Summary notes of the Executive Committee held on
21 March 2007
-
Draft Gender Equality Scheme
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Developments) presented a revised version of the draft Gender Equality Scheme, taking account of the comments made at the last Committee meeting. In view of similarity of the action plans for the Gender Equality Scheme and Disability Equality Scheme, particularly in respect of impact assessments, it was proposed that a joint implementation group be established for both Schemes. The intention now was for the Gender Equality Scheme to be submitted by the Equality and Diversity Committee to Council in May. A copy would also be published on the University's website by 30 April, with a qualification stating that the Scheme was subject to formal approval.
The Committee suggested that sections 1.1 and 1.2 should be made more consistent by referring to equality of treatment according to differing needs, and that Table 8 (corrected from Table 7) should mention the gender-specific learning and teaching provided to women under the European Social Fund.
- Review of Oakfield Strategy: Proposed Membership and Terms of Reference of the Oakfield Strategy Review Group
The Vice-Chancellor presented a note outlining the proposed membership and terms of reference for Oakfield Strategy Review Group, and the administrative support it would require. The Review Group would undertake an analysis of the activities based on the Oakfield campus, consulting widely, and examine the options for possible new developments. Recommendations on future strategy for the campus would then be made through the Committee to Council.
- Proposed changes to the MA in Contemporary European Studies: Politics, Policy and Society
The Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences summarised a recommendation from his Faculty Teaching and Quality Committee to permit the opening of negotiations with consortium partners about redesigning the Euromasters programme.
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) endorsed the recommendation, believing this to be an exceptional case, in which flexibility was required to ensure continuation of the Euromasters. It was not thought that there would be any wider implications. The Committee supported the need for some flexibility in relation to degree programmes involving international consortia.
- HEFCE Recurrent Grant 2007/08: Allocation of research funding
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) reported that HEFCE had established a Business Research element within QR funding stream. This element had been allocated to HEIs according to a calculation of the average research income they had received from UK business, commerce and public corporations for 2003/04 and 2004/05 (based on HESA returns), and amounted to £60M of the total QR funding of some £900M. Although a supplementary allocation of £10M had been made to QR funding, in order to maintain its value in real terms, it appeared that HEFCE had also reduced the quanta determining the relative allocations of QR funding to Units of Assessment. This was probably attributable to uncertainty over future funding in advance of the finalisation of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
Further analysis was required of the implications of these changes. The University's total research funding for 2007/08, including Business Research income and secondary factors such as funds for the best 5* departments, had increased by 2.96 percent. Net impact on 2007/08 non-pay operating budgets was therefore likely to be minimal. The changes in quanta were mostly negative, however, with the largest decreases concentrated in SET disciplines.
The obvious implication was that introduction of Business Research income indicated the likely form of a future research funding mechanism based increasingly on metrics. A clear incentive had been put in place for HEIs to increase research income from business.
- HEFCE review of Teaching Funding methodology: Feedback from the consultation workshop on 7 March and draft institutional response
The Executive Assistant reported that the HEFCE was consulting about a series of further changes to the methodology for allocating teaching funding.
Discussion of the three main changes had taken place at a recent consultation event with HEIs:
• Premium funding would be replaced by variable targeted allocations for part-time and intensive UG provision, Foundation Degrees, and by fixed targeted allocations for old and historic buildings. Allocations would be made outside the contract range, thereby enabling funding to be linked more directly to increases in activity, and reducing the dampening effect. Possible disadvantages included gradual dilution of the unit of resource, if targeted allocations became a significant part of the total fixed budget, and year-by-year variations in funding.
• Flexible patterns of study would be recognised by funding study completed above a threshold of 20/120 credits. HEFCE believed that most of the resulting redistribution of funding would be absorbed within the contract range. Capping could also be used. Uncertainty remained, however, about how credits would be measured if 'completed' was not defined as 'successful', about the perverse incentive to recruit students who might not be able to benefit from HE, and the overall impact on the budget. Further dilution of the unit of resource could occur. HEFCE planned to model this, but did not have the basic data required.
• HEFCE intended to develop TRAC (T) to inform consideration of teaching costs on a subject by subject basis, using benchmarking to exclude outliers. This was to be preferred to measurements based on HESA data, but it had been pointed out to HEFCE that the TRAC data was still measuring historic expenditure and underlying budgetary allocations, rather than actual costs of teaching provision. HEFCE had accepted the validity of this point.
- University Risk Register: Progress report on improvement actions - March 2007
The Executive Assistant summarised the outcomes of actions taken to minimise risks in respect of SP1 ( Failure to secure stakeholder ‘buy-in' for the new Swindon Campus ).
Discussion at the Strategic Executive Committee meeting later in the day of the priorities for the allocation of the University's potential surplus for 2006-07 would address FI1 ( Lack of strategic investment funding).
- Masterplanning 2008 Steering Group
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Developments) reported that the Masterplanning Steering Group had been reconvened to review the masterplan for the Claverton campus (including the Sulis Club) for the period 2008 to 2013, with a view ahead to 2018.
- Staff Survey
The Vice-Chancellor reminded the Committee that one of the conclusions of the Council Effectiveness Review was that the University should hold a Staff Survey every three years. The next Staff Survey would be co-ordinated by the Director of Human Resources.
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