University Executive Board minutes - 16 August 2022

On

Date:

16 August 2022

Present:

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

In attendance:

T Wray (TW);  D Lodge (DL) (item 3)

Apologies:

Professor S Hartley (SH), Professor D Petley (DNP)

Secretary:

D T Swinn (DS)

  1. Closed Minute

  2. Closed Minute and Paper

  3. Proposed additional support for PGRs

    • (DL in attendance for this item)

    • UEB considered an update following UKRI having indicated that it was considering a one-payment to its funded PGR students to mitigate cost of living increases. UEB discussed a range of options and a recommended course of action with respect to the University’s PGR students who were funded from other sources, noting the information and data upon which the scenarios were based and the means by which any support could be funded.

    • Clarification was provided that the expected additional UKRI payment was non-recurrent and the increase in UKRI stipends for the following academic year was relatively modest. UEB recognised that the increased cost of living was also a cause for concern for all students, with particular challenges for those on longer courses, such as medical students, which should be taken into account in considering the approach to PGRs.

    • UEB agreed that it was appropriate to adopt an approach whereby a given funder was deemed responsible for providing additional funding to its funded students. As such, UEB agreed to adopt scenario B, as set out in the related paper, and to provide an additional payment at the same level as any UKRI payment, for both UKRI match funded and University own-funded students. In recognition of the broader cost of living challenges faced by all groups of students and pending any future government action to alleviate the impact of the crisis on students, UEB also agreed to further develop the institutional packages of student support available, and to receive proposals and recommendations in this regard in due course.

  4. Closed Minute and Paper

  5. Closed Minute and Paper

  6. Closed Minute and Paper

  7. Round Table

    • Anchor Institutions: KL reported on a recent positive meeting with SCC and SHU to discuss updates and progress on a number of key initiatives, including Sheffield’s bid to host Eurovision, the listing of the John Lewis building, Castlegate, and the Harmony Works cultural project.
    • Industrial Relations: IW reported that UCU had written to inform the University that it was now in formal dispute over the 2022 national pay settlement, as well as USS. It was noted that the campus unions had recommended that their members accept the University’s changes to grade boundaries. Members also noted an update on the unions’ plans to ballot their membership and the likely timescales.
    • Financial Forecasting: JJ provided an update on plans to further develop the University’s financial forecasting processes.