Senate Minutes 11 November 2020

Minutes of the Meeting of the Cardiff University Senate held on Wednesday 11 November 2020, via videoconference.

Attendance

In attendance

Katy Dale (Minutes), Hannah Darnley, Rob Davies, Rhodri Evans, Dr Rob Gossedge, Dr Julie Gwilliam, Rashi Jain, Professor Martin Jephcote, Professor Wenguo Jiang, Dr Emma Kidd, Sue Midha, Emily Pemberton (minute 896), TJ Rawlinson, Melanie Rimmer, Dr Andrew Roberts, Claire Sanders, Professor Phil Stephens, Professor Jason Tucker, Professor Andrew Westwell, Dr Huw Williams (minute 896), Simon Wright (Secretary)

878 Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, especially new members and sabbatical officers. It was noted the meeting would be recorded to assist with production of the attendance list and minutes.

879 Apologies for absence

NOTED that apologies received would be recorded in the Minutes.

880 Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of Senate held on 17 June 2020 (paper 19/830) were confirmed as a true record.

881 Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

882 Declaration of interests

The Chair reminded members of their requirement to disclose any direct or indirect interests which could influence their judgement. Disclosure of interests should be made before an item was discussed and the individual concerned should either withdraw from the meeting or not take part in the discussion, as appropriate for that part of the agenda.

NOTED that no member disclosed any interests.

883 Constitution and membership 2020-21

Received paper 20/190 ‘Constitution and Membership 2020-21’. The Vice-Chancellor introduced the paper.

Noted

883.1  that the number of meetings per year was not prescribed and that Ordinance 11 provided the possibility to call a special or extraordinary meeting of Senate.

884 Report from the Vice Chancellor

Received paper 20/191 ‘Vice-Chancellor’s Report to Senate’. The Vice-Chancellor introduced the paper.

Noted

884.1  that Claire Morgan and Professor Ian Weeks were welcomed in their substantive roles as Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience and Pro Vice-Chancellor Biomedical and Life Sciences respectively;

884.2 that the figures for percentage of recruitment target achieved contained in Appendix A of the report had improved slightly since the report had been issued: international undergraduate figures (IUG) had moved to 64% (from 49% reported) and international postgraduate taught (PGT) had moved to 59% (from 21% reported);

884.3 that students continued to apply for remote study and there remained uncertainty over final student numbers due to a number of programmes commencing in November.

885 COVID-19 update

Received paper 20/205HC ‘COVID-19 Briefing’. The Vice-Chancellor introduced the paper.

Noted

885.1 [Redacted]

885.2 [Redacted]

885.3 [Redacted]

885.4 [Redacted]

885.5 [Redacted]

885.6 [Redacted]

885.7 [Redacted]

886 Report from the Chair of Academic Standards and Quality Committee (ASQC)

Received papers 20/192 ‘Report from Chair of ASQC’ and 20/193 ‘Minutes of ASQC Meeting 14 Oct 2020’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

886.1 that a number of items discussed at the last meeting of ASQC are included as substantive items within the agenda;

886.2 that Senate was asked to approve the Monitoring and Review Policy; the Policy would not change any individual procedures but summarised the purpose of the procedures in an overarching policy document which outlined the approach to monitoring and review;

886.3 that changes to policies, introduced as a result of COVID-19 disruption and approved by ASQC, were detailed in the report.

Resolved

886.4 to approve the Monitoring and Review Policy.

887 Annual report from the Academic Promotions Committee

Received papers 20/194C ‘Academic Promotions Annual Report 2019-20’. Professor Karen Holford introduced the paper.

Noted

887.1 that there had been an increase in numbers receiving academic promotions from the teaching and scholarship route; this was pleasing due to the large amount of work undertaken to support those in this career path;

887.2 that a number of actions were being taken to address the results around gender and race;

887.3 that the call for applications had been postponed, and that it was intended to run the programme this academic year; individuals were encouraged to continue work on their applications.

888 Mock REF submission

Received papers 20/195HC ‘Mock REF Submission’. Professor Kim Graham introduced the paper.

Noted

888.1 [Redacted]

888.2 [Redacted]

888.3 [Redacted]

888.4 [Redacted]

888.5 [Redacted]

889 URI review

Received papers 20/196HC ‘URI Review’. Professor Kim Graham introduced the paper.

Noted

889.1 [Redacted]

889.2 [Redacted]

889.3 [Redacted]

889.4 [Redacted]

889.5 [Redacted]

Resolved

889.6 to endorse the recommendations for proposed changes to the University’s future strategic entities portfolio.

890 Academic renewal

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor delivered a presentation on academic renewal.

Noted

890.1 that the presentation provided an update to Senate on activity underway to deliver the ambitions of the Recast Way Forward strategy and to address long term academic and financial sustainability;

890.2 that co-creation and collaboration will be at the heart of this work;

890.3 that this programme will be delivered through the existing organisational structures of the University, overseen by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor;

890.4 that the critical success factors of the Recast Way Forward will enable the University to focus on core outcomes;

890.5 the need to ensure academic and financial sustainability go hand in hand;

890.6 that the programme will be academic led and aim to address complex  issues inducing workload, quality, and student experience;

890.7 that despite the challenging circumstances, there have been some positive lessons as a result of COVID-19 that will impact on ways of working going forward (e.g., being agile and collaborative);

890.8 that the Deputy Vice-Chancellor expressed her thanks to all staff for the delivery of a high-quality provision for students during the current challenging times;

890.9 that a number of initial areas for review were proposed;

890.10 that Senate will be kept updated of the work progressing in this area.

891 Way Forward update - Education and Students Sub-Strategy

Claire Morgan provided a verbal update on the update to the Education & Students Sub-Strategy of the Recast Way Forward.

Noted

891.1 that the current Education and Students sub-strategy was approved in 2018 and under current circumstances it was appropriate and timely to refocus and refresh it;

891.2 that the University had received a successful outcome to its QER review, which provided a strong platform to build on;

891.3 that HEFCW were monitoring outcomes of some areas of the NSS to ensure improvement;

891.4 that a draft strategy had been created on which consultation is taking place, including with students;

891.5 that the aim was for a strategy with clear priorities and deliverables;

891.6 that governance around delivery of the strategy was also being examined;

891.7 that some priority enhancement areas identified included the student voice, digital education and academic CPD;

891.8 that the revised strategy should be ambitious, but show awareness of current performance;

891.9 that a revised strategy would be brought to Senate in 2021 for endorsement.

892 Education Governance

Received paper 20/200 ‘Education Governance’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

892.1 that the University was consulting on a review of current education governance arrangements;

892.2 that current arrangements were complex and that it would be beneficial to simplify them;

892.3 that a key outcome would be the formation of a single clear governance structure for education, so that decision making, reporting and delivery of key items could all be clearly tracked;

892.4 that current proposals were for one overarching Education & Student Experience Committee which would report to Senate and capture all thematic sub-groups and sub-committees beneath it;

892.5 that further consultation would be undertaken and an update on proposals brought to Senate.

893 Annual Quality Report

Received paper 20/197 ‘Annual Quality Report 2019-20’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

893.1 that this report is a regulatory requirement and covers the 2019/20 academic year;

893.2 that the report enables Council to provide assurance to HEFCW that the University appropriately sets and maintains academic standards and systematically monitors and evaluates teaching and learning;

893.3 that two key issues are identified for improvement:

1. the decline in student experience in NSS results over the last 5 years has meant that the University is subject to increased monitoring by HEFCW and has plans in place to address these issues;
2. resourcing for student cases and response times; plans have been implemented but will not be fully embedded until the 2021/22 academic year;

893.4 that there had been an increase in the proportion of students receiving first class and good degrees in 2019/20 and that further work was being undertaken to understand the reasons for this increase;

893.5 the analysis of degree outcomes based on student characteristics confirms the awarding gap for black, Asian and minority ethnic students (which had been previously reported to Senate) and that the black, Asian and minority ethnic  Awarding Gap Group were developing an action plan to eradicate this gap in the longer term.

Resolved

893.6  to endorse the Annual Quality Report to Council for approval.

894 Degree Outcomes Statement

Received paper 20/199 ‘Degree Outcomes Statement’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

894.1 that the University is required to publish a Degrees Outcome Statement as specified by the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment (UKSCQA) Statement of Intent;

894.2 that the report presents data up to the 2018/19 academic year, the last year for which a review has been concluded.

Resolved

894.3 to endorse the Degree Outcomes Statement to Council for approval.

895 2019/20 Annual Statement on Research Integrity

Received paper 20/198 ‘Annual Statement on Research Integrity’. Professor Kim Graham introduced the paper.

Noted

895.1 that the paper outlines actions undertaken in this area during the previous academic year, as required in accordance with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity (the Concordat);

895.2 that the Terms of Reference and name of the University Research Integrity and Ethics Committee (‘URIEC’) were updated to ensure that ‘open research’ and ‘responsible metrics’ are appropriately captured;

895.3 that an element of work would be undertaken next year to review gaps in research approach and offer;

895.4 that Professor Graham extended her thanks to colleagues and staff involved with reviewing the University’s Research Ethics Procedures;

895.5  that a large amount of work had been undertaken in relation to undertaking human participating research during COVID-19.

Resolved

895.6  to endorse the Annual Statement on Research Integrity to Council for approval.

896 Welsh Language Strategy

Received paper 20/201 ‘Welsh Language Strategy’. Professor Damian Walford-Davies, Dr Huw Williams and Emily Pemberton introduced the paper.

Noted

896.1 that the strategy aimed to implement a holistic approach for a Welsh language campus which extended beyond the physical campus into the wider community and linked with the University’s strategy;

896.2 that the strategy had been widely consulted on and aimed to do more than just meet necessary regulatory requirements;

896.3 that the strategy was aimed at both staff and students;

896.4 that if approved, the strategy would be launched online early in 2021.

Resolved

896.5 strongly to endorse the Welsh Language Strategy to Council for approval.

897 Widening Participation Strategy

Received paper 20/202C ‘Widening Participation Strategy’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

897.1 that the paper proposed an updated widening participation strategy which replaced the one implemented in 2016;

897.2 that a group had been established with cross-university representation, including academic, student and professional services members;

897.3 that a number of stakeholder engagement events had been held to receive feedback on the proposed revised strategy;

897.4 that the revised strategy proposed a more holistic review of widening participation and gave greater attention to supporting students during their time at University, through to successful futures;

897.5 that the revised strategy aimed to add visibility to the black, Asian and minority ethnic awarding gap to give it prominence so it can be addressed;

897.6 that feedback is still being received and implemented into the proposed strategy, though any further changes would be minor;

897.7 that a delivery plan and governance structure is being developed;

897.8 that differential offers will be reviewed as part of the implementation stage;

897.9 that it would be of benefit to consult with further education colleges and healthcare professionals;

897.10 that the Head of the School of Law and Politics offered assistance in pilot schemes.

Resolved

897.11 subject to minor amendments noted above, to endorse the Widening Participation Strategy to Council for approval.

898 Students’ Union Relationship Agreement & Student Charter – 2020 annual review

Received paper 20/203 ‘Student Charter and Students’ Union Relationship Agreement 2019-20’. Claire Morgan introduced the paper.

Noted

898.1 that it was a regulatory requirement to produce both documents annually;

898.2 that these had been reviewed by both the incoming and outgoing sabbatical officers;

898.3 that minor changes as required from HEFCW and to update terminology had been included;

898.4 that the Students’ Union President expressed his thanks to all involved in the review process.

Resolved

898.5 to endorse the Student Charter and Students’ Union Relationship Agreement to Council for approval.

899 Research Grants and Contracts

Received and noted paper 20/204 ‘Research Grants and Contracts’.

900 Any other business

There was no other business.