Summary notes of the Executive Committee held on 28 July 2004
- Admission statistics as at end June 2004
Senior Assistant Registrar (Recruitment
and Admissions) summarised the admissions statistics for the period
ending June. It was not anticipated that there had been a significant
change in the overall situation since that date with respect to undergraduate
recruitment, but the picture for postgraduate recruitment was less
clear because of the increased variability of conversion rates.
Total Undergraduate (Home) applications were down by
2 percent compared to last year. This was minor, but national trends
of growth of applications in some disciplines, and decline in others,
indicated that the University might be exposed because of its restricted
academic portfolio. The differential impact of such trends would see
some degree programmes over-shooting their targets, whilst others
would under-shoot.
HND recruitment followed a slightly later timeframe,
and a number of applications were still under consideration, but it
was unlikely that the target of 201 would be met.
Total Undergraduate (Overseas) applications were up
by 14 percent, compared with 12 percent nationally. There had also
been an increase in the number of applicants deciding to accept an
offer firmly. Subject to further work by some departments to boost
recruitment, scope still existed to reach the University's overall
target for overseas students.
The target for HND recruitment had already been met,
but the Foundation Year was likely to under-recruit, with fewer applications
received this year, and fewer offers made.
Total applications for postgraduate taught courses
were down by 7 percent. Accepted offers stood at 482 for Home/EU applicants,
compared to an aggregated target of 525, and at 838 offers for Overseas
applicants, against a target of 401. Predicting actual take-up rates
was harder because of the uncertainty over what other offers applicants
may be holding, and the consequent variability in conversion rates.
Extrapolating last year's conversion rate of 25 percent would yield
470 overseas students, comfortably meeting the University's target;
a more typical conversion rate of 22 percent would, however, yield
only 414 students, just above the target.
Postgraduate research degree application for Home/EU
students were slightly down, whilst those for Overseas students were
slightly up. Given that 66 offers had been accepted and only 27 responses
were still outstanding, it was unlikely that the aggregated departmental
target of 128 new research students would be achieved. A figure of
78 was more realistic, based on the number of acceptances and last
year's conversion rate.
The Committee made the point that there were in fact
two conversion rates: the rate at which applicants accepted offers
once made, and the rate at which applicants who had accepted offers
actually took up their places. It was the second that tended to cause
particular problems for departments: the total numbers of acceptances
could overshoot targets (with the associated risk of capacity constraints),
but the number of places taken up could under-shoot.
With respect to the Foundation Year, students progressing
to year 1 in the University had not been incorporated into targets
because, up until now, they had not been asked to identify the department
in which they wished to continue their studies (the exception being
the School of Management). The total number of students progressing
had, however, been factored into the estimates. The Director of Lifelong
Learning had called a meeting with the principals of the two FE feeder
colleges to discuss what action could be taken to increase the number
of applications. The same issue had already been discussed with the
four FE partners for the HND programme, and it had been agreed that
the programme should be put into the clearing system. This would be
managed carefully to minimize the impact on the University's brand,
with enquiries being directed to the Division for Lifelong Learning.
The Dean of Science suggested that the views of Admissions
Tutors be sought to complement the statistics produced by the Student
Recruitment and Admissions Office. The Dean also told the Committee
that her Faculty had adopted a practice of writing to the headteacher
of overseas feeder schools when a student recruited from a school
had performed well in his or her final examination. This offered a
way of cultivating direct links at relatively little cost in terms
of resources.
Agreed:
(i ) That the Director of Lifelong Learning would provide the Senior
Assistant Registrar (Recruitment and Admissions) with a programme
breakdown of the 98 FTEs allocated for Foundation Degrees.
(ii) That all Faculties/Schools should be encouraged to follow the
practice adopted by the faculty of Science.
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- Planning
(a) Annual Planning Cycle and Institutional Framework
for Planning in 2004/05
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor presented a series of documents
that would form the basis of the proposed new annual planning cycle.
These had been drafted following extensive discussions at the Strategic
Planning Group, the Monday Morning Management Group, and with members
of the Committee. The key objective was to put in place a more systematic
approach to planning across the University, and to bring forward the
entire process, so as to reduce the reliance on uncertain predictions
and to enable the initial financial estimates to be produced at an
earlier point in the year. The Vice-Chancellor added that the integrative
aspect of the proposed cycle was crucial: Council, Senate, the Lay
Retreat and the Heads of Department Retreat would all have an important
role to play in the development of plans at both departmental and
institutional levels. It was also crucial for the process to be truly
comprehensive, in terms of the range of factors considered, and for
there to be clarity about the flow of information through the various
stages of the process.
The Committee made the following points:
- Although a range of key institutional strategies
would naturally inform the Framework produced by the Strategic Planning
Group at the beginning of each cycle, it might be worthwhile to make
more explicit reference to some of these in the planning documentation,
an example being the recruitment strategy.
- Review of progress against goals for departments,
and departmental discussions about the content of planning templates,
should be viewed as an ongoing process, culminating in the submission
of completed templates in mid-October.
- Deans were involved in the process at multiple
points: as members of the Strategic Planning Group and the Executive
Committee, as participants in the Lay and Heads of Department Retreats,
and within their own Faculty or School.
- The role of the Senate in the planning cycle,
particularly in relation to programme approvals, would be made more
explicit.
- Release of resources for staffing would depend
very much on an analysis of the level of activity and the trajectory
of the unit concerned, within the context of the overall institutional
position, and according to the annual timeframe of the cycle. Clear
evidence of the potential for rapid and sustainable growth could result
in the release of resources at an earlier point in the cycle.
- Briefing on the annual planning cycle should be
a key part of the induction programme for new Heads of Department.
Agreed: That the process could be approved for implementation
with effect from the 2004/05 academic year.
(b) University Mission and Vision Statement
The Committee considered a recommendation from the Strategic
Planning Group that the University Vision statement be amended to make
explicit reference to the importance of knowledge transfer.
Agreed: That the Vision Statement be amended to read:
"The University of Bath sees itself as an
internationally renowned research University, delivering high quality
teaching in an innovative learning environment, promoting
excellence in knowledge transfer, and attracting eminent scholars
and outstanding students from a global recruitment market."
- Departmental Reviews
On the basis of discussion at the last meeting of the
Committee, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor argued that the current cycle
of quinquennial departmental review was not responsive to the University's
strategic needs, and had been supplanted by the new annual planning
cycle, at least with respect to the review of performance against
targets. It was therefore proposed that, henceforth, departmental
reviews would be commissioned only when there was a specific strategic
issue, or set of issues, that needed to be addressed, as might prompted
by internal or external forces acting on a department. Conversely,
a department that was performing well against its targets, and operating
in a relatively stable environment, ought not be subject to a review
that merely followed a quinquennial timetable. This would be both
unnecessary and an ineffective use of resources.
Agreed: That the existing
departmental review process should be abolished, to be replaced by
a mechanism in which the Strategic Planning Group would recommend
the Executive Committee that a review for a particular department
take place as and when required.
- Investigation into fire in 1 South
The Dean of Science gave a report on a fire that had
occurred in the Department of Chemistry (building 1 South) on Sunday
11 July. Insurance assessors had visited the building on 27 July,
and had indicated that an external forensic expert would be appointed
to investigate the fire on behalf of the insurers.
Agreed:
(i) That a final report on the incident from the Safety, Health and
Environment Unit should be approved by the Health and Safety Committee.
(ii) That the Health and Safety Committee should review the reporting
procedures for such incidents, with input from other bodies as necessary,
to ensure that they were appropriate and effective.
The following items were received without comment:
Notes of the Faculty of Science Executive: 8 June 2004
Notes of the Faculty of Engineering and Design Executive
Committee: 22 June 2004
Notes of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Heads of Department Committee: 28 June 2004
Notes of the Research Committee: 14 June 2004
Notes of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Committee: 17
June 2004
Notes of the SENDA Project Management Team: 29 June 2004
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