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Executive Committee

Summary notes of the Executive Committee held on 23 April 2008

1. National Student Survey 2008
   
   The student response rate was even higher than last year, at 75 percent, and placed the University in the top ten HEIs nationally.

2. Professional Service Reports 2006/07

   (a)  Library and Learning Centre

   The University Librarian reported that the most significant change in patterns of usage was the continued migration from print to electronic delivery of information services. Loans of books were falling and the stock was increasingly concentrated on UG reading materials. At the same time, the number of downloads of electronic articles had passed 1 million in the 2006/07 session (equivalent to 70-80 articles per person per year) with 11,000 research periodicals now available electronically. 57,000 downloads of electronic-books had been also made (equivalent to 4 per person per year). Subscriptions to electronic books now stood at 3,500, even though they were still less common than electronic articles, and there was some resistance to their use. The general trend of migration would be monitored. It was noted that the wealth of comparative data provided by SCONUL, and used by librarians within the sector, had potential for wider use as management information.

   In comparison with other university libraries, the Library and Learning Centre had benefitted from continued investment from the University - both capital facilities and inflation-proofing of operating costs. In return, there was a determination to ensure the University derived the maximum value from this investment, both intellectually and financially. A key strategic focus for 2007/08 was the promotion of information literacy and skills training across all student cohorts. Other tasks ahead included the maintenance and improvement of 'customer' satisfaction ratings, further development of self-service lending and returns, the introduction of cashless systems and support for OPuS and the IP rights of University authors.
   
   (b) BUCS

   The Director of Computing Services highlighted the significant increase in network capacity. Two major upgrades had taken place in recent years and the University's introduction of 'thin client' facilities had attracted attention across the sector. Core IT services were on average available for 99 percent of the time. As an example, 95 percent of inbound email traffic was rejected, amounting to between 1.5 and 4 million messages per week. Of the 39,000 queries received by the Help Desk, 50 percent had been resolved in 24 hours (more detailed analysis of the nature of the problems reported would follow). 1,306 staff or students had attended training courses with an average feedback score of 5.2 on a scale of 6.0. MIS training and support had focussed on Agresso implementation but would now refocus to a broader portfolio. 28,000 AV support bookings had been processed, and bookings of the TV studio had increased by 66 percent. ResNet was available in 3,200 student residential rooms, with 60 percent of students subscribing to the Freewire service.

   Future work included creation of a second machine room, as part of mitigation of the vulnerabilities of the current network, further deployment of thin clients and IT densification, development of SAMIS to support implementation of the Common Assessment regulations, consolidation of Agresso and migration of central file services to a new filestore, offering long-term archiving.

3. HEFCE Capital Investment Programme 2008-2011
   

   The Director of Policy and Planning summarised proposals for use of the £25M of capital funding available for the period 2008 to 2011 (£23M from HEFCE and 10 percent matched funding from the University). Although there was scope for some virement between allocations for learning and teaching and for research, investment in the latter category could not fall below £5.8M.
   
   The proposals were for a decant building to enable the legacy of asbestos and the refurbishment backlog in buildings surrounding the Parade to be systematically addressed. This would account for approximately £17M. The balance of funding would be use for a major refurbishment programme of GTA space; upgrade of IT infrastructure, via the High Power Computing project and expansion of thin client facilities; and refurbishment of a number of research laboratories.

4. Procedure for Inquiring into Allegations of Misconduct in Research and Scholarship and Good Practice Guide for Research
   

   The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) introduced a draft procedure for inquiring into allegations of misconduct. This was substantially more streamlined than the current policy and sought to clarify the link with Disciplinary Procedures. The draft had been produced following consultations with the University Secretary and the Director of Human Resources. In parallel, the Addendum to the current policy had been turned into a separate, positive statement of good practice in research, of the kind increasingly requested by public sector research sponsors. D raft documents had been subject to internal consultation and would now be submitted via the Research Committee to Senate and then Council .

5. IT Acceptable Use Policy: Draft Revision
   

   The Director of Computing Services introduced a revised statement on use of IT facilities that sought to simplify and consolidate three separate existing policies, and update policy by reference to Web2 services. The statement took account of the revised Student Disciplinary Procedures and provided guidelines as an annexe. A glossary of technical terms would be also provided.

6. Draft Gender Equality Scheme: First Annual Report

   The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Developments) said that this draft report outlined progress made and issues raised during the first year of operation of the Gender Equality Scheme. Main headings including highlights/achievements, statistical analysis, new projects planned and further development of the GES. Work had begun on identification of priority areas for impact assessment of policies, practices etc, and the training that would be required.