Faculty of Social Sciences
and Humanities
Faculty Board
SSH09-M2
Minutes
The
Minutes of Meetings of the Faculty Board are posted on the Web for three years
after the relevant date.
Minutes of
the Meeting of the Faculty Board held on Tuesday 10 November 2009.
Members: Professor Terry Kavanagh (Chair), Professor Kathy Armour, Dr
Malcolm Barnard, Jemima Barnes, Dr Anja Baumhoff, Grahame Boocock (ab), Dr Paul
Byrne, Dr Ian Campbell (ab),
Apologies for absence: Grahame Boocock, Dr Ian Campbell, Dr
Sudipto Chatterjee,
In attendance: Sally
McKinley (Secretary)
17.
Business
of the Agenda
NOTED: Item 14 was unstarred.
18. Minutes (SSH09-M1)
NOTED:
The minutes of the Meeting of the Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty
Board, held on Tuesday 19 May 2009 were CONFIRMED.
19. Matters
Arising from the Minutes Not Appearing Elsewhere on the Agenda
19.1 Establishment of History
at Loughborough
NOTED:
(i)
The
name of the department had been changed to the Department of Politics, History
and International Relations which reflected the inclusion of the new History
programmes and was effective from the 2009/2010 academic year.
(ii)
Siobhan
Lambert-Hurley was the latest addition to join the three new historian lecturers that had
been appointed. It was expected that a
further senior lecturer would be appointed in September 2010.
(iii)
The
new History programmes included four joint honours degrees in History and
Politics, History and International Relations, History and Geography and
History and English.
(iv)
75
students had been recruited onto the programmes for 2009/2010 and the grade
requirements would now be increased to reflect the demand for applicants in
2010/2011.
(v)
The
provision of a History Masters degree was being considered with a possible
start in 2012 subject to postgraduate taught student numbers.
(vi) Professor
Richard Overy had presented a well-received public lecture at the University on
28 October 2009 entitled ‘History for the 21st Century’.
(vii) The Board extended their congratulations to Professor Chris
Szejnmann and colleagues for their enthusiasm and hard work in initiating the
new subject area into the University.
19.2
NOTED: The merger of the Department of Health Sciences within the
19.3
NOTED:
(i) A steering group was moving the
proposed development of a
(ii) A Project Management Board met for the
first time last week and would be submitting a paper to Senate seeking formal
approval of the
(iii)
University-wide
opinion had been sought on the name for the new
(iv)
The
Design Centre project remained on time and under budget. The first bungalow had been demolished to
make way for a car park to that area.
Planning permission had been accepted and it was expected that building
would start at the end of February beginning of March 2010.
(v)
Thanks
were extended to Professor Hobby for the cooperation of the Department of
English and Drama during this period of upheaval.
(vi)
The
RIBA was now moving into stage F with two contractors competing for the job.
(vii)
A
paper on the provision of a
19.4
NOTED:
LUSAD was involved in a large departmental re-structure and
re-organisation in space and facilities particularly with respect to its
relationship with the Arts Centre and the
19.5 Impact
of the recession
NOTED: It was reported that the Department of
English and Drama had found that several of their students who worked part-time
had been put under pressure to take extra shifts (because of staff down-sizing)
and as a result were not attending class.
The Students’ Union reported that there was an increasing trend
for students to look for employment during the long vacation and that
maintenance was barely covering many students’ needs. The Department of Design and Technology
reported that they had encountered the largest number of students having to
take the DPS.
19.6 New
criteria for Senior Lecturer Promotion
NOTED: A new criteria for SL promotion had been approved for the
new round.
19.7 Staff
survey
NOTED:
Following the staff survey, working groups had presented their findings
to the Human Resources Committee and Council.
The key requirements which were being addressed by the Vice-Chancellor
and the Director of Marketing and Communications, Ian Cairns, included better communication
internally and across the campus, and performance appraisals across the entire
staff range but in particular for the benefit of non-academic staff who were
not part of the current scheme.
20. Constitution and Terms of Reference of
the Faculty Board (SSH09-P1)
RECEIVED: The
constitution and powers of the Faculty Board were considered fit for
purpose.
21. Dean’s and Associate Dean’s
Reports
21.1 The Dean
RECEIVED: A verbal report from the Dean.
(i) Bids for funding
NOTED: Departments from the Faculty had submitted
bids for capital funding from an allocation of £300,000. It was confirmed that all bids put forward
could be supported. Three departments
had put forward a bid for a digital qualitative research laboratory. The departments were requested to agree between
them where they hoped this would be located.
(ii) Honorary Degrees Committee
NOTED: The Honorary Degrees Committee had been
looking at honorary graduand awards and had recommended that the names of high
quality British academics be put forward for recognition. Further information was available on the
internet.
(iii) Financial situation
NOTED: In
December the University’s 5 year plan would be submitted to HEFCE. The assumptions had been difficult to
forecast with changes in Government, the likely increase in tuition fees to
£5,000 or 16% over a 3 year period, and the likelihood that the funding from
HEFCE would be reduced by as much as 10% or perhaps even more. It was recognised that the fee increase would
help sustain the current strategy but it was unknown when exactly this would be
initiated. Although, in comparison to
other universities, Loughborough was in a strong position and had generated a
healthy surplus in the last financial year, it would still be a challenging
time for the University over the next two to three years.
COMMENTED: In the light of the Mandelson review the
Board felt that with the likely introduction of fee increases there would have
to be a shift towards greater examination of teaching quality. It was hoped that Operations Committee would
consider looking again at the appointment of some teaching-only staff. It was commented that the review would have
ramifications on the National Student Survey as ‘value for money’
was currently an important issue for students.
It was agreed that management of student expectation was required. It was pointed out that historical evidence
of fee increase had caused turbulence in patterns of student recruitment. With fees increasing in 2011, students will be
more likely to take a gap year in 2010 and defer their place which may put
universities in an uncomfortable position.
21.2 The
Associate Dean (Teaching) (SSH09-P2)
RECEIVED: A report from the
Associate Dean (Teaching).
(i) Recruitment
NOTED: Thanks were extended to all admissions
administrators in departments during what had been a particularly stringent
year with respect to Home/EU undergraduate intake targets. The Department of Economics had received an
unanticipated 50% increase in applications.
Compensation arrangements for those departments which had been denied
the opportunity to recruit up to target had not yet been confirmed. However, the PVC(T) had confirmed that
departments would be able to negotiate for compensation and the AD(T) would
clarify this to departments shortly.
UK/EU recruitment to taught postgraduate programmes across the
university had delivered the highest number of registrations since 2004. The
(ii)
NOTED: The University had
regained its recognition as an approved participant in the
(iii) National Student Survey results 2008-2009
NOTED:
The results across the University were very good. However, there were still areas where there
was room for improvement. The main
priorities included better communication to students about assessment/feedback
processes and procedures; provision of an induction session to Part C returning
students that gave a full briefing on assessment/feedback processes and
procedures and also on the expectations required of their final year work; and
to ensure consistency in the application of agreed assessment/feedback
processes and procedures.
21.3 The
Associate Dean (Research)
RECEIVED: A verbal report from the
Associate Dean (Research).
(i) ESRC
NOTED: The first
meeting of the ESRC collaboration with
(ii) REF
NOTED: Heads of Department had been
asked to provide the PVC(R), Professor Ken Parsons, with their views on
postgraduate research student targets.
Problems with REF panels were being identified as lists of colleagues
were being put forward.
The Associate Deans (Research) from all three faculties would
coordinate with the PVC(R) about the consultation process. The Faculty’s view on the impact of
measuring research activity should be sent to the AD(R) as soon as
possible.
(iii) Training and
development
Two workshops specifically designed for SSH staff had been planned for
4 December 2009 and
11 February 2010 and Heads of Department were requested to encourage
their staff to attend.
(iv) Part-timers
NOTED: There was a view amongst some
part-timers that it was difficult to get involved in the research culture of
the university, and that as a consequence they could feel detached and
sometimes quite isolated. Phil
Wilkinson-Blake and the AD(R) were working with part-time postgraduate research
students to develop a bespoke web space for their use. Phil Wilkinson-Blake and the AD(R) were
currently putting plans together and seeking funding, and were hoping to
introduce a pilot initiative in early 2010.
22. Periodic
Programme Reviews (SSH09-P3, P4)
RECEIVED:
The periodic programme review report from the
Department of Politics, History and International Relations on 21 May 2009 and the
NOTED: During 2006-07, two
PPR’s were undertaken in the Department of Politics, History and
International Relations and the
23. Award of degrees (tabled)
NOTED: The award of Higher
Degrees to candidates whose examinations had been conducted since the last
meeting of Senate.
24. Senate and Council Away Day
RECEIVED:
A verbal report from the Dean noting the outcome of the
Senate and Council away day.
NOTED:
Following the Senate and Council away day a paper would
be submitted to Council. The away day
examined what had taken place since the implementation of the University
strategy in 2006/07 and what was required further to 2016. The away day confirmed the University’s
strengthened position in the league tables amongst its institutional
competitors and the University’s position as one of the top five institutions
in the National Student Survey. New
elements, internationalisation and advancement, had now emerged and several
challenges awaited the University including impacts of the REF and tuition fee
increases, and ensuring financial sustainability and value for money. It was agreed that the University’s
visibility needed to be increased. It
was noted that the University’s links with
The biggest debate related to the organisational structure of the
University with the establishment of 11 or 12 larger schools and review of the
Faculty structure. Also debated was the
provision and value for money of services the University received from the centre
eg data management. Although consistency
of the provision of an excellent student learning experience was important it
was recognised that the increase in fees would impact on behaviour and attitude
of the students. It was agreed that it
was important the very positive relationship of the University with the
Students’ Union must be maintained.
It was hoped that the University would lead the way in reducing its
carbon foot-print by 50% in the coming years.
The away day concluded that the University would seek to maintain its
position amongst competitor institutions, raise its international profile and
maintain its strengths with industry and commerce.
25. IT
Strategic Priorities (tabled paper)
RECEIVED: A verbal report and
tabled paper from Phil Richards, Director of IT Services and Carys Thomas, Assistant Director of IT
Services on Faculty IT strategic priorities for 2009/2010 and
the new desk top policy.
(i) University desktop and laptop policy
NOTED: It was confirmed that there was now a
policy statement that formalised the provision of University desktops and
laptops. A set of IT needs had now been
defined which met the requirements of a large proportion of staff in the
University. A short fixed price menu of
options in order to streamline purchasing was now available to staff although
legitimate exceptions to the list would be looked at. The policy was available on the web
http://www-staff.lboro.ac.u./~itpr/lborodesktoppolicy.pdf Board members were invited to examine the
policy and send comments to the Director of IT Services.
(ii) Progress of approved University IT
projects
NOTED: A £700K OJEU
tender was underway for a new flagship facility, steered by the HPC (High
Performance Computing) Stakeholder group of senior academics from all
Faculties. LUSI was currently looking at
the enhancements required for the points-based system, improved student
self-service and new postgraduate functions including on-line
applications. A pilot was being carried
out this academic year to look at the merger of the University applications
database. A formal specification had
been agreed for central timetabling and the OJEU tender was underway. A new University on-line web catalogue had
been approved and would be commissioned during 2009. A feasibility study and business case
preparation was underway for the iTrent self-service HR system. Dialogue was underway to choose a major IT
industry partner for collaborate with in transforming the infrastructure (data
centre, network, phones etc) over the next four years.
(iii) IT projects resourced and underway
NOTED: A
new student IT clinic that provided support and hardware maintenance had opened
in Haslegrave. A pilot was underway in
Science and Engineering Faculties for a student portal and Google-hosted
student email facility looking to full rollout to students after Christmas. Early work on the new desktop service would
be phased in from Autumn 2010 with student labs upgrade planned in Summer
2011. Major infrastructure work with
Facilities Management to replace obsolete access control systems for swipe
cards for building access would be implemented.
(iv) Potential new IT projects
NOTED: The provision of a central Linux/Mac/Windows
multi-boot student lab as part of Haslegrave ground floor refurbishment was
being considered. The timing of the
installation had not been confirmed due to the re-structure of Admin 1 and 2
and the refurbishment of Hazelrigg. It
was hoped that there would be provision of specialist student software to halls
and digs.
26. Associate Dean (Teaching) Action
RATIFIED:
The actions taken by the Associate Dean (Teaching) in approving the
following:
i. Waivers of Programme Regulations
ii. Appointment of Programme Boards
iii. Credit Transfers
Further details
of the actions were available from the Faculty Board Secretary upon request.
27. The
role of the Faculty Board (SSH09-P5)
RECEIVED: Information on the role of the Faculty and
Faculty membership for new Board members.
28. Personal
Titles
NOTED: The item had been unstarred for a
correction. Professor Elisabeth Van
Zoonen should read Professor Liesbet Van Zoonen and she was an external
chair. Faculty’s congratulations
were offered to the following members of staff for the award of personal
titles:
Professor Robert Wilby, Geography (Professor of
Hydroclimatic Modelling)
Professor Fiona
Bull,
29. Curriculum
Sub-Committee
29.1 New
Programme Proposals
NOTED: That Curriculum
Sub-Committee will be recommending to Learning and Teaching Committee (subject
to any matters being resolved to the satisfaction of the ADT) prior to their
meeting on 5 November 2009, the following new programme proposals:
(i) MRes Art,
Design and Performance by Practice with effect from October 2010.
(ii) MA Art and the
Public Sphere with effect from October 2010.
NOTED: Chair’s action and, subject to any
matters being resolved prior to their meeting on 5 November 2009 recommended by
Curriculum Sub-Committee, a new programme proposal from the Business School for
a new part-time programme PGCert in Management for Engineers (ECITB) commencing
September 2009.
29.2 Changes
to Programme Regulations and Programme Specifications
NOTED: That
Curriculum Sub-Committee will be recommending to Learning and Teaching
Committee (prior to their meeting on 5 November 2009, the introduction of a new
award MSc in Education with QTS.
29.3 Discontinuation
of a Programme
NOTED: That Curriculum
Sub-Committee will be recommending to Learning and Teaching Committee prior to
their meeting on 5 November 2009, the discontinuation of the following
programmes:
(i) Industrial Sales and
Strategic Marketing programme from the
(ii) MDes Product Design in
Business (October 2008) (MA/MSc routes continue)
29.4 Changes
to Title or Award of a Programme
NOTED: That Curriculum Sub-Committee will be
recommending to Learning and Teaching, the change in title of the MSc Coaching
to the MSc Sport Coaching.
30. Staff/Student
Committees
NOTED: That
reports of the Staff/Student Committee meetings had been deposited with the
Faculty Board Secretary as follows:
|
Postgraduate
Diploma in Management & Leadership (NGB) |
8
July 2009 |
|
Department of Economics (Postgraduate) |
20
May 2009 |
|
MSc
Management/MSc International Management/MSc Marketing & Management/MSc
Finance & Management/MSc Business Analysis & Management |
6
May 2009 |
31. Prizes
NOTED: The
following students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities had been
awarded prizes and the Faculty’s congratulations were offered:
|
Prize Name |
Winner |
Department |
|
Dennis Holt Travel Scholarship |
Caylee Fardon Taylor |
LUSAD |
|
|
Rebecca Whittaker |
LUSAD |
|
|
|
|
|
- Social Sciences & Humanities |
Rachel Stubbington |
Geography |
|
Hannah Community Prize |
Stefan Carney |
PIRES |
|
John Guest Phillips Memorial Travelling
Scholarship |
David Gravelle |
Geography |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Danielle Gent |
Geography |
|
|
|
|
|
Loughborough Experience Awards |
Nadya Dunayeva |
|
|
Lucy Hopkins |
LUSAD |
|
|
Christina Lindquist |
English & Drama |
|
|
Brian Parkinson |
Geography |
|
|
Peter Simmons |
Design & Technology |
|
|
Gethin Thomas |
SSEHS |
|
|
Mature Student Achievement |
Charlotte Barker |
LUSAD |
|
Prizes |
|
|
|
Mavis Prize for Music |
Leah Knapton |
Social Sciences |
|
Awarded by the Arts Centre |
|
|
|
Sir David Wallace Trophy |
Andrew Dyke |
SSEHS |
|
|
Rachel Arnold |
SSEHS |
|
Sir Robert Martin Faculty Prizes |
|
|
|
- Social Sciences & Humanities (1) |
Nicola Forman |
English & Drama |
|
- Social Sciences & Humanities (2) |
Martin Mik |
PIRES |
|
T S Shipman Awards |
Leanne Ingram |
English & Drama |
|
|
Hannah Beasley |
Social Sciences |
32. Membership (SSH09-P6)
NOTED: The
membership of the Faculty Board for the session 2009-2010.
33. Representation
on Other Bodies (SSH09-P7)
NOTED: Representation
of the Faculty on other bodies.
34. Date of Next Meeting
The next
Faculty Board meeting will take place prior to a Directorate meeting on Tuesday
18 May 2010.
Author – Ms S J McKinley
November 2009
Copyright
(c) Loughborough University. All rights reserved