Student Services Committee
SS07-M2
Minutes of the meeting of the
Committee held on 31 October 2007.
Members: Professor
Morag Bell (Chair), Mr Malcolm Brown (ab), Miss Sophie Driscoll, Mrs Wendy
Llewellyn, Dr
In
attendance: Mrs
Meredith Coney (Secretary)
Apologies: Mr
John Town, Mr Malcolm Brown
07/8. Minutes
SS06-M2
The minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2007 were approved.
07/9.
Matters Arising from the Minutes
The actions from the minutes
of the meeting held on 30 May 2007 were reviewed,
i) The formal procedure for funding for
International students with disabilities had not yet be formalised, ongoing
action for WEL
ii) Clarification was made of the terminology
relating to pre-sessional activities for international students. The ‘orientation’ programme
constitutes a set of activities lasting for one week which introduces the
students to
iii) It was also noted that projects designed
to bring together home and international students, with possible funding from Development
Trust, would be progressed by the Director of Internationalisation Strategy.
07/10 Terms
of Reference
SS07-P16
The received Terms of Reference
were correct, however it was noted that both the Terms of Reference and the
Membership of the Committee should be re-appraised after the meeting of the
Student Experience Co-ordinating Group.
It was
noted that the members on the paper were not correct, that the Registrar was
replaced with the Chief Operating Officer, that the Finance Officer would no
longer be on the membership, that the Students Union President and Director of
International Student Strategy would attend and that the Student Union
Vice-President was for Education only.
07/11.
Student Experience Implementation Plan
SS07-P17
SS07-P27 (tabled)
SS07-P28 (tabled)
The Committee received this updated paper, discussing each of the three
strands. It was noted that the first
meeting of the Student Experience Co-ordinating Group was scheduled for 7
November 2007 which would review the progress to date, prioritise the
activities and agree the way forward in the priority areas.
1.
It was noted that
1.1 Explore
possible enhancement of international student induction for 2007/08 (decision
May 2007).
It was
noted that the Vice-President of the Student Union felt that they could have
been more proactive with regard to the induction programme and information for
International Students, and that more trained staff were needed to provide
immigration advice. It was also reported
by the Director of Student Guidance and Welfare that the number of
international students with only short term visas (1-2 months) had increased,
this had resulted in a more queries than had been expected.
1.3 Agree
arrangements to extend coverage of community warden service to as many students
in private rented housing as is practicable
It was
noted that no appointment had been made.
The post had been re-advertised.
2.
2.2 Review
of accommodation and related social and welfare needs of all students.
It was
noted that some elements of the Accommodation Review Phases 1 and 2 would be
under further discussion, and that the warden structure in halls of residence
would be a separate debate which was linked to the review.
2.3 Establish
social and welfare arrangements with the providers of purpose-built student
accommodation in the town.
It was reported
that this element was already under discussion by the Students Union.
2.7 Review
the effectiveness of current structures for management and delivery of equality
and diversity policies to students in partnership with human resources staff
It was noted
that the student element of the delivery of equality and diversity issues would
be covered separately from staff strategy and that more expertise would be
needed in order to prioritise a suitable strategy. It was agreed that a review of practise at
other universities would be undertaken, alongside a review of guides to good
practise published by associated bodies (NUS, HEFCE and UUK) to be reported back
to the Committee.
ACTION: WEL & JCN
2.8 Joint
projects with LSU of the experience of students registered for Loughborough
degrees who are based overseas, to explore mechanisms for increasing inclusion
in the broader Loughborough Experience
The
Vice-President of the Students Union noted that positive communications were
ongoing between the Loughborough Students Union Executive and their counterparts
at BUE.
3.
3.1 Develop
improved mechanism to ensure better understanding of the needs of all its
students and that service provision is fully co-ordinated and enhanced as
student expectations change.
It was
agreed that the structure and membership of the Student Services Committee
should be reviewed at the Student Experience Co-ordinating Group and be
reported at the next Committee meeting.
3.2 A
senior appointment (adequately resourced, but not necessarily new) takes
explicit responsibility for the student experience with teamwork across
departments, the Graduate School, support service sections and the
Students’ Union to ensure integrated delivery
This strand
would be discussed further between the Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating
Officer.
3.4. Co-ordinated mechanisms for
obtaining and reviewing student feedback across all aspects of the student
experience should be developed and linked to the prioritisation of resources
for supporting the student experience on an ongoing basis
It was
noted that a review was to take place of all internal and external student
surveys, to allow for a review of the information received, gaps and any
overlaps.
It was
noted that the results of the first International Student Barometer
questionnaire had been received. However
the validity of the analysis was questioned due to the small numbers of
students in some cases. It was agreed
that the context of the data must be included whenever the figures were used,
and that it would be confirmed that that data was suitable for publication.
ACTION: JCN
3.6 Resources for alumni relations
should be increased and the mechanisms for determining priorities for their use
should be enhanced and integrated with arrangements for delivery of the
University’s core strategies, including the student experience.
It was
noted that this equated to projects which were often time consuming and
therefore not prioritised. The
interaction between all of the elements of the student experience were varied
and therefore could not be covered by one group but that interaction was needed
between all the areas.
07/12 Priorities for 2007/08
It was agreed that the Committee
was not in a position to discuss the priorities for 2007/08 until after the first
meeting of the Student Experience Co-ordinating Group. Therefore, another meeting of the Student
Services Committee would be held in December 2007 at which the issues would be
addressed.
07/13. Any Other Business
13.1 Islam at Universities in
It was
reported by the Director of Internationalisation Strategy that 5-8% of the
University’s student population was Muslim and that the findings of the
report would be discussed by the Committee.
It was agreed that the Director of Internationalisation Strategy would
draft a paper for consideration at the next meeting.
ACTION: CB
07/14 Date of Next Meeting 2007-08
It was
agreed that the Committee would meet again before the next scheduled date in
order to discuss the outcomes of the Student Experience Co-ordinating Group, a
date would be confirmed for December 2007
Author – Meredith Coney
November 2007
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