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Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council UNIVERSITY OF EXETER CNL/12/20 COUNCIL A meeting of the Council was held on Thursday 23 February 2012 at 2.00pm in the Council Chamber, Northcote House PRESENT: Pro-Chancellor, Mr K R Seal (Chair) Mr C J Allwood Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor N Armstrong Professor S A Banducci Dr S Buck Mr N Bull Mr M Choules Mr N Davis Professor K E Evans Ms J Hargadon Mr R M P Hughes Mr M Jordan Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor J M Kay Mr P Lacey Sir Robin Nicholson Ms B Rigg Professor S J Rippon Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Sir Steve Smith Lady Studholme IN ATTENDANCE: Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive, Mr D J Allen Director of Finance, Mr A Connolly Director of Human Resources, Mr S J C Cooper Chief Executive of the Students’ Guild, Mr J R A Hutchinson Executive Officer, Mrs E M James Director of Estate Development, Mr H McCann (in attendance for Minute 12.10) Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor M Overton Director of Campus Services, Mr G Pringle Deputy Registrar and Director of Academic Services, Ms M I Shoebridge Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor N J Talbot Dean of PCMD, Professor S Thornton (in attendance for Minute 12.04) Ms S Wilcox APOLOGIES: Dame Suzi Leather 12.01 Declarations of Interest Members NOTED the register of members’ interests in relation to the business of the agenda including standing declarations of interest 12.02 Minutes The minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2011 were CONFIRMED (CNL/11/130) as a correct record The Chair formally welcomed Andrew Connolly, Director of Finance from st February 2012 to his first Council meeting Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council 12.03 Matters Arising from the Minutes Council CONSIDERED matters as follows (CNL/12/1): MINUTE 11.108(a) CONFIDENCE) THOMAS HALL – FEASIBILITY PLANS (COMMERCIAL IN MINUTE 11.108(C) SCIENCE PARK (CONFIDENTIAL AND LEGALLY PRIVILEGED) MINUTE 11.108(f) UCU AND PAY NEGOTATIONS (COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE) GEOFFREY POPE PRIVILEGED) BUILDING (COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE AND LEGALLY FORUM PROGRESS Council RECEIVED an oral update from the Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive The Registrar and DCE REPORTED that we have had a lot of positive dialogue with Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) and as a result they have bypassed their regional structure for a senior national project manager to be assigned to the Forum project to ensure that the official opening date will be met One or two of the sub contractors are falling by the wayside due to the external financial climate SRM have strong contingencies in place to support the risks associated with sub-contractors Council AGREED that once complete, it will be an absolutely stunning and essential investment in the heart of the campus 12.04 University of Exeter Medical School (LEGALLY PRIVILEGED AND COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE) Professor Steve Thornton in attendance 12.05 Vice-Chancellor’s Report Council RECEIVED a report from the Vice-Chancellor (CNL/12/3), which covered the following topics: Announcements – David Allen, Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive had been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours List National Admissions – figures released from UCAS showed that the University of Exeter remained a first-choice destination for the best students Applications to study in 2012/13, the first year since the introduction of £9k tuition fees, are almost at the same level as last year, with an average of more than six students applying for each place HEFCE Grant Letter – HEFCE announed on February its funding decisions for higher education in England following the annual grant letter from BIS The announcement covered HEFCE funding for the academic year 2012-13 Exeter Spending Review and LEAN – the University has launched the Exeter Spending Review process Professor Neil Armstrong will be leading the review of planning and budgeting, with outcomes feeding into the planning for 2013/14 Research & Knowledge Transfer – Research Monitoring meetings are currently underway The University has already reached 60% of its target for research applications this year, at a value of £144m, compared with £125m worth of applications this time last year Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership Award – the BBSRC has awarded £4.2m to a new partnership to establish the South West as a centre for international excellence in training for bioscience and food security research The South West Doctoral training Partnership unites the Universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter and Rothamsted Research Green Grant – Exeter is one of only four universities to be awarded £1 million grant funding by HEFCE’s Revolving Green Fund, to be used to improve the carbon performance of Cornwall House through building fabric, lighting and renewable energy Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council London Film School Agreement – an agreement was signed on January by the Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive and the Chairman of the London Film School, Mike Leigh The alliance will enable the institutions to launch the new Exeter-London Film School Doctoral Programme Library Refurbishment Complete – all three original library floors in the Main Library have now been fully completed, with Level now re-opened In addition to the written report, the Vice-Chancellor drew attention to the following: (i) Sadly a student of ours, Zara Malone, died on Tuesday th February Professor Kay attended the funeral yesterday on behalf of the institution The University community was deeply saddened by Zara’s death The Vice-Chancellor has written to Zara’s parents with heartfelt condolences Council added its condolences (ii) The Vice-Chancellor is to hold 19 meetings in Colleges over the next weeks trying to take the pulse of the institution Having been away for two years with UUK, the ViceChancellor wanted to hear what is going on and to take lots of questions from colleagues (iii) The Vice-Chancellor is monitoring personally the situation of stress and wellbeing in the organisation We have noticed an increase in staff reporting absences for stress, anxiety and depression We are interested in what is going on and why we are getting this feedback The Vice-Chancellor met with our excellent Occupational Health advisors and will meet them again in the Summer to discuss issues Occupational Health’s preferred way forward is to train our managers to deal with workload issues and help staff to manage change It is about our managers being able to recognise stress and respond appropriately; we are running a two day course to assist them to develop essential skills We are sure that every organisation has this issue at the moment due to the uncertain climate, but we want to everything we can to support colleagues (iv) Paradoxically we feel that we are in a good position at Exeter Quite an important point is arising for us around the potential for growth and our ability to respond to the increasing demand from students We have the support of the City and County Council who are keen for us to grow Of the public sector cuts, only 6% have been implemented so far 12% of benefits cuts have taken effect so far 5000 jobs in Exeter are at risk according to the City’s estimate and growth at the University could replace the loss of GVA for the City Deans of the Colleges are supporting our desire to grow and can see the opportunity in growing AAB in different disciplines This does raise a question about the utilisation of St Luke’s; we will undertake an options appraisal to ensure facilities are utilised in the most effective way (v) The Registrar REPORTED on recent discussions with Further Education (FE) Colleges in Devon, Somerset and Dorset We have strong connections with Cornwall and Exeter FE Colleges Principals are keen to find out how they can work more closely with us Post 92 Universities are now competing with FE Colleges for student numbers Colleges are keen to have an association with a Top Ten University and they need support with the management of their HE, curriculum design and applied research We have a corporate responsibility to reach out as a successful institution and support others on a pro bono basis Council DISCUSSED widening participation and the development of Exeter’s corporate social responsibility (vi) The Vice-Chancellor UPDATED Council on national sector issues (vii) Michele Shoebridge UPDATED Council on our admissions position The sector is 7% down for applications, Exeter is only 0.4% down Overall applications are being propped up slightly by international student numbers Deferrals are also low and are not available to add to numbers this year We have increased our targets this year and the lack of deferrals means we are looking at finding 10% more students this year Our predicted grades are still strong We are releasing offers already to strong A students We always make up offers in confirmation, this year we will be in clearing particularly for Cornwall English and History are particularly down in Cornwall due to higher targets in Streatham Post offer open days in Cornwall are going really well, travel grants have been offered and we have received excellent feedback Generally it will be a challenging time, we hope to grow in 2013, we are looking at the adjustment period Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council where students can trade up to another institution if they perform better in their A level grades There are concerns around UCAS systems and we are mitigating against risks associated with our own admissions process (viii) Michele Shoebridge UPDATED Council on the Quality Assurance Agency institutional review which culminates in a visit between 30 April and May 2012 We have uploaded our self-evaluation document thanks to the Guild’s James Eales, Jonathan Harris and David Gibson’s team who contributed a huge amount of work including submitting 1000 pieces of evidence and 16 case studies We will know the key result headlines by 18 th May and have a chance to review and submit alterations The full response will be received in July David Gibson will be moving to Oxford University after the review and Council recorded its formal thanks to David for all of his hard work 12.06 Planning and Budget Review Council RECEIVED an oral report from the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Armstrong UPDATED Council following a discussion at the Away Day in January 2012 identifying that we would undertake a planning and budget review We have established objectives for the review and plan to have proposals to bring to Council in July this year Council DISCUSSED master planning and St Luke’s involvement in the process This will be one of the outputs but not specifically looked at by the group The institution’s borrowing policy was raised by a member of Council The Finance Strategy will come to December’s Council meeting and this issue will be discussed 12.07 Financial Forecast 2011/12 Council CONSIDERED the financial forecast 2011/12 (CNL/12/4) The Chair of Council reported a slight increase in the surplus since the last meeting to £1.9m The forecast historic cost position of the University for 2011/12 is now a surplus of £1.9m, compared to a re-forecast position at December 2011 of £1.0m and a budget of £1.2m These are set out in more detail in Appendix The Director of Finance REPORTED that the £5m surplus target set by Council has not yet been met but we are confident that it will be by the end of the financial year It is worth noting that there are no references in this forecast to PCMD project related costs The forecast surplus represents 0.7% of University total income The historic cost position and the operating surplus are currently the same as there are no exceptional items included in the forecast The new Director of Finance UPDATED Council with his observations of the institution’s financial performance The areas that have been raised with him by Heads of Colleges and Services include the budgeting and business planning process, the process for setting institutional targets, how managers buy into and own their financial targets, financial systems that have not kept pace with growth and striking the right balance between capital investment and recurrent investment In the new competitive environment, we need to maintain and improve our top ten position and this has to be an investment led one, financing that will be a challenge and will be reviewed in the financial strategy by Council in December 2012 To produce a surplus in the current climate where other institutions will be posting a deficit is a credit to the University The Director of Finance asked Council to receive and approve the financial forecast Council APPROVED the financial forecast for 2011/12 12.08 Loan Arrangements for Tremough Campus Services Council CONSIDERED the loan arrangements for Tremough Campus Services (CNL/12/5) The Chair of Council introduced the paper and the Director of Finance recommended for Council to approve the paper and asked the Chair of Council and Registrar to sign the documentation Council APPROVED the paper Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT: The 2003 Amendment Letter be accepted and that the Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive (David Allen) and the Deputy Director of Finance (Margaret Laithwaite) be authorised to make the necessary arrangements with the Bank and to sign on behalf of the University the 2003 Amendment Letter which was produced to the meeting and its terms and conditions approved The 2006 Amendment Letter be accepted and that the Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive (David Allen) and the Deputy Director of Finance (Margaret Laithwaite) be authorised to make the necessary arrangements with the Bank and to sign on behalf of the University the 2006 Amendment Letter which was produced to the meeting and its terms and conditions approved The 2011 Amendment Letter be accepted which was produced to the meeting and its terms and conditions approved Any two Members and the Registrar and Secretary be and are hereby authorised to all such other things to execute or to cause the execution of all such other documents as they may in their absolute and unfettered discretion think fit in connection with the Amendment Letters (Without prejudice to the authority of any other person to so) the Bank or its agent is hereby irrevocably authorised to date the Amendment Letters on behalf of the University at any time after the Amendment Letters shall have been received by the Bank or its agent The foregoing resolutions not in any way prejudice or affect the instructions to the Bank contained in resolutions of the Council constituting the University’s bank mandate 12.09 Refurbishment/New Build Sports Park, Phase (reference minute 11.91) Council CONSIDERED the Request for Authority in respect of the refurbishment/New Build Sports Park, Phase (CNL/12/7) The Chair reminded Council that this project was approved by Council in October Council delegated the proposal for the project to the Infrastructure Strategy Group (ISG) who have worked up this more detailed proposal The Chair of Council introduced the paper, the recommendation from ISG is for the paper to be APPROVED by Council The boathouse does not form part of the new investment but the project is underway We have scheduled work to start in May this year Sport in Cornwall was DISCUSSED by Council members, a separate sports strategy is being developed for the Tremough campus and partners are exploring working with third parties to implement improved sports facilities at the earliest opportunity Council NOTED that the joint venture makes securing funding more complicated Council APPROVED the detailed proposals 12.10 Infrastructure Strategy – Tranche (COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE) Hugh McCann in attendance 12.11 Strategic Delivery (reference minute 11.118) Council CONSIDERED: REFINED REPORT (CNL/12/8) This paper provides an update to Council on the Strategic Delivery Plan 2012-2013 and related reporting timeline, following paper CNL/11/126 submitted to the 15 th December 2011 meeting Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council The revised Delivery Plan incorporates minor revisions to the 15 th December version These reflect comments from Council and a longer period of reflection on the proposed Delivery Plan, in particular for Dual Assurance It has been approved by VCEG at its 13 February meeting The Registrar and DCE UPDATED Council that the strategic delivery document is now in good shape and it is clear where accountabilities lie The functional responsibilities for Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs) and line of management via the Professional Services were DISCUSSED Council members DISCUSSED the linkages between the Planning and Budget review with the Strategic Delivery Plan The review being under taken by Professor Armstrong is looking at the processes involved with setting institutional, College and Professional Service financial targets rather than institutional KPI planning It is intended that the Delivery Plan should be both updated and monitored in line with the annual planning cycle, set in the context of KPI and Risk reporting MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY: LINES AND MATRICES (CNL/12/9) Council AGREED that the paper presented by the Registrar and DCE responded to the queries raised at the last meeting effectively and that the lines and matrices approach was seen today as best practice It was AGREED that having a dotted line from Heads of Professional Services to DVCs with regards to the DVCs functional responsibilities provides a unique way of offering high quality support to senior management The Colleges carry a higher level of risk as a unit compared with Schools and there is an opportunity for College Managers to discuss risks with the Registrar on a regular basis The structure is a flat one with Heads of Colleges and Services never more than one report away from the Vice-Chancellor Council members were encouraged to see College Deans and Managers have a higher level of accountability identified in the model and AGREED that dotted lines alongside formal line management reporting lines between different roles and functions provided additional levels of input and assurance for Council 12.12 Performance and Risk Report Council CONSIDERED a report on Institutional Performance and Risk (CNL/12/10) This paper forms the first part of the bi-annual report to Council regarding Performance and Risk and intends to provide Council with an update on both performance against the ten University Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and the latest Corporate Risk Register The Chair asked Council to NOTE an error on the second page of paper CNL/12/10, where the progression has not fallen from 96.5%, it has stayed the same There is a better allocation of risks for the College and Services which is a significant improvement Council agreed that the paper is in a good shape Council members DISCUSSED the benefits of managing the risk first and then sorting into strategic subsets as a second phase One overarching risk is that if we fail to meet our surplus, we will fail to meet projects outlined in the paper Council members will discuss this further at a future Council meeting when the Finance Strategy is presented formally Council NOTED that Patrick Kennedy is leaving the University at the end of March The Chair REPORTED that his contribution to the institution’s ability to drive the performance forward has been outstanding 12.13 Review of Academic Year (reference minute 11.51) Council CONSIDERED the summer programme in relation to the review of the Academic year (CNL/12/11) Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council Following approval received at Senate in July 2011 of the revised composition for the Academic year, which would add an additional week in the autumn term and establish a 12 + 12 + week model from 2012/13, two Task and Finish Groups were established to take forward discussion of the two key elements of the new structure The Chair introduced the item and gave Council an overview of the benefits of the summer fortnight and described how the extra week in the autumn term would be structured This was reviewed at Dual Assurance for Education and represents an exciting possibility of a real competitive advantage if it works well and is fully resourced Michele Shoebridge REPORTED that in a £9k fee environment we are sure that students and parents will want to get the most out of the University year and maximise content, particularly in the first year Jonathan Barry has headed up the task and finish group for the extra week in autumn Grand challenges will be piloted this summer and will be interdisciplinary, supported by research stars, PGR students and alumni Workload modelling is being assessed to allow us to ensure this programme can be resourced effectively The Vice Chancellor has offered some of his time to deliver the programme for students Council members were invited to become involved in the programme We will work closely with the Guild to deliver events and employability will run through the event Technology will be harnessed in a positive way for the delivery of the programme The key risk is that the delivery of the programme is a big challenge, a project manager will be appointed and an academic will champion the initiative with Colleges Professor Kay reported that this is all about making the first year count; the QAA has made it clear that the first year is a key theme of the institutional review We have to get some of our best staff involved We have learned that deep academic consultation is a valued part of the process Our close working with the Guild is a strength of the project The President of the Guild REPORTED that students have provided enthusiastic support for the proposal We will be canvassing further groupings of students for opinion Members of Council DISCUSSED the importance of governance and consultation with the academic body and highlighted that this proposal is now an example of best practice as it responded in a positive way to Senate feedback Council members requested that the Grand Challenges have a more prominent place in the presentation of the proposal Council DISCUSSED the budget associated with the project and agreed that it is essential for the success of the programme for it not to be under resourced The proposals for the Summer Programme and the new structure for the autumn term will be submitted to Senate in March 12.14 Partnership Proposal for University and Students’ Guild Trading Services (COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE) 12.15 Council Away Day Council RECEIVED a report from the Council Away Day held on 26 January 2012 (CNL/12/13) The Chair REPORTED that feedback received from Council members has identified that the increased chance for non-executive member involvement and the lack of presentations has been a positive move and that risk is an essential part of Council’s responsibility and needs to be reviewed regularly at the away days New ideas were formed and discussed as a result of the day REF input and growth were both raised alongside Council involvement in the evaluation of impact Widening Participation student identification and nurturing was also an important discussion and a key conclusion of limiting international student numbers to 4000 was an important basis for going forward Space and working practices discussions can be taken forward following consultation at the away day Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council 12.16 Infrastructure Strategy Group (COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE) 12.17 Risk Management Council RECEIVED an update on Risk Management (CNL/12/16) 12.18 Employability Initiative Council RECEIVED the Employability Initiative (CNL/12/17) 12.19 Council Nominations Committee (STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL) Council CONSIDERED the report from the Council Nominations Committee held on 14 November 2011 (CNL/12/18) Council APPROVED: Terms of Reference and membership for the year 2011/12 Membership of Council 2012/13 and 2013/14 Council NOTED the following report: Chair of Council 12.20 Affixing the Seal Council AUTHORISED the fixing of the University seal to the documents listed in CNL/12/19 12.21 Chair’s closing remarks The Chair recorded his thanks to Professor Ken Evans and his team for the very good presentation and tours in EMPS earlier today The next Council meeting is in Cornwall and will focus on ESI with more time to discuss the growth strategy, IP Policy, Research Monitoring and REF preparation and the student loans company issue The beginning of the calendar year started with a celebration for the Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive’s well deserved OBE There have been a number of issues this year that we have tackled head on including the PCMD Heads of Terms negotiations and signing There is encouraging news for admissions despite the uncertain market The Chair was delighted that the Geoffrey Pope building project has been resolved We all have the exciting prospect of seeing the Forum complete soon The Chair recorded his thanks to VCEG and everyone who has contributed this year Page of Draft – subject to approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council EMJ/JAL 13 March 2012 /storage1/vhost/convert.123doc.vn/data_temp/document/fuy1666262110-5564660-16662621109367/fuy1666262110.doc Page of ... approval by the Chair of Council at the April 2012 meeting of Council EMJ/JAL 13 March 2012 /storage1/vhost/convert.123doc.vn/data_temp/document/fuy166626211 0-5 56466 0-1 6662621109367/fuy1666262110.doc... (CNL/12/18) Council APPROVED: Terms of Reference and membership for the year 2011/12 Membership of Council 2012/ 13 and 2013/14 Council NOTED the following report: Chair of Council 12.20... (reference minute 11.118) Council CONSIDERED: REFINED REPORT (CNL/12/8) This paper provides an update to Council on the Strategic Delivery Plan 201 2-2 013 and related reporting timeline, following
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