University Executive Board minutes - 13 December 2022

On

Date:

13 December 2022

Present:

Professor K Lamberts (KL) (in the Chair), Professor J Derrick (JD), Professor S Fitzmaurice (SF), Professor S Hartley (SH), Professor G Jewell (GJ), J Jones (JJ), Professor J Litster (JL), R Sykes (RS), Professor G Valentine (GV), Professor M Vincent (MV), Professor C Watkins (CW), I Wright (IW)

In attendance:

J Strachan (JS), T Wray (TW)

Apologies:

Professor A Blom (AB)

Secretary:

K Sullivan

  1. Management and Governance arrangements for apprenticeship provision

    • UEB received an update on the recruitment of a new Director of Apprenticeships / Compliance and new oversight/governance arrangements for apprenticeship provision.
    • There had been a lot of interest in the Director of Apprenticeships / Compliance position, which had already been advertised; interviews were planned for January 2023.  It was clarified that the role would sit in APSE and would provide the core of a hub and spoke system, with two defined spokes into the Health Sciences and the AMRC Training Centre. Opportunities for further spokes would be explored by the central team.
    • To ensure appropriate continued oversight, the Senate Education Committee had recently reviewed the membership of its Apprenticeship Education Oversight Group. This group would continue to oversee the quality and compliance of apprenticeships, working with the Apprenticeship Operations Group (AOG) to ensure that internal and external requirements, including ESFA and Ofsted, were adhered to. It would also advise faculties on the making of recommendations on the approval of new, significantly amended or discontinued Apprenticeship Education programmes.

  2. Report of the UEB Sustainability Steering Sub-Group

    • UEB considered and approved the report of the UEB Sustainability Sub-Group. During discussion the following was highlighted:

      • Corporate Risk - Recognising the level of risk in the University meeting its net zero targets, a new sustainability risk had been agreed with the Risk Review Group and added to the Corporate Risk Register; a key factor in managing the risk was open, transparent and honest communication with staff and students about our progress.

      • Communications – New staff and student sustainability hub webpages had been launched. These collated various sustainability-related content from across the organisation into one place for ease of access and to highlight the breadth and depth of sustainability at Sheffield.

      • Decarbonisation Strategy – The Group had considered progress and next steps in relation to the Decarbonisation Strategy, currently being developed by EFM and ARUP. The strategy would provide an outline plan for decarbonising our estate.

      • Rankings Update - The Group had considered an update on the submission of THE Impact Rankings data, which was now complete. The University had submitted to all 17 of the SDG rankings. This was the first year the University had submitted to these rankings and it had been a significant piece of work. An update was also given on the 2023 People and Planet University League rankings. These rankings were generated from desk-based research by People and Planet and the University would be ranked regardless of whether or not it engaged with the process. The University had been working hard to address areas identified through the previous year’s league table, when it was ranked 60th place. However, the methodology and marking could be changeable, and there was no guarantee that the work undertaken would lead to an improved ranking. A comms plan and action plan would be produced to sit alongside the ranking once published.

  3. Report of the UEB International Steering Group

    • UEB considered and approved the report of the UEB International Steering Group. Specifically, following discussion, UEB:

      • Approved the revised Terms of Reference.
      • Approve an additional principle on the University’s approach to institutional-level strategic partnerships.
      • Noted the additional work on a review of international-level strategic partnerships and the international partnership ambitions in the faculties’ five-year plans.

  4. Report of the UEB One University Mental Health Strategy Group

    • UEB considered and approved the report of the UEB One University Mental Health Strategy Group. During discussion, it was highlighted that the self-assessment submission document for the Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter had been submitted in October 2022, making the University one of the first to make its submission.

    • Specifically, UEB:

      • Noted the work to develop the self-assessment submission document for the Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter and its submission.
      • Note that the Terms of Reference for the UEB One University Mental Health Strategy Group were unchanged from the previous year.
      • Noted the work in response to new Universities UK guidance on trusted contacts.