University Executive Board minutes - 13 September 2022

On

Date:

13 September 2022

Present:

Professor K Lamberts (KL) (in the Chair), Professor J Derrick (JD), Professor S Hartley (SH), J Jones (JJ), Professor J Litster (JL), R Sykes (RS), Professor G Valentine (GV), Professor M Vincent (MV),

In attendance:

Dr T Strike (TS), I Wright (IW), H Morgan (items 3 and 4), Professor G Gee (item 4), M Marshall (items 5 and 6), A Carlile (item 5), M Nolan (item 6).

Apologies:

Professor S Fitzmaurice (SF), Professor C Newman (CN), Professor C Watkins (CW), T Wray (TW),

Secretary:

M Borland (MB)

  1. Minutes of UEB held on 3 May 2022

    • The Minutes were approved as an accurate record.

  2. Minutes of UEB held on 6 June 2022

    • The Minutes were approved as an accurate record.

  3. Overarching EDI Strategy

    • (H Morgan in attendance for this item)

    • UEB considered a paper which presented a final draft of the Overarching EDI Strategy. The paper included proposals for identifying delivery leadership for each of the core actions, the relationship between the Overarching Strategy and the individual EDI strategies, and proposed next steps.

    • During discussion, the following points were made:

      • The responsible stakeholders for the work stream on “Student progression and outcomes” were the Faculty Directors for One University working with the Faculty Directors for Learning and Teaching.

      • There was significant work to undertake on the estate, which would have an associated cost.

      • There was range of activity that would not require additional resources and could be undertaken by changing ways of working.

    • UEB endorsed the Overarching EDI Strategy and proposals for delivery as set out in the paper.

  4. LGBT+ Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan

    • (H Morgan and Professor G Gee in attendance for this item)

    • UEB considered a report which presented the final version of the LGBT+ Strategy and Action Plan for endorsement, and included the scope of the ambitions contained within it and resources required to deliver it. It included the proposed steps to be undertaken to move into the delivery phase of work and outlined plans for communicating with the wider University community.

    • During discussion the following points were made:

      • It was suggested to prioritise a small number of the actions for attention in the first year

      • It was clarified that third party frameworks had not been cited in the strategy because the document covered the short and long-term.

    • UEB:

      • ​​​​​​​Endorsed the LGBT+ Inclusion Action Plan, noting that detailed proposals associated with specific actions would be brought to UEB for consideration and approval throughout the delivery period.

      • Agreed to the plans set out in the report for moving into the delivery phase of the work and communicating the Strategy and Action Plan.

      • Agreed to undertake a wider review of the University’s policies and procedures when the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill became law.

  5. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Student Population – Online Delivery

    • ​​​​​​​(M Marshall and A Carlile in attendance for this item)

    • UEB considered a report which proposed work to define a set of strategic objectives for the online student population by 2026/7.

    • It was noted that a paper on short courses would be brought to a future meeting of UEB.

    • UEB approved:

      • ​​​​​​​The approach to develop strategic objectives for the size and shape of the online student population, the associated scope and timeline outlined in section 2 of the report.

      • The draft principles and assumptions to inform the work set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

  6. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Tracking NSS Performance

    • ​​​​​​​(M Marshall and M Nolan in attendance for this item)

    • UEB considered a paper which revisited how the NSS was managed internally, in the light of the OfS consultation on the format of the NSS, NSS results for a number of core questions forming a significant element of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) dataset, and the OfS’ steps to increase transparency around individual providers’ NSS performance.

    • During discussion, UEB welcomed the focus placed on departmental performance, in terms of overall satisfaction whilst taking account of cohort size.

    • UEB endorsed the proposed new approach, as set out in the paper.

  7. Car Parking Charges

    • ​​​​​​​This item was deferred to a future meeting of UEB.

  8. Round Table

    • ​​​​​​​Hybrid working survey: IW reported on a survey of HoDs regarding hybrid working, the details of which would be brought to a future UEB meeting.

    • Safety net: MV provided and update and reported that a paper would come to UEB and also to the Senate Learning and Teaching Committee in due course.

    • Queen’s funeral: KL reported that the Chancellor had been invited and accepted an invitation to attend. Communications regarding the additional bank holiday would be sent to all staff.

    • Party conferences: KL updated UEB on the University’s planned activity for the Conservative party and the Labour party conferences.

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