Summary notes of the Executive Committee held on 31 March 2004
- Headship of the School for Health
The Vice-Chancellor opened the meeting by welcoming
Professor Peter Redfern, in his new capacity as Acting Head of the
School for Health.
- Executive Policy Statement 5: Appraisal of Professors
and Heads of Department
The Director of Human Resources reported that the following
form of words had been agreed with the Dean of Science: "If thought
appropriate the Faculty Dean might also attend the interview, where
it is felt that this would benefit the appraisal process."
The other Deans concurred with this approach.
Agreed: That EP5 should
be amended as described, and then circulated to Deans.
- Emersons Green Science Park
It had been announced that HM Treasury would be allocating
SWRDA an initial £30M, to enable purchase of 30 acres of land
and the construction of a Science Park at Emersons Green. This would
include an Innovation Centre of 50,000 square feet for use by Bath,
Bristol and UWE; 15,000 square feet would be given to the three HEIs
as a 'free gift', with the remainder being funded by other means.
There were strong indications that HM Treasury would allocate an additional
£300K of earmarked funding from the Genomics Initiative in order
to provide for a bioincubator facility. This would map onto the R&D
activity of the National Blood Centre, which was likely to be the
anchor tenant for the rest of the site, and flag the general bioscience
slant of the project.
The Vice-Chancellor said that this was an important and exciting development,
with enormous potential for the University.
Agreed: That Dr Smith should
inform colleagues in Biology and Biochemistry about possible research
opportunities in genomics.
- Report of the Working Group on the Future Academic Shape of the University:
Next Steps
In light of the discussion of the FASU Working Group
report at the last Executive Committee and subsequently at Senate,
the Vice-Chancellor sketched out a number of priorities for the University
over the next 3 to 5 years; identified those areas of University activity
where change would be required to address these priorities; and outlined
the ways in which this change could be effected. The areas where there
would be no need for change - other than to intensify support for
the key priorities - were also identified.
A full statement of the Vice-Chancellor's
proposals would be circulated after the meeting.
Agreed:
(i) That, subject to final discussion at the Lay Retreat, the statement
should be communicated in a systematic and continuous manner to the
whole University community.
(ii) That the Strategic Planning Group, reporting to the Vice-Chancellor
through the Executive Committee, would initiate, progress and monitor
the required programme of change management. Consideration would be
given to securing external professional expertise in change management.
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- Strategic Plan for Research
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) reported that there
had been a significant number of responses to the draft Strategic
Plan for Research put out for consultation, and that most were broadly
supportive. A revised and reformatted Plan had now produced, incorporating
the responses, some of the recommendations made by the FASU Working
Group, and listing a series of prioritised objectives for each strategic
aim - with the lead person/group and timescale identified. It was
accepted that more work was needed to specify the lead person/group
for some objectives, especially with regard to the differing but complementary
roles of the Research Committee and the Strategic Planning Group.
In addition to proposing a number of amendments, the
Committee suggested that implementation of the plan could be assisted
by further discrimination of priorities, if at all possible, and by
identifying 'islands of progress' along the way.
Agreed:
(i) That the Strategic Plan for Research could be approved.
(ii) That the Plan should be reduced down to two or three key points,
in which the 'double hurdle' character was made more explicit, and
then promulgated throughout the University. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(Research) and the Director of Marketing and Communications would
consult about how best to achieve this.
(iii) That copies of the Plan should be included in the Further Particulars
sent to candidates for academic posts.
- Media Strategy
The Director of Marketing and Communications presented
a draft Media Strategy that aimed to achieve the corporate objective
of promoting the external profile of the University, at national and
international levels, and with key external stakeholders. This strategy
defined key messages and audiences, especially those linked to specific
activities and/or projects; outlined proposals for co-ordinating media
output/comment and for maximising the impact of messages; and set out
targets and methods of evaluation to be employed by the Press Office.
Specific elements of the Strategy included:
- A structure of co-ordination covering academic staff,
Heads of Department, senior University managers and the Press Office.
- Support from the Press Office during emergencies.
- A procedure that would enable the Press Office to capture
full information about new research grants, the progress of research
and on research outputs.
- A programme of media training for at least 40 researchers
and for senior and middle managers.
- A directory of media expertise in the form of a searchable
online database.
Agreed: That the draft media
strategy could be approved. The Director of Marketing and Communications
would consult with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and
the Head of the School for Health about devising a suitable form of
words for delineating the boundary between the proper institutional
control of media output/comment and the legitimate exercise of academic
freedom.
- Strategic Plan for the Department of Sports Development
and Recreation
The Director of Sports Development and Recreation presented
a Strategy Plan based on an integrated, multi-sport organisation offering
facilities, services and education to the University and in the local,
regional, national and international arenas. Ten strategic aims, supported
by more detailed objectives, were outlined in the period up until 2008.
These included:
- The integration of all partners in sports delivery
across the participation-performance spectrum.
- The growth of, and continued raising of standards
in, sports-related education within the University and wider community.
- The development of a genuinely multidisciplinary,
evidence-based approach, flowing from the concept of 'wellness'.
Agreed:
(i) That the Strategic Plan could be approved, subject to further
elucidation of the links between sports development and academic sport,
and some presentational redrafting.
(ii) That the possible implications of the Strategic Plan for the
University estate should be drawn to the attention of the campus masterplanning
group.
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- Personal Development Plans
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) reminded
the Committee that the University was obliged to provide students
with progress files comprising a Personal Development Plan (PDP) and
a Transcript. A proposal previously put before the Committee to adopt
the ePARS system as a means of generating PDPs had been deferred because
of concerns voiced about its technical compatibility with the University
IT network. Since then, the PDP specification had been refined and
various systems for facilitating PDPs had been reviewed. It was clear
from this review that the paper-based systems piloted in a number
of departments had failed and that a cost-effective electronic system
was therefore needed. As ePARS was still regarded as technically problematic,
and development of a bespoke system based on Blackboard would be very
time consuming, another option had been identified: a package offered
by UniServity. This company was working on PDP platforms with other
HEIs and their system appeared to meet our specification and be compatible
with the University IT network.
The Director of IT believed that adoption of the UniServity
system was not expected to create any insurmountable technical problems;
building links with UniServity might also yield more general benefits
for the University.
Agreed: That the UniServity
system should be adopted to facilitate PDPs within the University.
It was important for this system to be fully applicable to the needs
of postgraduate students. The University, not the Students' Union,
would hold the contract with UniServity.
- Sports Management Board: Revised terms of Reference
and Membership
Revised terms of reference and memberships were put
forward reflecting recent developments in the scope and organisation
of sport at the University. A sharper focus was proposed for the Board's
activity, concentrating on integration of University strategy with
that at national and local levels, more effective communication with
key user groups, and proactive fund-raising. External representation
would be reduced, but with increased scope for co-optation.
Agreed: That the revised
terms of reference and membership could be approved.
The following items were noted without comment:
Revised Business Plan for Innovation Centres
Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Notes of the Science Faculty Executive: 12 February and
4 March 2004
Notes of the Faculty of Engineering and Design Executive:
3 February 2004
Notes of the Research Committee: 8 March 2004
Notes of the 5 West Level 1 Management Committee: 12 February
2004
Notes of the Sports Committee: 24 October 2003 and 27
February 2004
Notes of the Arts Committee: 10 February 2004
MSD
18.03.04
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