Faculty of
Social Sciences and Humanities
Faculty
Board
SSH10-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 9 November 2010.
Members: Professor Terry Kavanagh (Chair), Dr Malcolm
Barnard (ab), Dr Anja Baumhoff (ab), Grahame Boocock (ab), Dr Carly Butler (ab),
Dr Ian Campbell, Dr Sudipto Chatterjee (ab),
Apologies for
absence: Dr
Malcolm Barnard, Dr Anja Baumhoff, Grahame Boocock, Dr Carly Butler, Dr Sudipto Chatterjee, Professor Laurie Cohen,
Dr Daniel Conway, Dr Jack Demaine,
Dr
Adrian Gourlay, Professor Angus Laing, Dr Jeremy Leaman, Dr Jonathan Millett,
Professor
Myra Nimmo, Professor Shirley Pearce, Professor Anne Souchon
In
attendance: Sally McKinley (Secretary)
14. Minutes (SSH09-M2)
NOTED: The minutes of the Meeting of the Social
Sciences and Humanities Faculty Board, held on Tuesday 18 May 2010 were
CONFIRMED with the following.
15. Matters Arising from the Minutes Not
Appearing Elsewhere on the Agenda
15.1 Value for
money
NOTED: This item included
under item 9.
16. Dean’s
and Associate Dean’s Reports
16.1 The Dean
RECEIVED: A
verbal report from the Dean
(i) Financial position of the Faculty
NOTED: In the last financial
year the University retained a surplus in excess of £10m and in 2010-2011 it
will be looking to achieve a surplus of £8m notwithstanding further
Governmental cuts. The University had
been very successful and was in a stronger financial position compared to many
other universities. The Faculty budget
for 2010-2011 had predicted a deficit of £400,000 mostly due to the shift from
Social Sciences to STEM subjects and some reduction in QR and teaching
funding. During the last decade the
Faculty’s surpluses had remained constantly strong although most
departments’ fortunes had fluctuated up and down during this time.
16.2 The
Associate Dean (Teaching) (SSH10-P8)
RECEIVED: A
verbal report from the Associate Dean (Teaching)
(i) Recruitment
NOTED: University-wide
figures for recruitment were currently not available but the attached tables
showed healthy recruitment in the Faculty.
Undergraduate figures were good but the School of the Arts recruitment
figures fell because of recruiting for the first time through UCAS. Discussions about compensation to meet the
effects of the shortfall were underway. The
(ii) National Student Survey
NOTED: The 2010
NSS results were published in August and overall were very good. In the Faculty, results were good and a
number of departments in the Faculty were ranked in the top 10% at subject
level. There were a number of issues for
AD(T)s to talk to departments/schools about, such as professional skills of
teaching staff and communication with students; programme organisation; regular
assessment and feedback. The AD(T) had
met with the Faculty’s Learning and Teaching Coordinators and had agreed
a set of actions. Departments and
schools were fully aware of the issues, especially with respect to assessment
and feedback and communication with students.
Verbal reports had been made to Learning and Teaching Committee and how
the institution will be dealing with NSS reporting would be fed back shortly.
16.3 The
Associate Dean (Research)
RECEIVED: A
verbal report from the Dean on behalf of the Associate Dean (Research)
NOTED: In
the past the Faculty had provided funding for studentships in departments. The new schools would take this up in their
formal financial budgets. The Faculty
was reminded that it was important not to let the momentum drop and postgraduate
taught studentships in particular were very important. Studentships would continue to be advertised
in the same way with one studentship per department and schools would carry the
cost.
17. Period
Programme Reviews
(SSH/DIR10-P9 and P10)
RECEIVED: The
periodic programme review reports from Loughborough University School of Art
and Design on 20 May 2010 and the Department of Design and Technology on 14 May
2010 and to consider the Departments’ responses.
NOTED: The period programme
reviews had received positive comments at Learning and Teaching Committee. The response to some issues raised by the
panel with respect to the
18. Award of
Degrees (tabled)
NOTED: The
award of Higher Degrees to candidates whose examinations had been conducted
since the last meeting of Senate.
19. Implications
for the
NOTED: It was believed by
the University that higher education would lose up to 80% of its teaching fund
from the Government. Loughborough
University would not be as badly hit as those with large arts and humanities
departments. It was hoped there would be
lighter cuts in the next financial year until a rise in fees was implemented as
a cushion against such cuts. There
remained great uncertainty in the sector.
It was expected the University would receive further information in
December but the grant funding letter would not arrive until March. The Browne review had recommended an increase
in tuition fees and the Government’s response to this was a proposal for
the lower cap of £6k and an upper increase of £9k that would be dependent on
evidence of student support for less privileged students. Students would not be expected to pay fees
back until their salaries reached £21k. Although
the NSS was very positive towards Loughborough, as a consequence of a likely
increase in fees, students will have even higher expectations concerning their
tuition and support. Employability and
placement opportunities for students were an area where the University had been
successful but these needed to be further developed in many departments in the
near future. In an increasingly
competitive market place, Loughborough will have to significantly improve its
marketing and communication.
COMMENTED: Concern was expressed
about the time lag with respect to the delay in the full fee income stream and
whether significant cuts would be distributed equally over a four year period
or arrive more significantly in year one.
Concern was also expressed about the possible pressure to provide
part-time study opportunities and the possibility of moving towards two year
degrees as a potential way of saving money.
It was recognised that some institutions will see this as an advantage
but there could be a negative impact on teaching and programme delivery and
time for research. It was felt that
Loughborough had a strong brand but needs to spend more money on its website as
its quality was not as good compared to other institutions. It was agreed that Loughborough University
needed to play to its strengths and look to these very significant changes as
opportunities. It was confirmed that the
new Academic Leadership Team of the new Deans of Schools would be meeting the
Vice-Chancellor on a monthly basis from January.
20. Future
structure and organisation of the University
RECEIVED: An
update from the Dean.
NOTED: The Faculty had already
established three schools because of the obvious synergies that already existed. Consultation was out in the seeking of Deans
for the other two schools as agreed by Senate (School of the Arts and
Department of English and Drama), (Department of Geography, Department of
Politics, History and International Relations and the Department of Social
Sciences). The Project Management Board
was reviewing the establishment of school structures and had set up five
working groups to cover Human Resources, Teaching and Learning, Infrastructure
and Governance.
The Human Resources
Working Group had now finished the job specifications for Deans, School Managers,
Associate Deans and Heads of Department bearing in mind that discrete
disciplines needed to be sustained and supported. Once Deans’ posts had been confirmed
University-wide advertisements for School Managers would be posted in
December. It was expected the posts of
AD(T), AD(R) and Heads of Department would be confirmed by June 2011. There would be some implications for Faculty
staff and their future roles would be considered in the near future. All current
administrative posts will be advertised internally. A Q&A website would be up shortly about
the new schools. It was expected the
full structure of all schools would be in place by the end of June 2011.
The Teaching and
Learning Working Group had not made a lot of substantive progress but had
discussed the existing AD duties and how they could be covered in the new
school structure. The idea put forward
was that the ten AD(T)s in schools would have both internal and external roles
to ensure QA mechanisms worked across the schools. Some roles would be absorbed by the Academic
Registry. External roles had not been
decided yet. The terms of reference for
AD(T)s would be submitted to the next Senate meeting. Whether ten AD(T)s or sub-sets attended
various committees was still to be discussed and how Curriculum Sub-Committee saw
its role in the new structure had yet to be developed.
COMMENTED: It was felt there was
less opportunity for ten AD(T)s to acquire the cumulative experience already
obtained by Faculty AD(T)s. However, it was acknowledged that the
risks were well understood and a real effort would be made to minimise
disruption while ensuring the AD(T)s were able to meet the tasks required of
them.
It was further acknowledged that AD(T)s will need to share a common
understanding across a whole range of disciplines which will provide some big
challenges. There would also be an
impact on support services such as the Library which had been moved to three
subject teams and now had to re-configure once more.
21. The
Students’ Union Internationalisation Agenda
RECEIVED: An update from Katie
Halliday, SU President of Federation Societies, on developments in the
Students’ Union encouraging home students to think more internationally.
NOTED: It had been found
that although there were a lot of
international opportunities for students on campus these were widespread. A campaign had been organised called
‘Experience the World’ with the objective to create a brand and
encourage students to get actively involved in international focused
events. This central brand had been
split into six sub-brands:
Enjoy the World: to encourage diversity; Universal Thursday
Explore the World: student to student advice on travelling
Involve the World: teaching international home students about
our culture
Play the World: sporting opportunities overseas; Olympic
games
Study the World: to promote work placements, exchanges
Save the World:
A website had been
set up giving information about the campaign and its sub-brands. A series of events had also been organised
that would include national celebrations such as Divali, the World Cup and
University based events such as inter-hall Olympic games. So far the organisation had received
financial support from the University and the Faculty. The website and promotional video had been
launched, testimonials from students were being collected and an official
launch night had been hosted with 400 students attending. It was hoped the organisation would be a
sustainable brand and website.
22. Strategic
Implementation Plan for Advancement and Fundraising
RECEIVED: A
verbal report from Ron Gray, Director, DARO and Leah Graham, Senior Development
Office, on development planning and alumni activities made by departments and
to share examples of good practiced case studies.
NOTED: Various ways of
providing monetary gifts to the University were identified through the Alumni,
Friends of Loughborough, Trusts and Foundations. Gifts included, single gifts, regular gifts,
major gifts (£5k plus), legacies, gifts in kind and from other areas such as
research and via contacts. It was
encouraging that in several departments 2% of graduates were giving to the
University. However, the University
would like relationships to be developed with individual alumni in order to
raise funds in line with the University’s strategic priorities, for
example, through the Loughborough Creative Scholarship Fund. Departments were asked to help by looking at
projects that may lend themselves to externally funded sources. Several case studies were given as examples:
The Stanley Evernden
Memorial Fund had been established to support drama students to take
productions round the UK. Thirty four
doners had given £4023 and a pledge of another £1000 had brought the total in
at a target of nearly £6000.
The Schofield Society
was a giving society for £1000 or more and will be formerly launched on 7
December 2010 at which founder members had been invited. The target for the first year was £50,000.
Graduate Gift 2010
had approximately 80% of the Executive Management Group donating. £15,000 had been raised so far and was looking
to a recreational games to be dedicated in 2011.
23. Associate
Dean (Teaching) Action
RATIFIED: 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.
24. Personal Titles
NOTED: The award of personal titles and the
Faculty’s congratulations to:
Professor David Deacon, Professor Communications and Media
Studies
Professor Sarah Holloway, Professor Human Geography
25. Curriculum
Sub-Committee
25.1 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 4 November
2010, the award and title of the proposed new programme MA in Global Media and
Cultural Industries (a new pathway of the existing programme MA in Media and
Cultural Analysis) commencing October 2011.
25.2 Changes
in Title or Awards of Programmes
NOTED: That Curriculum Sub-Committee will be
recommending to Learning and Teaching Committee prior to their meeting on 4
November 2010, the change in the award and titles of the following programmes:
(i) BA
(Hons) English with a Minor in North American Literature and Film to BA (Hons)
English with a Minor in American Literature and film.
(ii) MRes
Art, Design and Performance by Practice to MA Arts Research by Practice.
25.3 Proposal to suspend a programme
NOTED: That Curriculum Sub-Committee will be
recommending to Learning and Teaching Committee prior to their meeting on 4
November 2010, the proposal to suspend the Postgraduate Programmes in Strategic
Automotive Dealership Management (
26. Staff/Student
Committees
NOTED: That
reports of the Staff/Student Committee meetings had been deposited with the
Faculty Board Secretary as follows:
|
Department
of Economics (Postgraduate) |
19
May 2010 |
|
Department of Economics (Undergraduate) |
12
May 2010 |
|
Department
of Social Sciences (Undergraduate) |
18
Nov 2009, 17 March, 5 May 2010 |
|
Department
of Geography |
3
March 2010 |
|
MBA
( |
20
April 2010 |
|
MSc
Management/MSc International Management/MSc Marketing & Management/MSc
Finance & Management/MSc Business Analysis & Management |
5
May 2010 |
27. University Prizes
NOTED:
The following students from the Faculty of
Social Sciences and Humanities had been awarded prizes and offered the Faculty’s
congratulations:
Prize Name Winner Department
|
Dennis Holt
Travel Scholarship |
Amy Bear |
LUSAD |
|
Graduate School
Research Student |
Sally Little |
Geography |
|
Hannah Community Prize |
Angharad Salter |
LUSAD |
|
John Guest Phillips Memorial Travelling Scholarship |
Anne-Lise Montreuil Fangjin Zhang |
Geography Design &
Technology |
|
Loughborough
College of Education Commemorative Awards |
Jessica Williams |
English & Drama |
|
Loughborough
Experience Awards |
Alex Laybourne Ayesha Modi Mark Collett Elizabeth Miller Tasneem Siddeeque |
SSEHS PHIR Economics Social Sciences PHIR |
|
Mature Student Achievement Prizes (Awarded by SOAR) |
Carrie Lynn Dickens |
LUSAD |
|
Mavis Prize for Music (Awarded by the
Arts Centre) |
Chloe Rawson |
English & Drama |
|
Sir Robert Martin Faculty Prizes |
Mustafa Sarkar |
SSEHS |
|
T S Shipman Awards |
Elizabeth Miller |
Social Sciences |
|
Ursula Lockley Travel Bursary |
Chloe Pearce |
English & Drama |
|
Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Internationalisation |
Jon Allison |
PHIR |
28. Date of Next Meeting
The next Faculty Board meeting will take place prior to a Directorate
meeting on 24 May 2011.
Author – Ms S J McKinley
November 2010
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rights reserved.