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DOCUMENT ASPC39/10-11
UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
ACADEMIC STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE 3
Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 13th October 2010
Present: Prof M Cleary (Chair), Dr M Bloj, Ms S Congdon, Ms B Currant,
Ms A Darnbrough, Dr S Dixon, Prof R Greene, Ms J Jones,
Ms S Kershaw, Prof G Layer, Ms S Marsh, Ms S Matthews,
Ms N Mirza, Ms C Moran, Dr I Palmer, Prof N Poku, Mr I Rowe,
Mr C Wilson, Prof A Wood.
Apologies: Prof U Archibong, Prof P Coates, Prof J Lucas, Prof D Pankhurst,
Mr A Pearce.
In Attendance: Ms S Dyson, Ms J Holgate.
Summary of Actions:
Minute Agenda Item and Action Responsibility
13.2.2 ASPC Schedule of Business 2010/11 MC
That the ASPC4 strategic discussion would focus on the
implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review and
outcomes from the Browne Review of Higher Education Funding
14.1 Buildings and Estates Committee – 12th October 2010 JL
That the minutes from the BEC meeting would be presented to
ASPC4
14.1.4 AUDESAT Self Reporting Tool RCW
That the AUDESAT would be presented to the Council in
November, for approval
14.1.5.5 Options Appraisal for the Student Health Centre GL
That a business case for the Polyclinic (M14.1.5.2 refers) would
be developed and would be presented to future meetings of the
BEC, ASPC and Council
14.2.5 Learning and Teaching Committee – 22nd September 2010 GL
Agreement that this topic should form the basis of a strategic
discussion to ASPC5 in December
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15.1.10 Ecoversity – Phase 4 GL
That an Ecoversity conference, to take place in autumn, would
continue to increase awareness and involvement in the
programme
15.2.3 Internal Communications AD
That a full discussion took place in relation to the draft, including
the key priority areas and the phase I action plan and that
feedback would be forwarded to the Head of Marketing and
Communications and the Internal Communications Officer
15.2.7 Internal Communications JH
That “key messages for communication” would be added to
future ASPC agendas
15.2.8 Internal Communications AD
That a simplified Internal Communications Strategy would be
presented to a future meeting, for approval
16.1.4 Draft Marketing Strategy 2009-2014 AD
That the draft and its associated EIA, would be presented to
ASPC4, for approval
16.3.7 University Bursary Scheme GL
That detailed modelling would be undertaken and presented to
the Fees, Bursaries and Scholarships Sub-Committee, for
agreement. Chair’s Action approval would then be taken on
behalf of the LTC and the ASPC
17.1.1 Update from the Vice-Chancellor AD
That a holding statement following the Browne Review of Higher
Education Funding had been produced and that this would be
circulated to the ASPC, for information
17.1.2 Update from the Vice-Chancellor MC
That the Comprehensive Spending Review would conclude on
the 20th October and that an update on its implications would be
presented as a “strategic issue” to ASPC4 (November)
17.6 Early Report on Student Numbers AD
That the statistics presented to the ASPC were extracted from
SAINT on the 11th October. They would continue to be
monitored by the Director of Academic Administration and an
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updated report on student numbers and budgetary
consequences would be presented to ASPC4
17.7.6 Centralised Timetabling AW
That a detailed report in respect of CT would be presented to
ASPC4
17.8 Programme and Projects Update SAD
That the document was withdrawn and that a full report would
be presented to ASPC4 in advance of the scheduled Council
meeting at the end of November
12.09-10 Declaration of Interest
NOTED: That no declarations of interest were received.
13.09-10 Routine Business
13.1 Notes from ASPC 2 – 15th September 2010 (Document ASPC23/10-11)
RESOLVED: That the minutes from ASPC 2 (15th September 2010) were
approved as a correct record.
13.2 ASPC Schedule of Business 2010/11 (Document ASPC24/10-11)
NOTED:
13.2.1 That Document ASPC24 set out the headline agenda items for
2010/11. It was a working document which would be updated as
appropriate and re-issued to future meetings;
13.2.2 That the ASPC4 strategic discussion would focus on the
implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review and outcomes
from the Browne Review of Higher Education Funding (Action: MC).
13.3 Chair’s Action Report (Document ASPC25/10-11)
RESOLVED: That the title of Emeritus Professor was granted in accordance with
the provisions of the University Ordinances and Regulations to:
Professor Geoff Tupholme – School of Computing, Informatics and Media
14.09-10 Committee Minutes
14.1 Buildings and Estates Committee – 12th October 2010 (Oral Report)
NOTED: That the minutes from the BEC meeting would be presented to ASPC4
(Action: JL).
14.1.1 Chair’s Action Report (Document ASPC26/10-11)
NOTED: A report of the action taken on behalf of BEC to approve the following:
Additional expenditure on the refurbishment at Woodhall – to proceed with
scheduled work for week commencing 20th September 2010, at a spend level
above the approved budget as detailed below:
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approved spend budget £85,000 (BEC July 2010)
tender price £130,875
additional funds required £48,315
Heaton Mount self-catering accommodation – approval to create flexible
accommodation at Heaton Mount in order to cater for a variety of users,
including long and short stay self catering options, full year postgraduate
students, visiting academics, research projects, consultants or overnight stays,
at a cost of £75,000;
RESOLVED: Approval of the above, as documented in ASPC26/10-11. This
aligned with the powers delegated to the ASPC from Council.
14.1.2 Building STEM at Bradford – Request for Approval of Early Spend
(Document ASPC27/10-11)
NOTED:
14.1.2.1 That the University had obtained £2.8M funding (capital
and revenue) from HEFCE’s Strategic Development
Fund with £1.5M matching funding via Yorkshire
Forward for a project to develop STEM subjects at
Bradford;
14.1.2.2 That Document ASPC27/10-11 requested the release
of £50k initial expenditure on the STEM laboratory for
fees, design and ground investigation works;
14.1.2.3 That the BEC, at its meeting on the 12th October 2010,
approved the £50k initial expenditure for the new STEM
building. This aligned with the powers delegated to the
BEC from Council.
14.1.3 Capital Investment Framework (Document ASPC28/10-11)
NOTED: That the University was required to make a Capital Investment
Framework (CIF) submission to HEFCE every three years in order to receive
capital funding;
RESOLVED: That the second submission, as detailed in Document ASPC28/10-
11, was submitted to HEFCE on the 7th October 2010.
14.1.4 AUDESAT Self Reporting Tool (Document ASPC29/10-11)
NOTED: That AUDESAT was an estates self-assessment tool-kit which fed into
the CIF submission. It covered the following areas: leadership, strategy, processes,
people, resources and outcomes. The score in each of these had improved in the
three years since the last CIF submission;
RESOLVED: That the AUDESAT would be presented to the Council in November,
for approval (Action: RCW).
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14.1.5 Options Appraisal for the Student Health Centre (Oral Report)
NOTED:
14.1.5.1 That the BEC, at its meeting on the 12th October 2010,
had considered the options for the relocation of the
Student Health Centre and associated facilities between:
i) the Shearbridge car park with a frontage onto
Great Horton Road
ii) a more extensive development on the Listerhills
Triangle in collaboration with Mi7;
14.1.5.2 That a larger and more visionary project was now under
consideration for a “Polyclinic” which would house a
variety of health-related facilities such as a histology
laboratory , a memory clinic, podiatry and imaging in
addition to the GP practice, pharmacy and eye clinic
originally envisaged;
14.1.5.3 That the BEC (12th October 2010) recommended that
there would be more scope to accommodate a facility of
this nature on the Listerhills site and that such a
development would be distinctive and make a vital
contribution to the Listerhills area on a location
adjacent to the new student accommodation at “The
Green”;
RESOLVED:
14.1.5.4 That the ASPC supported the BEC recommendation, as
noted above (M14.1.5.3);
14.1.5.5 That a business case for the Polyclinic (M14.1.5.2
refers) would be developed and would be presented to
future meetings of the BEC, ASPC and Council (Action:
GL);
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:
14.1.5.6 That the University should plan for the relocation of the
Student Health Centre as part of a larger facility on the
Listerhills Triangle.
14.1.6 Media Studio (Oral Report)
NOTED:
14.1.6.1 That, as discussed by the BEC (12th October 2010),
£240k was sought to build a new Media Studio in the
Horton Building to replace the facilities that SCIM had
used at the National Media Museum;
14.1.6.2 That this would in part be funded from savings on the
rental at the NMM and in part from savings on an
unrelated project;
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RESOLVED:
14.1.6.3 That approval be given to the new Media Studio at a
cost of £240k. This aligned with the powers delegated
to the ASPC from Council.
14.2 Learning and Teaching Committee – 22nd September 2010 (Document
ASPC30/10-11)
NOTED:
14.2.1 The minutes of the Learning and Teaching Committee held on the
22nd September 2010;
14.2.2 That the ASPC were asked to note the “Employability Strategy –
Making Knowledge Work”, attached as appendix 1 to Document
ASPC30;
14.2.3 That the purpose of the paper was to develop a University wide
policy based on the strategic commitment to “Making Knowledge
Work”. In particular, it focussed on ways in which its past success in
relation to graduate employment could be maintained in a changing
national context by ensuring a more standardised approach to
preparation for employment / work experience opportunities;
14.2.4 That the views of the ASPC were sought by the 30th November and
that Deans were requested to engage their Schools in the
consultation process;
RESOLVED:
14.2.5 Agreement that this topic should form the basis of a strategic
discussion to ASPC5 in December (Action: GL to lead).
15.09-10 Strategic Discussion
15.1 Ecoversity – Phase 4 (Document ASPC31/10-11)
NOTED:
15.1.1 That the ASPC welcomed Document ASPC31 which provided an
update on progress with the Ecoversity programme and the
sustainable journey that had taken place over the last six years
through the three phases of “environmental management”,
“sustainable development” and “whole institutional change”;
15.1.2 That 2010 would see the delivery of the next phase of the
Ecoversity programme: phase 4 – “transformation”;
15.1.3 That this phase would embed the Ecoversity principles and ensure
that sustainable development became “business as normal”;
15.1.4 That following the success of recent years, the University could
justifiably claim to be a beacon of sustainability within the sector
and that this should be used as a means of demonstrating
Bradford’s distinctiveness;
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15.1.5 The proposal that the University’s emerging Corporate and Social
Responsibility (CSR) Framework (which would inform how the
strategic intent of Ecoversity would be delivered and would bring
together the Diversity, Dignity and Respect, Sustainable
Development, Community Partnerships and Widening Participation,
Wellbeing and the Arts policies) be renamed “Ecoversity – A
Socially and Environmentally Responsible University”;
15.1.6 That by using this approach, the University could clearly show what
would be included in the definition of CSR/Ecoversity and ensure
that its principles were fully embedded across the institution;
15.1.7 That an Ecoversity conference, to take place in autumn, would
continue to increase awareness and involvement in the programme
(Action: GL);
RESOLVED:
15.1.8 Agreement by the ASPC that Ecoversity be used as a means of
demonstrating the University’s distinctiveness;
15.1.9 That the CSR Framework be re-named “Ecoversity – A Socially and
Environmentally Responsible University”;
15.1.10 That the Ecoversity Annual Report 2009/2010 would be presented
to ASPC4 (Action: GL).
15.2 Internal Communications (Document ASPC32/10-11)
NOTED:
15.2.1 The first draft of the Internal Communications Strategy 2009-2014;
15.2.2 That the document outlined the strategy and accompanying action
plan for internal communications from September 2010 to August
2014 and that it built upon the activity update presented to the
ASPC in November 2009;
15.2.3 That a full discussion took place in relation to the draft, including the
key priority areas and the phase I action plan and that feedback
would be forwarded to the Head of Marketing and Communications
and the Internal Communications Officer (Action: AD);
15.2.4 That in order to promote effective communication, the CS Executive
had agreed that the key issues from its meetings be disseminated
to staff. These messages would then be cascaded to managers,
who would, in turn, cascade to their staff;
RESOLVED:
15.2.5 That the ASPC would adopt a similar approach and at the end of
each monthly meeting, the key messages to be disseminated to
staff would be agreed (M18.1 refers);
15.2.6 That this pattern of communication could also be replicated in other
forums;
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15.2.7 That “key messages for communication” would be added to future
ASPC agendas (Action: JH);
15.2.8 That a simplified Internal Communication Strategy would be
presented to a future meeting, for approval (Action: AD).
16.09-10 Items for Decision / Approval
16.1 Draft Marketing Strategy 2009-2014 (Document ASPC33/10-11)
NOTED:
16.1.1 That the 1st draft of the Marketing Strategy 2009-2014 was
presented to the ASPC in June 2010;
16.1.2 That the draft had been updated and revised to include an
executive summary and a completed action plan;
16.1.3 That whilst the ASPC supported the draft strategy, it could not be
approved until an Equality Impact Assessment had been completed;
RESOVLED:
16.1.4 That the draft and its associated EIA, would be presented to ASPC4,
for approval (Action: AD).
16.2 Draft IT Strategy (Document ASPC34/10-11)
NOTED:
16.2.1 That the draft IT Strategy 2009-2014 had been considered and
approved by the Information Systems Committee;
16.2.2 That following its Equality Impact Assessment in June 2010, it had
been updated to emphasise and promote accessibility of systems;
RECOMMENDED TO SENATE AND COUNCIL:
16.2.3 That the draft IT Strategy 2009-2014 be approved.
16.3 University Bursary Scheme (Document ASPC35/10-11)
NOTED:
16.3.1 That the University spent 28.5% of its additional fee income on
bursaries against a sector average of 22.8%
16.3.2 That OFFA research indicated that bursaries did not influence the
students choice of course or institution;
16.3.3 That due to the reduction in recurrent teaching funding , the
University would need to reduce spend in this area;
16.3.4 That the University would need to amend its bursary scheme before
the end of October 2010, for 2011/12 entry;
16.3.5 That the UBU had been consulted on the proposal;
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RESOLVED:
16.3.6 That the University adopt the principles, as noted in Document
ASPC35, for 2011/12 entry onwards ;
16.3.7 That detailed modelling would be undertaken and presented to the
Fees, Bursaries and Scholarships Sub-Committee, for agreement.
Chair’s Action approval would then be taken on behalf of the LTC
and the ASPC (Action: GL);
16.3.8 That as the scheme was consistent with Council policy no further
approval would be required;
16.3.9 That students under the existing bursary scheme would be
protected and would receive bursaries at the same level as when
they started their course.
17.09-10 Items for Information / Updates
17.1 Update from the Vice-Chancellor (Oral Report)
NOTED:
17.1.1 That a holding statement following the Browne Review of Higher
Education Funding had been produced and that this would be
circulated to the ASPC, for information (Action: AD);
17.1.2 That the Comprehensive Spending Review would conclude on the
20th October and that an update on its implications would be
presented as a “strategic issue” to ASPC4 (November) (Action:
MC);
17.1.3 That the University had been shortlisted in the Sustainable
Development category of the THE Awards 2010 and that no more
than two members of staff would attend the awards ceremony in
London.
17.2 British Science Festival 2011 (Oral Report)
NOTED:
17.2.1 That the University would host the British Science Festival between
the 10-15 September 2011;
17.2.2 That the event would present an excellent opportunity to promote
the City and Region and to showcase research in science/culture;
17.2.3 That thanks were expressed to Alastair Wood and Jo Hills for their
work on the BSF to date;
17.2.4 That the call for proposals for contributions to the Festival
programme of events was now open until the end of November;
17.2.5 That a launch event would take place on the 3rd November and that
academics should be encouraged attend.
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17.3 Fund Raising and Development (Document ASPC36/10-11)
NOTED: For the information of the ASPC, an update on fund raising and
development.
17.4 Managing Staff Reductions (Oral Report)
NOTED: That the University wide scheme had closed on the 17th September and
that 35 applications would be considered by the Remunerations Committee on the
29th October.
17.5 Pensions Update (Document ASPC37/10-11)
NOTED:
17.5.1 That the University was required to undertake a statutory
consultation with USS members. This would commence on the 22nd
October 2010 and last for a minimum of 60 days ;
17.5.2 That all staff would receive a letter and information pack inviting
them to take part in the consultation process;
17.5.3 That the changes would be implemented from 1 st April 2011;
17.5.4 That further information was available from the USS website.
17.6 Early Report on Student Numbers
TABLED: Document ASPC38/10-11- Early Statistics as at 11th October 2010.
NOTED: That the statistics presented to the ASPC were extracted from SAINT on
the 11th October. They would continue to be monitored by the Director of
Academic Administration and an updated report on student numbers and
budgetary consequences would be presented to ASPC4 (Action: AD)
17.7 Centralised Timetabling Update (Oral Report)
NOTED:
17.7.1 A brief update on the current position with the centralised
timetabling project;
17.7.2 That there were a number of issues in relation to the
implementation of centralised timetabling in respect of underlying
timetabling data and high level business process timing within the
academic year;
17.7.3 That both of these would have wide ranging implications beyond the
CT project and changes in them would be essential for the
successful implementation of the new timetabling methodology;
17.7.4 That whilst the CT project could deliver a short term solution to
produce a September 2011 timetable (which would not deliver all
benefits and would still require a labour intensive process), a long
term solution could only be achieved if relevant data integrity and
business process timing relating to the academic year were
addressed;
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17.7.5 That the Attendance Monitoring Project (to enable compliance with
the Borders Agency requirements) would be dependent upon the
adoption of centralised timetabling;
RESOLVED:
17.7.6 That a detailed report in respect of CT would be presented to
ASPC4 (Action: AW).
17.8 Programme and Projects Update (Document ASPC39/10-11)
NOTED: That the document was withdrawn and that a full report would be
presented to ASPC4 in advance of the scheduled Council meeting at the end of
November (Action: SAD).
18.09-10 Any Other Business
18.1 Key Messages from ASPC3
NOTED: Agreement that members of the ASPC would communicate the following
to their staff (M15.2.6 refers):
Ecoversity
Browne Review
Recruitment
19.09-10 Future Meetings of the ASPC
ASPC4 – 17th November 2010
ASPC5 – 15th December 2010
ASPC6 – 12th January 2011
ASPC7 – 16th February 2011
ASPC8 – 16th March 2011
ASPC9 – 13th April 2011
ASPC10 – 11th May 2011
ASPC11 – 8th June 2011
JH 10/10
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