SENATE
SEN12-M1
Minutes of the Ordinary
Meeting of Senate on Wednesday 25 January
2012.
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In attendance: Mike Caine (for item 12/2), Chris
Dunbobbin, Jennifer Nutkins,
Jayde Savage, Caroline Walker, Jon Walker (for item
12/2).
Apologies
for absence were received from: Simon Austin, Jon Binner, Jonathon Chambers,
Laurence Clift, Phil Eames, Jacqui Glass, Fehmidah Munir, Rob Parkin, Ken
Parsons, Steve Rothberg, Andrew Selby, Paul Thomas, Iris Wigger, Jonathan Wright.
12/1 Minutes
Senate RESOLVED to
confirm and sign the Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 16 November 2011
(SEN11-M7).
12/2 Matters Arising from the Minutes
2.1 Senate/Council
Away Day (minute 11/94 refers)
The Vice-Chancellor
reported that ALT was progressing a range of actions
following the Senate/Council Away Day in October 2011, including considering
the most effective ways of articulating the University’s strengths;
focussing resources in areas of strength and future potential; raising the
University’s international profile; and cascading information from ALT to
Schools/Support Services. Feedback to ALT from staff was strongly encouraged.
12/3 Developing
an Academic Activity on the Olympic Park
SEN12-P1
Senate RECEIVED an update on the Loughborough
University in London initiative from Professor Mike Caine, who had been
seconded to the post of Director of Olympic Park Development until July 2012.
12/4 Amendments
to Regulation
XXVI and to the Code of Practice on Research Degree Programmes
SEN12-P2
On
the recommendation of Research Committee, Senate RESOLVED to approve in principle
a proposal to enable candidates for a research degree to register directly for
the award of PhD, rather than register initially on an MPhil programme, with effect for students registering from 1 October 2012. The
following comments were noted in discussion:
i)
It was felt by some that there had
been insufficient consultation, and that the circulation of information on the
external factors giving rise to the proposal would have helped to achieve more
widespread support at an earlier stage.
ii)
In order to maintain the developmental
benefits associated with students being required to achieve a positive outcome
to the end of year 1 review process, it was agreed that the new procedure
should be based on a probationary 1st year. At the end of year 1,
students would be confirmed as being registered for PhD; or they would have
their registration amended to MPhil; or their probationary period would be
extended into the second year of their registration.
iii)
There would need to be a robust
process for dealing with appeals against decisions to amend registrations to
MPhil at the end of year one, and appeals based on challenges to academic
judgement would not be permitted.
iv)
AD(R)s would
be asked to consult on the revised draft Regulation and Code of Practice with
key staff in their Schools prior to submission to Research Committee for
recommendation to Senate.
12/5 Matters for Report by the
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)
SEN12-P3
NOTED.
12/6 Matters for Report by the
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching)
SEN12-P4
The PVC(T) presented a report on student recruitment for 2012
entry, and highlighted the following:
i)
UK/EU
undergraduate applications were down 3% on the equivalent point in 2011
(applications nationally and to key competitor institutions were down by around
6%). However, the position was inconsistent across Schools, Departments, and
programmes. As a consequence of tuition fee changes for 2012 entry, there had
been a significant fall in the number of students applying in the 2011 entry cycle
for deferred entry in 2012. This meant that there were far fewer UF applicants
as compared to the same point in 2011, and these numbers would need to be made
up during the 2012 cycle.
ii)
UK/EU PGT
applications were down 3% on the previous year, while International PGT
applications were up by 8%. It was, however, early in the cycle. The
introduction of a fee for applications to SBE appeared to have contributed to a
relatively stable position for this School.
iii)
The
University was pursuing a dialogue with HEFCE, having recently been notified,
at a late stage in the applications process, that its AAB- target would be 73
students lower than originally advised.
12/7 Matters for
Report by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise)
SEN12-P5
NOTED.
12/8 Matters for Report by the Vice-Chancellor
The
Vice-Chancellor reported on the following matters:
i)
On behalf of
Senate, the Vice-Chancellor welcomed Sir Peter Bonfield to his new role as
Chair of Council, with effect from 1 January 2012.
ii)
Andy
Stephens was due to start work as the University’s new Director of
Finance on 5 March 2012. The Vice-Chancellor thanked Paula Powditch for her work
as Acting Director of Finance.
iii)
Health
Secretary Andrew Lansley had visited Loughborough on
9 January 2012 to announce the establishment of the National Centre for Sport
and Exercise Medicine. The East Midlands Hub would be based in a in a new,
state-of-the-art building on the Loughborough campus, and would bring together
experts in sport and exercise medicine from each of the consortium of six
university and hospital partners. The Vice-Chancellor thanked Myra Nimmo for
organising the visit, and for her contribution to this project.
iv)
The International Institute of
Cavitation Research, a three way partnership involving City University (lead
partner), Loughborough University, and the Technical University of Delft had
been launched on 23 January 2012. The Institute had received £1.3M from the
Lloyd's Register Educational Trust over a four year period. The Vice-Chancellor
thanked Sue Sargent, and the academic team, led by Professor Colin Garner, for
their contribution to the project.
v)
Recent
reports had suggested that the government’s Higher Education Bill would
be delayed or abandoned, and this, alongside other developments, was
contributing to a continued sense of significant uncertainty in the HE
landscape.
vi)
The
Vice-Chancellor thanked Professor Jon Binner, who would be the academic staff
lead for the second Staff Survey, which would be taking place just before
Easter 2012.
vii)
The
Vice-Chancellor noted that it was Professor Tony Hodgson’s final meeting
of Senate before his retirement at the end of January 2012. Professor Hodgson
was thanked for his contribution to Senate, and to the University as a whole,
particularly in relation to his leadership and development of the Design
School.
12/9 Learning and Teaching Committee
SEN12-P6
Senate RECEIVED a report of the meeting held
on 15 December 2011, and on the recommendation of Learning and Teaching
Committee RESOLVED to approve:
SEN12-P7
9.1 Timetabling Policy.
A new Timetabling Policy.
12/10 Term Dates
SEN12-P8
Senate RESOLVED to approve term dates for the
2013-14, 2014-2015, and 2015-16 academic years.
12/11 Reports from
Committees
Senate RECEIVED reports from the
following Committees:
11.1 SEN12-P9 Advancement
Committee of 26 October 2011.
11.2 SEN12-P10 Enterprise
Committee of 10 November 2011.
11.3 SEN12-P11 Finance
Committee of 7 December 2011.
11.4 SEN12-P12 Research
Committee of 7 November and 5 December 2011.
11.5 SEN12-P13 Research
Performance Monitoring Committee of 25 October and 22 November
2011.
12/12 Dates of
Future Meetings
Friday 9 March
2012
Wednesday 4 July 2012
12/13 Any Other Business
The following items were discussed:
i)
Acoustics in the Council Chamber
An acoustic consultant had been
employed to survey the Council Chamber and had made a number of
recommendations. One of these, the installation of acoustic panels to the side
walls, had been actioned, and the impact was being
monitored. A new hearing loop was also being trialled. Senate members were
asked to provide feedback on the measures taken.
ii)
Review of Freshers’
Week 2011
It was agreed that the next meeting of
Senate would receive a review of Freshers’ Week
2011, which had recently been completed, and which contained, inter alia,
recommendations on addressing issues relating to alcohol consumption. It was
noted in this context that LSU had provided specifically alcohol-free
activities during Freshers’ Week, and offered
support and guidance to students in this area as part of its ongoing ‘Better Decisions’ campaign. It was recognised
also that a drinking culture existed among some young people and that the issue
was not confined to universities. However, Loughborough had a responsibility to
ensure the behaviour of a small proportion of its students did not impact
negatively on other members of the University community and/or local residents.
Author – Chris
Dunbobbin
Date – January
2012
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