Senate Minutes 24 February 2021

Minutes of the meeting of the Cardiff University Senate held on Wednesday 24 February 2021, via videoconference

Attendance

In attendance

Katy Dale (Minutes), Hannah Darnley, Laura Davies, Rob Davies, Rhodri Evans, Professor Claire Gorrara, Rashi Jain, Professor Wenguo Jiang, Dr Emma Kidd, Tom Hay, Sue Midha,  Dr Jonathan Nicholls, TJ Rawlinson, Dr Andrew Roberts, Ruth Robertson, Professor Phil Stephens, Professor Jason Tucker, Professor Andrew Westwell, Martine Woodward, Rob Williams, Dr Liz Wren-Owens, Simon Wright (Secretary)

901 Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, especially the new Heads of School Professor Gill Bristow and Matt Walsh. It was noted the meeting would be recorded to assist with production of the attendance list and minutes.

902 Apologies for absence

Noted that apologies received would be recorded in the Minutes.

903 Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of Senate held on 11 November 2020 (paper 20/433) were confirmed as a true record.

904 Matters arising

Noted

904.1  that the University Executive Board was reviewing a letter from UCU requesting successful Academic Promotions are back-dated to August 2021.

905 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.

906 Report from the Vice Chancellor

Received paper 20/439 ‘Vice-Chancellor’s Report to Senate’. The Vice-Chancellor introduced the paper.

Noted

906.1 that Jonathan Nicholls had been appointed by the University to undertake the Governance Effectiveness Review and was observing this meeting, along with a number of other committee meetings; Jonathan would meet with Senate members on Council and separately with additional Senate members from a variety of staff groups;

906.2 that the University continued to review the date for resumption of face-to-face teaching and the coronavirus task force would undertake a further review at the time of the Welsh Government update expected around 12 March 2021;

906.3 that the University had successful issued a bond tap resulting in gross proceeds of £128.96m; Council had approved the bond tap, following advice from Finance & Resources Committee and Investment & Banking Sub-Committee;

906.4 that in relation to Academic Renewal, the University was consulting through College Boards and Schools and this was being driven by academic staff;

906.5 that it was expected existing process would be used to address most proposals or changes resulting from Academic Renewal, with consideration given by ASQC and Senate as required;

906.6 that it was suggested consultation with Boards of Studies would benefit the Academic Renewal programme;

906.7 it was noted the review of education governance was reviewing the reporting lines between Senate and Boards of Studies, clarifying how academic matters fed through school and University governance structures.

Resolved

906.8 for College Pro Vice-Chancellors and Heads of Schools to ensure proposals relating to Academic Renewal are subject to appropriate consultation within Schools, disciplines and Boards of Studies.

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

Received papers 20/442 ‘Report from Chair of Academic Standards and Quality Committee’ and 20/4433 ‘Minutes of ASQC 19 January 2021’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience introduced the paper.

Noted

907.1 that the paper provided an overview of key matters considered by ASQC at its meeting on 19 January 2021;

907.2 that there were no items for approval by Senate;

907.3 that in relation to COVID measures, a review of the support package had been undertaken and thanks were extended to the Students’ Union President and Vice-President Education for their input to this work; the students complaint procedure had also been adapted to ensure it was relevant to COVID-19 specific issues;

907.4 that preparations had begun for the 2021/22 academic session, despite the continuing uncertainty over restrictions; support and policies for digital learning were being developed, along with principles for digital assessments;

907.5 that feedback from taught external examiners for the 2019/20 session had been positive, and confirmed the actions taken in relation to industrial action and COVID-19 restrictions had safeguarded academic standards.

908 REF 2021 submission overview report

Received papers 20/441HC ‘REF 2021 Submission Overview Report’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise introduced the paper.

Noted

908.1 [Redacted]

908.2 [Redacted]

908.3 [Redacted]

908.4 [Redacted]

908.5 [Redacted]

908.6 [Redacted]

908.7 [Redacted]

908.8 [Redacted]

909 Policy Statement on Responsible Research Assessment

Received papers 20/421 ‘Policy Statement on Responsible Research Assessment’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise introduced the paper.

Noted

909.1 that this policy followed on from the University signing the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and was important in relation to setting standards around the use of DORA.

Resolved

909.2 to recommend to Council approval of the Policy Statement on Responsible Research Assessment.

910 Admissions 2020 End of Cycle Report

Received papers 20/434 ‘Admissions 2020 End of Cycle Report’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for International and Student Recruitment and College of Physical Sciences and Engineering introduced the paper.

Noted

910.1 that there had been a c.15% increase in applications, equating to around 10,000 additional applications; although this was positive, there had been a need to bring in extra resource to support admissions;

910.2 that Professor Allemann extended his thanks to all staff involved in the admissions process, who had worked together to deliver great outcomes under difficult circumstances;

910.3 that clearing had gone well, despite the complications of social distancing regulations;

910.4 that there had been a strong performance for recruitment of home students, especially from those in Wales, likely due to the restrictions on travelling and a desire to stay closer to home;

910.5 that there had not been a significant increase in those deferring their studies, as might have been expected;

910.6 that tariff had increased at Cardiff University and, whilst it was yet to be seen if this was reflected across the sector, it was most likely due to the higher grades awarded by teacher assessments;

910.7 that a change in demographics would mean there would be a larger number of 18-year-olds this year;

910.8  that recruitment of Postgraduate International students had not met target and was particularly impacted by the effects of the pandemic;

910.9 that there was support from the UK government in relation to visas for international students to allow them to come to the UK to study.

911 Cardiff University Press Annual Report

Received papers 20/435 ‘Cardiff University Press Annual Report’. The University Librarian introduced the paper.

Noted

911.1 that there continued to be healthy growth in the Press’s portfolio;

911.2 that some outputs from the Press would be included within the 2021 REF submission.

912 Strategic Partnership with University of Waikato

Received papers 20/436 ‘Strategic Partnership with University of Waikato’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for International and Student Recruitment and College of Physical Sciences and Engineering introduced the paper.

Noted

912.1 that the paper proposed a Strategic Partnership with the University of Waikato in New Zealand;

912.2 that it has a strong focus on teaching and student experience as well as research;

912.3 this was a pleasing development and reflected the ability for colleagues to work together even under the difficult circumstances of COVID-19;

912.4 that a mobility agreement had been signed between the two institutions in 2017 and Cardiff University remained the most popular destination for students from Waikato; a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between the two institutions to work towards a strategic partnership;

912.5 that there was support from the Welsh Government for this partnership;

912.6 that there is a high level of engagement and interaction between staff at both institutions;

912.7 that there were also links between Canterbury District Health in Christchurch and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
Resolved

912.8 to recommend to Council approval of the Strategic Partnership with the University of Waikato.

913 IHRA definition of anti-Semitism

Received papers 20/436 ‘IHRA definition of anti-Semitism’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences introduced the paper.

Noted

913.1 that the paper revolved around complex and emotive societal issues;

913.2 that the paper had been to a number of committees for collegiate and open discussion and was not intended to be a prescriptive document (“fait accompli”);

913.3 that the paper proposed adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of Antisemitism and the All-Party Parliamentary Group of British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia;

913.4 that preliminary discussions on adoption of a specific definition on anti-Semitism had been held at several University Executive Board meetings in 2020 and Professor Walford Davies had been tasked with bringing forward a paper on this and a prescribed definition of Islamophobia in his capacity as the University Executive Board member with responsibility for religion and belief;

913.5 that valuable discussion had been held at Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee and Governance Committee, and the paper had been revised following both meetings; EDI Committee had voted   to recommend the paper, but this had not been unanimous;

913.6 that the paper aimed to outline the wider context (legislative, social, political and institutional) of adopting the definitions and provide detail on the benefits and risks of adopting or not adopting the definitions;

913.7 that details of decisions taken by other Russell Group institutions in relation to this had been included in the paper; University College London (UCL) had recently voted to replace the IHRA definition with another definition which is yet to be defined, following an internal report from a working group on racism and prejudice;

913.8 the paper also included mapping of the IHRA definition against the University’s existing policies;

913.9 that an Equality Impact Assessment had been undertaken;

913.10 that adoption of the definitions would be a part of ensuring the University’s religious and ethnic groups felt safe and would be one tool among others to identify and address possible instances of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia;

913.11 that it was suggested progress on this item be paused to allow for further review and debate;

913.12 it was argued that the IHRA definition (through its examples) conflated critique of Israel with anti-Semitism and left little or no room for comment on Israel’s compliance with international law; it was further argued that the IHRA was a lobby group with no legal authority and that the definition was contrary to International law;

913.13 that the IHRA definition was not legally binding and when used would be interpreted to be consistent with the University’s statutory duties; it did not prevent legitimate criticism of Israel but may help to dissuade forms of anti-Semitism;

913.14 it was clarified that whilst the IHRA definition was broadly based on one previously offered by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, the IHRA definition had not been adopted by that body;

913.15 that it was important to remember the broader context of freedom of expression and that the University would be subject to scrutiny in this context given it is a public authority and the Human Rights Act 1998 was relevant;

913.16 that adoption of definitions for only two groups may suggest heightened protection over other religious and ethnic groups.

913.17 It was noted that it was important to debate and discuss these issues and show an awareness of the current sensitivities in these areas;

913.18 that there had been considerable pressure on English Universities to adopt the IHRA definition, but this was not the case in Wales;

913.19 that the Vice-Chancellor emphasised the support of the University for its Jewish staff, students and in the wider community.

Resolved

913.20 to pause progression on this item and recommend to Council there is further discussion and review.

914 Education and Students Sub-Strategy

Received paper 20/440C ‘Education and Students Sub-Strategy’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Student Experience introduced the paper.

Noted

914.1 that the sub-strategy had been recast in light of the Recast Way Forward and to take account of the impact of COVID-19;

914.2 that the revisions had been openly consulted on widely across the institution, and discussed at the previous Senate meeting;

914.3 that in light of COVID-19, inclusivity and the digital learning environment had been given more prominence in the strategy;

914.4 that a Student Success Plan was being developed, which would be a three-year change plan based on the strategy; that the hope was to share a first draft of the plan after Easter and the University was also reviewing the governance and leadership in this area;

914.5 that implementation of the strategy would be prioritised to ensure this does not place undue burden on staff workload.

915 Amendments to Ordinance 8

Received paper 20/456C ‘Amendment to Ordinance 8’. The University Secretary introduced the item.

Noted

915.1 that the updated Ordinance was presented to Senate to note the inclusion of the revised wording as agreed by Senate in June 2019;

915.2 that Senate members were usually included on recruitment panels and therefore involved with the process; it was not appropriate to include this within the Ordinance given it was an operational matter.

916 Research grants and contracts

Received and noted paper 20/438 ‘Research Grants’.

917 Any other business

Noted

917.1 that nominations were now being accepted for employee vacancies starting on 1st August 2021 across a number of Committees, including Senate.