University for the Creative Artswebdocs.ucreative.ac.uk/BG 2017 07 12 Minutes (Restricted...Bradley,...

of 22

University for the Creative Arts Board of Governors

[Redacted] Confirmed Minutes for the meeting held on 12th July 2017 at 2.00pm in the Board Room at the Canterbury Campus

Members: Rob Taylor Independent Governor Chair Patricia Ambrose Co-opted Governor Patrick Bradley* Independent Governor Marie Conte-Helm Independent Governor Mark Eastwood Independent Governor Jim Gollan* Independent Governor Colin Holden* Academic Board Nominee Alun Jones Independent Governor Conor Kelly

Bashir Makhoul Co-opted Staff Governor Vice-Chancellor

Lesley Millar* Co-opted Staff Governor Tomm Morton Student Governor Alan Newton Independent Governor John Oliver Independent Governor Victoria Pomery* Co-opted Governor Christopher Rachlin Co-opted Governor Andrew Ramsay* Independent Governor Harry Rich Independent Governor Freda Sack Independent Governor Colin Tweedy* Independent Governor Pauline Waterhouse Independent Governor Deputy Chair Jane Wentworth Co-opted Governor Simone Ziel Student Governor

In attendance: Lesley Adams Co-opted Staff Governor

Designate

Roni Brown Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development)

Until item 13 inclusive

Alan Cooke Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources)

Jim Marshall Director of Finance Until item 13 Marion Wilks University Secretary Until item 13 Sam Weir Clerk to the Board of

Governors Clerk

Tracey Draper (* by name denotes absence

Senior Governance Officer

Minute Secretary Until item 13

of 22

Prior to the meeting, the Board received a Student Support presentation on the University’s Inclusive Service Model for students from Dr Jan Conway, Director of Library & Student Services and Annamarie McKie, Interim Head of Learning, Teaching & Student Engagement. The Chair thanked Jan Conway and Annamarie Mckie for providing this. 1. Declaration of Interest 1.1 Noted: Alan Newton declared an interest in item 10.2 and

Christopher Rachlin declared an interest in item 7.10.

2. Apologies for absence 2.1 Noted: Apologies for absence had been received from Patrick

Bradley, Jim Gollan, Colin Holden, Lesley Millar, Victoria Pomery, Andrew Ramsay and Colin Tweedy.

3. 3.1

Received: Confirmed:

Minutes of the Meeting Held on 23 March 2017 The minutes were confirmed as an accurate record of the meeting subject to the following amendment:

BG/26/17

(Item 8.1.3 BME Students) The following sentence would be removed ‘It was suggested that these might include the trialling of ‘blind marking’ and agreed that this should be considered further’. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) noted that the process of ‘blind marking’ had been previously trialled and found to be unsuitable for art & design subjects.

4. Matters Arising 4.1 2016/17 Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Targets:

Graduate Level Employability (min 8.1.3 refers) BG/27/17

4.1.1 Noted: The Graduate Level Employability note referring to

2014/15 data in relation to TEF Year 3 had been confirmed as accurate.

4.2 Barclays Bank Letters of Variation (min 10.3.5 refers)

4.2.1 Noted: Following the Board’s approval by correspondence of legal documents recommended to it by the Employment & Finance Committee, these had been signed by the Chair of the Board and the Chair of the Committee before being submitted to Barclays’ and

of 22

the University’s legal advisers for finalisation. 4.3 LGPS Pension Fund (min 10.6.6 refers) 4.3.1 Noted: The draft legal charge from the Pension Fund had

been received and Pension Fund lawyers had agreed that Colliers International would progress the valuation of the Epsom and Canterbury campuses, with the basis of the valuation agreed as open market value. This would consequently decrease the annual contribution to the Local Government Pension Scheme from £925k to £451k.

5. Received: Report from the Vice-Chancellor BG/28/17 5.1 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor presented his report to the

Board, highlighting commencement of his full-time role from 1 August 2017. All four campuses had been visited identifying both areas of excellence and areas for development.

5.2 Noted: A strategic review of graduate employability to build

on the success of the University’s Silver award in the Teaching Excellence Framework would be a key priority for the forthcoming year.

5.3 Noted: The Board was also made aware of the Vice-

Chancellor’s successful recent international trip in order to develop the University Internationalisation Strategy and create a Business School for the Creative Industries. A portfolio review to maximise recruitment would form part of the strategy.

5.4 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor congratulated staff on the

organisation and success of the recent graduation ceremonies highlighting the ability of staff and students to consistently achieve to the highest standards both internally and externally.

5.5 Noted: The Board noted the departure of two Heads of

School, Allan Atlee, Head of the School of Architecture and Mike Addison, Head of the School of Further Education. The University was in the process of recruiting to the Further Education School and was considering the optimal strategic approach for the leadership of the School of Architecture.

of 22

6. Strategic Projects 6.1 Received: Internationalisation Strategy BG/29/17 6.1.1 Noted: The Chair introduced this item, highlighting the

considerable experience of the Vice-Chancellor in developing overseas collaborations and recruitment.

6.1.2 Noted: The Board was also made aware that a clear

international focus had been a recommendation of the HEFCE Chief Executive. An overseas trip had been approved prior to the official start date of the Vice-Chancellor to begin the process of identifying suitable collaborative partners with a view to substantially improving the University’s international income [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests].

6.1.3 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor presented the key objectives of

the strategy which would focus on two strategic priorities:

Student recruitment diversification and growth; Overseas partnerships.

6.1.4 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 6.1.5 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 6.1.6 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor considered the University’s

existing strategic objective for 15% of its total student population to be comprised of international students to be realistic and achievable by 2022/23 across all levels.

6.1.7 Noted: UCA currently had one of the lowest percentages in

the sector of international students at 7.8%. Elsewhere in the sector a growing population of more than 500,000 international students was studying UK degrees overseas.

6.1.8 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor emphasised the importance of

demonstrating the ability to be an ‘International University’ and collaborating with partners suitable to UCA’s position as the leading specialist institution in Art & Design, who would welcome such a beneficial arrangement. Partner institutions would be selected

of 22

against a rigorous set of criteria to safeguard against financial and reputational risks.

6.1.9 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 6.1.10 Noted: The student experience would focus on an

internationalised curriculum and would facilitate ‘Culture Weeks’ and ‘International Film Weeks’ to establish a truly global context and environment for students. [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests]

6.1.11 Noted: In order to drive sustained growth within international

markets and provide focused leadership, a new Department of International Studies would be established within Marketing, Student Recruitment and Admissions initially. The department would be responsible for overseas student recruitment, development of Transnational Education, Summer Schools, Pre-sessional and English Language provision with specialist staff experienced in the international recruitment market. The department would also focus on widening the target markets and recruiting high calibre students from these markets in larger cohorts for maximum output. Rigorous due diligence with potential partners would be prioritised.

6.1.12 Noted: In discussing the strategy, queries from Governors

were responded to as follows:

[REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests]

Staffing of the International Studies Department would be funded initially by re-purposing existing posts, with a staffing budget subsequently increased year-on-year based on incremental growth in student numbers;

The potential benefits for partners who sought to collaborate with UCA would include:

- a recognised UK qualification; - association with a top university in

Art & Design; - enrichment of the overseas student

learning experience with an opportunity to study overseas;

- participation in independent and

of 22

innovative teaching and learning methods.

The success of collaborative partnerships would be dependent upon careful choice of partners that were financially viable, appropriate and relevant to the ambitions of UCA. Consideration of potential collaborative partners’ compliance and quality assurance strategies would be fundamental in determining whether to proceed with partnerships;

The due diligence process would be reviewed to ensure that it was fully fit for purpose, rigorous and able to meet increased demand;

Increasing residential accommodation capacity would be a key priority and the University was currently in discussion with potential investors regarding options for providing additional bed spaces for 2018/19 entry.

6.1.13 Resolved: The Board approved the Internationalisation Strategy

and recognised the requirement for increased accommodation capacity.

6.2 Received: Business School Proposal BG/30/17 6.2.1 Noted: The Vice-Chancellor presented the proposal to create

a new Business School for the Creative Industries at Epsom which would be developed in parallel with the Internationalisation Strategy.

6.2.2 Noted: Market research had demonstrated that business

courses were attractive to the overseas market with 60-70% of Chinese students seeking to study business-related courses primarily at postgraduate level.

6.2.3 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 6.2.4 Noted: In discussing the Business School proposal, queries

from Governors were responded to as follows:

A Project Team would be formed to develop the strategic objectives of the proposed School and would potentially consider how the master branding of the University should be flexed for international promotion;

of 22

Whilst other institutions were running creative industries management courses delivered by art and design departments, this would be the first Creative Industries Business School anywhere in the world, and also the first business school within the context of a specialist institution;

Portfolio would be focussed on the provision of creative industries-related business courses, rather than a combination of stand-alone business and creative units; it would offer applicants the opportunity for conversion without any requirement for pre-existing specialist knowledge within art & design;

A national recruitment campaign and revised UCAS event strategy targeting the largest pools of art and design applicants was planned for the UK market;

A stakeholder strategy that would enable a greater educational media presence both locally and nationally to increase the profile of UCA within the UK would be considered.

6.2.5 Agreed: The Board endorsed the general direction of the

proposals, acknowledging the requirement to move forward in a global context and to be recognised as an ‘International University’.

6.2.6 Agreed: Structural changes proposed by the Vice-Chancellor to support delivery of the Internationalisation Strategy and creation of the Business School would be detailed at an extraordinary meeting of the Employment & Finance Committee, and subsequently presented for the consideration of the Board.

7. Employment & Finance Committee 7.1 Received: Minutes of the extraordinary meeting held by

telephone conference on 30 May 2017 BG/31/17

7.2 Received: Minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2017 BG/32/17 7.3 Reports from the Meetings 7.3.1 Noted: From the extraordinary meeting held on 30 May 2017,

the Board noted that the Committee had:

of 22

7.3.2 Noted: Noted the updated student enrolment forecast

as at 24 May 2017; Noted the updated draft budget for 2017/18

based on the updated student enrolment forecast;

Noted the updated financial forecasts to 2019/20 and that a review of these would be undertaken by the Vice-Chancellor over the following three months.

7.3.3 Noted: From the meeting held on 22 June 2017, the Board

noted that the Committee had:

Noted the latest update on national pay

negotiations with 1.7% offered by the employers for 2017/18;

Noted the UCA and OCA management accounts for 9 months ended 30 April 2017, OCA surplus for the 9 months having exceeded the original budget of £26,702;

Noted the draft 2017/18 OCA budget; Noted a 2017/18 student recruitment update

and application summary analysis; Agreed that HEFCE financial forecasts and the

University proposed budget would be updated with a draft HEFCE commentary prior to the meeting of the Board of Governors;

Considered KPMG HE Financial Statements Benchmarking for 2015/16;

Recommended to the Board signing of Bank Letters of Variation;

Received an update from the Vice-Chancellor regarding his overseas travel on University business;

Approved the schedule of Bank Signatories for 2017/18;

Approved the tuition fee schedule for 2018/19; Approved the Tuition Fee and Debtor

Regulations for 2018/19; Noted the Capital Investment Programme

update; Noted the progression to tender for the

Farnham Film & Media Centre; Approved the re-profiling of the Capital

Investment Programme to accommodate the

of 22

Phase 1 works of the Farnham Car Park as part of the Film & Media Centre project;

Approved the appointment of contractors Burren & Whitaker for the summer works project;

Noted an update regarding the Cobgates site in relation to potential for residential accommodation;

Noted a Hop Fields House post-completion report;

Noted the Students’ Union (SU) management accounts for 6 months ended 30 April 2017;

Noted the proposed SU budget for 2017/18; Endorsed in principle a proposal for additional

SU funding subject to further discussion of the detailed approach with the Leadership Team;

Agreed that a reworded declaration regarding fossil fuel investment would be taken to the Board for consideration;

Confirmed that its terms of reference remained fit for purpose for 2017/18.

7.4 Received: Financial Headlines 2016/17 BG/33/17 7.4.1 Noted: The Committee noted the reported summary of

performance for the period ending 29 June 2017. The forecast surplus aligned to the budget and remained the same as the nine month forecast of £204k.

7.5 Received: Student Recruitment 2017/18 - Update BG/34/17 7.5.1 Noted: The Board noted that the update provided was based

on application data as at 03 July 2017 which included both the current situation and a forecast of total enrolment numbers.

7.5.2 Noted: Home/EU undergraduate applications had fallen by

8.69% in comparison to 2016/17 and firm acceptances were down 12% which was comparable to the reductions experienced by some of the University’s competitors.

7.5.3 Noted: The projected forecast figure for Home/EU

undergraduate enrolments was 1439, which had been incorporated into the University budget for 2017/18.

of 22

7.5.4 Noted: In terms of Home/EU FE recruitment, the number of firm acceptances had increased by 2.24% despite fewer applications with projected enrolments forecast at 1029.

7.5.5 Noted: Postgraduate and overseas recruitment figures

remained stable with marginal increases in the projected enrolments forecast for 2017/18 compared to 2016/17.

7.6 Received: Proposed University Budget 2017/18 BG/35/17 7.6.1 Noted: The Chair of the Employment & Finance Committee

introduced the proposed University Budget which was based on a surplus of £150k for 2017/18 and assumed a savings requirement of £947k (Staffing £809k, Operations £138k).

7.6.2 Noted: Options to address the required savings included:

Deferral of the additional pension deficit contribution payment of £451k included in the 2016/17 forecast; the University would have paid more than the profiled contributions towards the pension deficit over the two years 2016/17 and 2017/18 as the Board agreed to pay an additional contribution towards the pension deficit in 2016/17 of £500k;

Structural considerations across the University.

7.6.3 Noted: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources) considered that the balance of staff savings required in 2017/18 of £358k could be realised in-year through management of staff vacancies.

7.6.4 Noted: Management advised that enrolment during

September would impact upon the amount of required savings for 2017/18 and further consideration would be given directly after this period.

7.6.5 Resolved: The Board approved the University Budget for 2017/18

subject to the savings requirement.

7.7 Received: HEFCE Financial 5 Year Financial Forecasts to 2019/20

and Commentary BG/36/17

7.7.1 Noted: The Director of Finance confirmed that there had been

of 22

updates to the data following the Employment & Finance Committee meeting on 22 June to incorporate the increased savings requirement for 2017/18.

7.7.2 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 7.7.3 Noted: The HEFCE commentary had been drafted to provide

clarification on the University’s strategy for resilience and the fundamental need for diversification and development of the portfolio including creative business-related degrees. Following the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor the development of the Internationalisation Strategy and the establishment of a new Department for International Studies would be prioritised.

7.7.4 Noted: The Chair requested that any comments from

Governors relating to the HEFCE commentary due to the late circulation be forwarded to himself and the Clerk by Friday 14 July 2017.

7.7.5 Resolved: The Board approved the Financial Forecasts; the

Commentary would be approved by Chair’s action following the above deadline, subject to consideration of any comments received.

7.8 Received: University Estate Capital Investment Plan including

update on:

7.8.1 Farnham Film & Media Centre BG/37a/17 7.8.1.1 Noted: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources)

provided the Board with an update on the implementation of the University’s Capital Investment Plan.

7.8.1.2 Noted: Initial feedback from the Local Authority Planning

Department had been positive, but had anticipated a restriction on the opening hours due to potential levels of noise. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources) confirmed that the building design had incorporated robust acoustic control which would be highlighted as part of the final planning application.

7.8.1.3 Noted: Members noted that the revised costings for the

project had increased from £5,060,000 to

of 22

£5,330,000. This was primarily due to the scoping of firmer details relating to the design development, support of specialist equipment and a 2% increase for potential tender prices. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources) confirmed that this price remained within the lower quartile of £4150-£5800 for similar work in the sector and remained good value for money.

7.8.1.4 Noted: The project would enable Acting & Performance to

increase student numbers and increase resources for courses such as Film Production, Animation and Computer Games Arts.

7.8.1.5 Noted: A single stage Design and Build option had been

proposed, which would transfer the risk for the cost and design to the contractor for a fixed price. This option required an additional 8 weeks for the tender period negotiation prior to the contract award and would consequently impact on the timeframe for building completion which was currently scheduled for mid-November 2017.

7.8.1.6 Noted: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources)

confirmed that the external cladding of the two-storey building used polycarbonate materials which exceeded compliance with fire regulations and had a 2 hour fire resistance. There were no plans to install a fire sprinkler system.

7.8.1.7 Noted: Invitations to tender for a single stage Design and

Build would be issued at the beginning of August with tender returns anticipated by mid-September. Tender reports and a recommendation would then be circulated to members of the Board for final approval.

7.8.2 Received: Farnham Car Park BG/37b/17 7.8.2.1 Noted: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Resources)

provided the Board with an update on the Farnham Car Park which was part of the planning application for the Film & Media Centre development. It was noted that the Employment & Finance Committee had approved the re-profiling of the Capital Investment Programme to accommodate the Phase 1 works, with a plan in respect of subsequent phases to be prepared

of 22

by the Director of Finance for its subsequent consideration.

7.8.2.2 Noted: The proposal was costed into three phases with Phase

1 to commence in Summer 2017 which would require the demolition of the kiln and routing traffic to the side of the portacabins. The indicative cost of Phase 1 was £222k with vehicle access controlled by a barrier with an operative. Car Park space at the Farnham Campus would be reduced from 390 to 300 spaces and required a safe means of car park entry control from September 2017.

7.8.2.3 Noted: Phase 2 was scheduled for Summer 2018 and would

seek planning and building regulation consent to relocate the portacabins housing the University’s maintenance engineers and enable construction of a wider access road to the car park. The indicative cost estimate was £372k.

7.8.2.4 Noted: Phase 3, scheduled for Summer 2019 would realise a

fully compliant and resurfaced car park with an automatic barrier and potential for income generation through car parking charging. The indicative cost estimate was £1.7m.

7.8.2.5 Noted: The Director of Finance confirmed that Phase 1 and 2

for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were incorporated into the increased costing of the Capital Investment Plan and part of the updated Financial Forecasts which remained within the University bank covenants.

7.8.2.6 Noted: Further consideration in respect of Phase 3 of the car

park management proposals would be deferred until 2019/20.

7.9 2017/18 Annual Pay Review Oral 7.9.1 Noted: The employers had made a final offer of a 1.7% salary

increase to the Trade Unions with additional loading for staff on salaries at the lower end of the scale (points 2-16). Unison had agreed to the offer with a response expected from UCU at the end of July.

7.9.2 Resolved: The Board approved implementation of the pay award

in August 2017 subject to union approval.

of 22

7.9.3 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests] 7.10 Received: Fossil Fuel Declaration BG/38/17

7.10.1 Noted: The University had been invited by the National Union

of Students and People & Planet to sign a declaration that it did not currently hold direct investments in extractor fossil fuel companies and would not invest in these companies in the future. Approximately 25% of the Higher Education sector was currently participating in the scheme, but the NUS template in this regard had not been used consistently.

7.10.2 Noted: The Employment & Finance Committee had reviewed the NUS template and whilst it had agreed with the principle, it had not felt able to endorse the full statement as this had included some aspects which were not verifiable. The Committee had therefore drafted and agreed to recommend to the Board a slightly shorter version which whilst differing in its wording, maintained commitment to the core principle.

7.10.3 Resolved: The Board approved the declaration subject to

removal of the square brackets in the clause, ‘It declares that it has no [direct] investments in companies involved in the carbon energy industry’.

8 Audit and Risk Committee 8.1 Received: Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 June 2017 BG/39/17 8.2 Noted: Report from the Meeting

8.2.1 Noted: From the meeting held on 13 June 2017, the Board noted that the Committee had:

Noted the final Terms of Reference for the Strategic Review of Careers, Employability & Enterprise working group;

Noted a report from the Value for Money Group; Noted updates to the Risk Register; Noted the outcomes of four Internal Audit

Reports; Noted a progress report on internal audit

of 22

findings; Approved the Internal Audit Plan 2017-20

together with the Internal Audit fee for 2017/18; Approved the External Audit Plan for 2016/17 and

proposed fee; Approved deferral of the scheduled review of the

Financial Regulations until January 2018; Received an update on the IT Infrastructure

Transformation Programme, noting that the targeted completion date was September 2017;

Noted the HEFCE Annual Provider Review Final Assessment;

Noted the UKVI Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Rating; Received an update regarding Health & Safety

accidents; Confirmed that its terms of reference remained

fit for purpose for 2017/18. 8.3 Received: Risk Register Status Summary BG/40/17 8.3.1 Noted: The Board noted the updated Risk Register status

summary.

8.4 Received: HEFCE Annual Provider Review Final Assessment

BG/41/17

8.4.1 Noted: Members noted that HEFCE’s Independent Quality Committee had assessed the University’s final risk categorisation as ‘not at higher risk’.

8.5 Received: UKVI Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Rating BG/42/17 8.5.1 Noted: Members noted the letter of assurance from the UK

Visas & Immigration Sponsor Compliance Unit which maintained the University as an A-rated sponsor for the employment of overseas staff on a Tier 2 (general) visa.

8.6 Received: Riddor Reportable Incidents

BG/43/17

8.6.1 Noted: The DVC (Corporate Resources) updated members on the incident at the Rochester campus whereby a student had suffered an amputation to a finger from using a band-saw. The HSE had undertaken an inspection and had subsequently confirmed that that no further action would be taken.

9. Nominations Committee

of 22

9.1 Received: Minutes of the meeting held by correspondence on 1

June 2017 BG/44/17

9.2 Report from the meeting 9.3 Appointment to the Board of Governors 9.3.1 Noted: The Board noted the following appointments that it had

previously approved by correspondence:

Lesley Adams, Course Leader BA (Hons) and MA Animation, as a Co-opted Staff Governor for a term of 2 years commencing on 1 August 2017;

Tomm Morton as a Student Governor in the capacity of Sabbatical Officer of the Students’ Union, for a term of 1 year commencing on 1 July 2017;

Simone Ziel as a Student Governor elected by the student body, for a term of 2 years commencing on 1 July 2017;

9.4 Re-appointment to the Board of Governors 9.4.1 Noted: The Board noted that it had previously agreed by

correspondence the extension of the tenures of Harry Rich and Colin Tweedy as Independent Governors until 31 July 2018.

9.4.2 Resolved: The Board approved the reappointment for a further

three-year term until 31 July 2020 of Marie Conte-Helm, Andrew Ramsay and Freda Sack.

9.5 Membership of the Committees and Appointment of

the Deputy Chair of the Board

9.5.1 Noted: The Board noted that it had previously approved by

correspondence the appointment of Chris Rachlin as Chair of the Employment & Finance Committee with effect from 1 August 2017.

9.5.2 Resolved: Membership of Audit & Risk Committee as follows:

Andrew Ramsay (Chair) Athar Akram (Co-opted Member of Audit & Risk Committee) Patricia Ambrose Marie Conte-Helm

of 22

Mark Eastwood Alan Newton

9.5.3 Resolved: Membership of Employment & Finance Committee as

follows: Chris Rachlin (Chair) Patrick Bradley Jim Gollan Bashir Makhoul John Oliver Pauline Waterhouse

9.5.4 Resolved: Membership of Nominations Committee as follows:

Robert Taylor (Chair) Marie Conte-Helm Bashir Makhoul Lesley Millar Harry Rich Colin Tweedy

9.5.5 Resolved: Membership of Remuneration Committee as follows:

Robert Taylor (Chair) Patrick Bradley Jim Gollan John Oliver Chris Rachlin Pauline Waterhouse

9.5.6

Resolved:

The Board approved the reappointment of Pauline Waterhouse as Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors.

9.6 Received: Amendment to Terms of Reference BG/45/17 9.6.1 Resolved: The Board approved the amended terms of reference

for the Nominations Committee which now included responsibility for making recommendations to the Board regarding the awarding or revocation of the title of Chancellor Emerita/Emeritus.

10 Regulations and Policies 10.1 Received: Amendments to the Rules for Student Conduct BG/46/17 10.1.1 Noted: Members noted that the proposed amendments related

to reports from the Universities UK taskforce on gender based violence and handling student misconduct which may also be a criminal offence. Consideration had also been given to ensuring the regulations were simpler to

of 22

follow. 10.1.2 Resolved: The Board approved the updated Rules for Student

Conduct for use from 2017/18.

10.2 Received: Amendments to the University Safeguarding Policy BG/47/17 10.2.1 Noted: Members noted that the proposed amendments to the

policy were related to the statutory guidance for Schools and Colleges for ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. Although this guidance was not specific to Higher Education Institutions, the University Secretary highlighted that its recommendations were relevant to the sector, particularly in relation to Further Education students below the age of 18, and they had therefore been embedded in the policy as best practice.

10.2.2 Resolved: The Board approved the updated University

Safeguarding Policy for use from 2017/18.

10.3 Received: Amendments to the Student Complaints Policy BG/48/17 10.3.1 Noted: The Student Complaints Policy had been revised

following cases in 2016/17 that highlighted the requirement for greater clarity of process within Stage 1 and Stage 2.

10.3.2 Noted: The policy included a new Disability Exceptional Case

Appeals Procedure for disabled students who wished to dispute the ‘Reasonable Adjustment’ decision to their provision. This would be operated as a supplement to the Student Complaints Policy.

10.3.3 Resolved: The Board approved the revisions to the Student

Complaints Policy for use from 2017/18.

11. Reports from the Academic Board Nominee 11.1 Received: Report from the meeting held on 5 April 2017 BG/49a/17 11.2 Received: Report from the meeting held on 28 June 2017 BG/49b/17 5 April 2017 11.2.1 Noted: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development)

presented this report, highlighting that Academic Board

of 22

had:

Considered student retention and ‘non-returners’ from students eligible to re-enrol, which represented 27% of total attrition. Further analysis on ways to improve retention and strategies to maintain student engagement would be considered along with alternative part-time modes for OCA distance learning provision;

Approved the proposal to introduce a Protected Characteristic Student Monitoring Report for inclusion as an annex of the annual Quality Report from 2016/17 onwards;

Submitted a response to the Degree Algorithm Survey, a project managed by Universities UK and GuildHE related to the reasonable comparability of degrees across the sector, expressing that this was not appropriate for the creative sector;

Received an update on OCA; Approved the UCA Research Strategy noting

that further work would be undertaken towards the REF2021;

Noted UCA’s response to the Consultation on the second Research Excellence Framework, now published on the University’s Research Blog and signposted via Workplace;

Approved the Student Engagement Strategy, which provided an overview of how UCA engages with its students;

Received the Professional, Statutory & Regulatory Bodies report relating to the professional accreditation of courses at UCA;

Received an update on increased response rates of 81.95% to the National Student Survey;

[REDACTED – Section 43(2) Commercial Interests].

28 June 2017 11.2.2 Noted: Noted the increase to tuition fees for academic

year 2018/19 to £9250 for Undergraduate years 1 to 3;

Noted the Teaching Excellence Framework award of silver and high levels of student satisfaction with academic support and

of 22

teaching, assessment and feedback; Received an update on Diploma2Degree, noting

that the final report in July would include an analysis of pathways for the current year, enabling consideration of discipline based applications;

Noted the drafting of a partnership agreement between UAL and UCA for Research Degrees;

Received the results for the Internal Student Survey for FE and for Undergraduate Stage 0, 1 and 2 students, overall satisfaction having decreased for Undergraduate Stage 2 marginally by 2% to 80%;

Approved the amendment to the entry criteria from four to five GCSE’s for the Extended Diploma in Art & Design and Foundation Studies;

Approved amendments to the University and Academic Regulations;

Approved the International Year Abroad Regulations;

Noted work within the Schools to agree School Research Plans and a mock REF during 2017/18.

12. Received

and noted: Report from the Students’ Union BG/50/17

In receiving this report, the Board noted that the Students’ Union had:

Registered 60 clubs and societies with over 10% of students registered;

Supported students to generate over £13,000 of additional funds for clubs and societies;

Increased course representatives to 350; Engaged 25% of the student population in the

Student Union Induction Programme; 50% increase in number of votes during the SU

election period; Created 12 student internships as a result of

sabbatical officer structure changes; Provided 2000 minutes of advice support with

0.5 staff provision; Engaged 200 students in liberation groups.

12.1 Received and noted:

2017/18 Student Charter BG/51/17

Members were requested to note the changes to the

of 22

Student Charter which had been agreed following consideration by the Students’ Union, the Leadership Team and Academic Board:

Inclusion of performance under ‘Student Life’ alongside exhibiting and publishing work;

Minor amendments to the grammar for the ‘After Graduation’ section;

Amendment to the bullet point regarding the Students’ Union role to clarify the Students’ Union will signpost students to support and advice on relevant academic and non-academic aspects of student life (this bullet point had previously referred to non-academic aspects only).

13 Received: Calendar of Meetings BG/52/17 13.1 Noted: Members were requested to note the calendar of

meetings for 2017/18.

RESTRICTED BUSINESS 14 Remuneration Committee 14.1 Received: Minutes of the meeting on 22 June 2017 BG/53/17 14.2 Report from the meeting 14.2.1 Noted: The Deputy Chair reported that in view of the transition

to a new Vice-Chancellor, a different approach had been taken to this meeting, which would typically consider proposed senior post holder objectives for the forthcoming academic year.

14.2.2 Noted: The Committee had reviewed the performance of the

Deputy Vice-Chancellors now that their interim responsibilities had come to an end, and had approved initial short term objectives for the Vice-Chancellor covering the period until the next meeting of the Committee on 9 November.

14.2.3 Noted: The 9 November meeting would receive a full set of

objectives for the 2017/18 academic year, by which time the Vice-Chancellor would have been able to develop a

of 22

full set of objectives and other senior post holders would have been able to develop their objectives in line with these; at the same meeting, as would usually be the case, the Committee would be asked to review progress against all of the senior post holder objectives for the 2016/17 academic year.

14.2.4 Noted: The Committee had carried out salary reviews for the

Deputy Vice-Chancellors and University Secretary. Taking account of sector benchmarks, performance and a range of other factors, it had resolved to increase the base salaries (including the annual pay award), as follows with effect from 1 August 2017: [REDACTED – Section 40(2) Personal Information]

12.2.5 Noted: [REDACTED – Section 40(2) Personal Information]

University for the Creative Artswebdocs.ucreative.ac.uk/BG 2017 07 12 Minutes (Restricted...Bradley,...

Documents

Transcript of University for the Creative Artswebdocs.ucreative.ac.uk/BG 2017 07 12 Minutes (Restricted...Bradley,...