuation of the following programmes with no further student
intake:
- BSc Quantitative Economics
- MSc Construction Management (part-time in conjunction with the University
of Wolverhampton)
- Certificate and Diploma Programmes in Co-operative Studies (validated
programmes)
- MBA Business Development (validated programme).
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of the Teaching and Learning Committee
and where appropriate on the advice of the Curriculum Sub-Committee:
- .1
- Postgraduate Programme Credits
- (SEN97-P26)
-
- To approve a recommendation that the University move to a system of 180
credits for a postgraduate Masters degree to be in place for 1998/99.
- .2
- Guidelines on Bought in Teaching
- (SEN97-P27)
-
- To approve guidelines on bought in teaching.
- .3
- RAF Cranwell Validation Review
- (SEN97-P28)
-
- To approve recommendations.
- .4
- Validation Procedures
- (SEN97-P29)
-
- To approve revised validation procedures.
- .5
- Credit for Year Abroad
- (SEN97-P30)
-
- To approve a recommendation concerning credit for study on the year abroad.
- .6
- Loughborough University Coursework Code of Practice
- (SEN97-P31)
-
- To approve a coursework code of practice.
- .7
- Student Feedback
- (SEN97-P32)
-
- To approve a code of practice on student feedback.
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of Ordinances and Regulations Committee:
- .1
- Assessment Procedures: GRUA and ARUA
- (SEN97-P33)
-
- To approve amendments to the GRUA and ARUA.
- .2
- RHDR
- i)
- (SEN97-P34) to approve amendments to the RHDR in respect of thesis
submission deadlines.
- ii)
- (SEN97-P35) to approve an amendment to the RHDR in respect of the award
of MPhil.
- .3
- Regulation VIII
- (SEN97-P36)
-
- To approve an amendment concerning student indebtedness.
- .4
- Regulation XI
- (SEN97-P37)
-
- To approve an amendment concerning the award of the Diploma of Professional
Studies.
- .5
- Students' Union Constitution
-
- To recommend to Council amendments to the Students' Union
Constitution.
(SEN97-P38)
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of Faculty Boards to approve
qualifications for admission to postgraduate study.
It was RESOLVED on the recommendation of Information Services Committee
- .1
- Audio Visual Services - Annual Report 1996
- (SEN97-P39)
-
- To receive the annual report from the Director of Audio Visual Services
1996.
- .2
- Computing Services
- (SEN97-P40)
-
- To receive the annual report from the Director of Computing Services
1995/96.
It was RESOLVED to recommend to the Council the establishment of the following
prizes:
- i)
- The Jonathan Young Memorial Prize to the value of 200 sterling to be
awarded to the best final year project by a student on the degree programme in
Automotive Engineering.
- ii)
- The Alan Booth Memorial Prize to the value of 250 sterling to be awarded to
the best MSc student in the Department of Manufacturing Engineering. This
prize is to be awarded for a fixed term of 4 years, from September
1997.
Reports from the following Committees were received:
- (SEN97-P41) Information Services Committee of 28 February and 30 May 1997
- (SEN97-P42) Student Services Committee of 5 March 1997
- (SEN97-P43) Research Committee of 19 March and 16 May 1997
- (SEN97-P44) Ordinances and Regulations Committee of 28 May 1997
- (SEN97-P45) Teaching and Learning Committee of 5 June 1997
- (SEN97-P46) Resources and Planning Committee of 6 June 1997
The publication of the Careers Service Advisory Board Annual Report for 1995/96
was noted.
(SEN97-P47)
The annual report of the Ethical Advisory Committee was noted.
A schedule of meetings for next session was noted as follows:
- Wednesday 22 October 1997 am (if required)
- Wednesday 26 November 1997 am
- Wednesday 28 January 1998 am (if required)
- Wednesday 4 March 1998 am
- Wednesday 24 June 1998 am.
The Vice-Chancellor on behalf of Senate thanked Professor J Miller for his
exceptional service to the University as Head of Department, Acting
Vice-Chancellor and Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor. He had given the University
great judgement, wisdom and stability and this was much valued. He had
throughout this period also sustained his own research group. Senate wished
Professor Miller continuing success in his career.
- Wednesday 22 October 1997 am (if required)
- Wednesday 26 November 1997 am.
Author - Nick McHard
July 1997
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