Senate Minutes 9 March 2022

Minutes of the Meeting of the Cardiff University Senate held on Wednesday 9 March 2022 at 14:15, via Zoom

Attendance

In Attendance

Katy Dale (minutes), Hannah Darnley, Laura Davies, Dr Rob Davies, Rhodri Evans, Judith Fabian, Dr Rob French, Professor Claire Gorrara, Dr Julie Gwilliam, Michael Hampson, Tom Hay, Simon Horrocks [Min 959], Owain Huw [Min 959], Rashi Jain, Professor Wenguo Jiang, Dr Emma Kidd, Tony Lancaster [Min 959], Professor Andrew Lawrence, Dr Stephen Lynch, Paola Messner [Min 959], Sue Midha, Dr Joanna Newman, TJ Rawlinson, Dr Andrew Roberts, Ruth Robertson, Claire Sanders, Professor Phil Stephens, Professor Jason Tucker, Simon Wright (Secretary), Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Darren Xiberras, Pat Younge

951 Welcome and Introductions

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, especially the Council members attending as observers. It was noted the meeting would be recorded to assist with production of the attendance list and minutes.

952 Apologies for Absence

Noted

952.1               that apologies received would be recorded in the Minutes.

953 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

953.1               that no member disclosed any interests.

954 Minutes of Previous Meeting

Noted

954.1                that a proposed amendment had been received in relation to minute 939.5; a query had been raised in relation to whether Professor Dinesh Bhugra’s review of progress would be publicly issued; it was confirmed the report was already available on the University intranet and it would be published on the University’s public webpages on 10th March, following translation.

Resolved

954.2                to amend minute 939.5 of the previous meeting to include the query regarding whether Professor Dinesh Bhugra’s review of progress would be publicly issued;

954.3               to confirm to Senate when Professor’s Bhugra’s report was publicly available;

954.4                to approve the minutes of the meeting of Senate on 10 November 2021 subject to the above amendment.

955 Matters Arising

Noted

955.1               that in relation to the tragic student suicide reported at the last meeting (Minute 948.1), the Coroner’s report and the University’s response had been published; the University had communicated with the family; and a review of in-year resits had been undertaken and would be reported to Senate under minute 961 [Academic Standards and Quality Committee Report to Senate].

956 Items from the Chair

Noted

956.1               that Senate members had been issued with the job and person specification for the Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation & Enterprise; a number of comments had been received from Senate members and some amendments made in response.

956.2               that no items had been approved by Chair’s Action since the last meeting.

957 Constitution and Membership of Sub-Committees of Senate (Education and Student Experience Committee)

Noted and received paper 21/239R, ‘Education and Student Experience Committee Constitution and Membership 2021-22’.

958 Report from the Vice Chancellor

Received paper 21/502C ‘Vice-Chancellor’s Report to Senate’. The Vice-Chancellor spoke to this item.

Noted

958.1               that in relation to the invasion of Ukraine, the Vice-Chancellor had issued an all-staff email on this matter on 7 March and informed Senate:

.1         that a vigil had been held on the morning of 9 March for the people of Ukraine and those affected by the invasion; this had been a very moving event;

.2         that it was currently believed at the University there were 63 students from Russia, 17 from Ukraine and 7 from Belarus and these students had been contacted to offer support;

.3         that any students affected by financial hardship would be able to apply for financial support, while the University offered a range of other support through its Student Life services; the University was also looking into accommodation support for students who may be unable to return home at the end of the academic year; this support would be available to all students impacted by the war and the University would not discriminate based on where students came from;

.4          the University was working with the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA);

.5          the University was also looking to support students who would be unable to continue their studies in Ukraine; this was reliant on other bodies (e.g. UK Government) to allow individuals and refugees to come to the UK and Wales;

.6         the University was applying to become a University of Sanctuary and had taken steps to commence the application process before the current crisis;

.7         that there were varied and contrasting suggestions in relation to what academics should be boycotting and UEB would be taking a view on this in a sector wide context, taking account of freedom of speech and equality of opportunity;

958.2               that the University would take forward Professor Bhugra's recommendation on learning from the work around sex and gender and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor would consider the possibility of external group(s) monitoring development in this area;

958.3               that the increase in disclosures of violence, abuse and sexual violence may be due to an increase in incidents during the pandemic but was also likely to be due to increased reporting following the public and publicised University commitment to addressing violence and abuse; the University would continue to monitor and analyse these data and the Vice Chancellor would report back to Senate with further information at the next meeting.

959 A Strategic Approach to Online Provision at Cardiff

Received paper 21/501 ‘A Strategic Approach to Online Provision at Cardiff’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Student Experience spoke to this item.

Noted

959.1               that the paper was presented to Senate as a discussion piece and to help develop a future strategic direction for the University in this area;

959.2               that due to the pandemic, there had been a growth in the global online learning market, through OPM companies (Online programme management) and MOOCs (massive open online courses); a number of universities had been increasing their online provision and the pandemic had allowed this to be done at speed;

959.3               that there had been a number of benefits from blended learning provided during the pandemic and it was important to maintain these benefits;

959.4               that the University had a small number of fully online programmes (21 PGT); the University had also been a founding strategic partner in FutureLearn and offered 14 short course via this platform with more than 112,000 enrolments;

959.5               that the University was also considering microcredentials (small and short-term pieces of learning similar to a module);

959.6               that there were a number of drivers for change in this area including:

.1         building on the work undertaken during the pandemic;

.2         tapping into new markets and developing existing ones; there was also potential for additional revenue or diversification;

.3         the ability to align this work with the University’s strategy to widen participation and sustainability and the potential opportunities for developing flexible CPD provision;

.4         that there was a risk the University would be left behind in this area;

959.7               the short-term work focussed on reviewing the current and possible new partners and platforms to develop the University’s online presence within existing relationships;

959.8               that longer-term work centred on developing the University’s strategy in this area and creating a portfolio of “stackable” courses or credentials, with the possibility of areas of provision being fully online; this would build in areas where there was capacity and appetite and was not seen as a linear process, meaning individual schools and disciplines could develop as they felt appropriate;

959.9               that there would be a need to develop a suitable quality assurance (QA) process for any online provision; there were a number of resources available to support this area;

959.10             that the University had not considered franchising its online provision at this stage; there were opportunities for possible collaboration in some areas (e.g. with Welsh Government around Welsh medium);

959.11             that the University was keen to ensure that capacity was considered when developing any online provision; there were a number of providers who could support the University in this work (e.g. managing admissions or recruitment to online courses) and also an option to develop this in-house;

959.12             that it was important to review whether online provision would be fully online or a blend of online and in-person and to assess the impact this would have on students and staff; there was an opportunity for the University to determine where on the spectrum of fully online, hybrid and blended, it wished to sit for different activities;

959.13             that a digital learning review was being undertaken, which had included a pilot of a new version of Blackboard which had received some very positive feedback; it was hoped that full roll-out would take place in 2023;

959.14             that the aim of developing a strategy for online provision was to ensure the University continued to develop its learning and teaching provision to anticipate the changing needs of students and of teaching staff, rather than solely to provide a new income stream;

959.15             that it was important to review this alongside development of the University’s CPD work; it was noted that there was an initial focus on PGT short modules/courses and that funding from some external bodies (e.g. for medicine based courses) was now in smaller amounts and therefore offering flexibility and shorter courses was important to remain competitive;

959.16             that there would be a need to amend current structures to allow for a greater provision of online courses (e.g. changes to SIMS, Examining Board arrangements, time to approve courses etc.);

959.17             that there were opportunities to work with key international partners and the University’s strategic partnerships to grow this area; it was also important to consider the local demand for online provision;

959.18              that online provision could support widening participation and provide a route into higher education;

959.19             that online provision would sit alongside in-person provision as another way for students to study.

960 Education and Student Experience Committee Report to Senate

Received paper 21/503 ‘Education and Student Experience Committee Report to Senate’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Student Experience spoke to this item.

Noted

960.1               that this was the inaugural report to Senate from the Education and Student Experience Committee;

960.2               that the report included one item for approval; this related to a recommended change to the membership of the PGR Strategy Group, to increase the student representation from 1 to 3 members;

960.3               that the Committee had received an update on actions in relation to NSS and the enhanced monitoring in relation to NSS results; good progress has been made in relation to the institutional access plan and HEFCW had confirmed it was satisfied with the responses and plans submitted in the Autumn; an internal audit had been undertaken in relation to the management plans for NSS (especially at School & College level) and the report would be discussed at the Audit & Risk Committee on 16 March; there had been a recommendation to develop a clear monitoring and evaluation framework, specifying roles and responsibilities, for NSS activities and Senate would be updated on proposals following this audit;

960.4               the Committee had received a presentation on inclusive curriculum and an academic lead had been appointed for this area; a supporting framework for embedding inclusivity in curriculum and programme design had been suggested and proposals would be bought to Senate once developed;

960.5               that the Students’ Union had undertaken a number of actions in relation to student wellbeing and health following funding from HEFCW and these initiatives were welcomed;

Resolved

960.6               To approve the change to the Academic Management Regulations to include three postgraduate research students as members of the PGR Strategy Group.

961 Academic Standards and Quality Committee Report to Senate

Received paper 21/506 ‘Academic Standards and Quality Committee Report to Senate’. The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Student Experience spoke to this item.

Noted

961.1               that the paper requested approval of an oversubscription policy for the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences; Senate had previously approved policies for the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, and Healthcare Sciences;

961.2               that the paper requested Senate recommend to Council the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic year dates; the Committee had established provisional dates until the 2032/33 academic year and these would be bought to Senate for recommendation c.18 months in advance;

961.3               that the University had conducted a review of the use of in-year resits (i.e. those taken in the middle of a semester prior to the meeting of an Examining Board) following the publication of a Coroner’s report; Schools had been asked to confirm any programmes offering in-year resits, whether these had previously been formally approved or not, to allow all variations to be recorded and to ensure that all Schools undertaking in-year resits were following an appropriate protocol and results were shared in a timely and clear manner; the review was now complete and a number of in-year resits had been approved (e.g. where there was a clear need to do so), whilst those not meeting the criteria had been required to stop (a small number);

961.4               the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Student Experience had also commissioned a Task & Finish Group to review the language and tone used in transcripts and the communication of them to students in relation to their results; this was led by Professor Ann Taylor from the School of Medicine; the Task & Finish Group would report to ASQC, with recommendations implemented before the start of the 2022 summer Examining Boards;

961.5               the external examiners report for the 2020/21 academic year had affirmed that the academic standards of the University’s awards meet the requirements of the relevant national qualifications framework and that degree outcomes were valid and reliable; there were no significant issues of concerns raised;

961.6               a consultation would be held in relation to ‘subject’ and ‘programme’ External Examiners and the consequent requirement for all Schools to operate a two-tier Examining Board structure;

961.7               the Committee had also considered the emergent practice at several universities of appointing a Chief External Examiner for the institution to assist with the oversight of degree standards and to provide advice on the degree outcomes statement; ASQC was supportive of this idea and a role description will to be drafted and consideration given to how such a role could operate under the University’s current education governance structure;

961.8               a number of enhancements in relation to programme development were being taken forward including:

.1         ensuring regular reporting on Stage 1 approvals to Recruitment and Admissions Strategy Group (RASG) to ensure clarity on where proposals are in the process;

.2         developing Institutional Expectations for the design and structure of programmes, to provide a key point of reference when starting new programmes or substantially revising existing ones; it was noted this document would have been of benefit ahead of Schools commencing revalidation exercises as the resource had been provided after revalidation had started in some Schools;

.3         an Education Development Service was being developed to provide support to programme teams; this would be housed within the Learning and Teaching Academy and work closely with Schools;

961.9               that work had been undertaken in conjunction with Audit & Risk Committee and Council colleagues to produce an academic assurance framework which would map the academic quality system (as reported in the Annual Quality Report) against the assurances required to be provided to HEFCW; this would also outline the method and evidential base for the provision of annual assurance on academic quality and standards.

Resolved

961.10             to approve an oversubscription policy for the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences with immediate effect and any consequential amendments to the Admissions Regulations;

961.11             to recommend to Council approval of the academic year dates for 2022/23 and 2023/24.

962 Any Other Business

Noted

962.1               that Professor Kim Graham was attending her last meeting of Senate and thanks were extended from the Committee for all the work Professor Graham had done.

963 Items Received for Information

Senate noted the following papers:

• Paper 21/500HC Strategic Entities Update
• Paper 21/499 Cardiff University Press Annual Report
• Paper 21/498C Executive Summary – Recruitment and Admissions End of Cycle Report 2021
• Paper 21/353 Minutes of E&SEC 18 November 2021
• Paper 21/504 Minutes of E&SEC 26 January 2022
• Paper 21/507 Minutes of ASQC 8 February 2022