Areas the board are promoting following the April Board
Chair’s Business
Student Complaints Process – The Chair notified the Board that the process for pre-stage 1 complaints will have a light touch review. This is being led by Neil McKay and Denise Elliott. It is not the intention to over formalise/bureaucratise the process but rather to ensure the system is functioning optimally. In addition, there has been a change of policy with regard to group complaints. A group complaint (comprising more than one student coming together with the same issue) will automatically be escalated to ‘Stage 1 level’. (Stage 1 looked at in Faculties and also recorded in Registry).
Summary and Recommendations from the Review of Timetabling
The board received a presentation (and associated paper) by Ashley Hopps and Mark Swales regarding the Timetabling Review. Full details including the presentation and recommendations can be accessed here
Office for Students – Guidance on access and participation plans
The Board received the paper presented by Lynsey Parker which provides further information on the new OfS regulatory framework around access and participation and sets out the approach to developing the University’s Access and participation plan for the 23 May deadline.
Lynsey highlighted the strengthening of even more emphasis on data and metrics, using externally available data so it can be benchmarked and considered comparatively across the market. There will also be a need to demonstrate year on year improvements in access and participation with a specified required 18-20% of any higher fee income evidenced against activity.
Work is ongoing in terms of allocation and the use of OFFA accountable spend and how this might better support the Transforming Lives strategy.
Hallam Guild Update
The Board received the paper presented by JS providing an update on the progress made against the business case timeline. A call for pilot projects has gone out to all staff via email and is posted on the Shaping Futures hub.
ACHIEVE and Faculty plans 18/19
The Chair updated the Board on a meeting held 18 April where the plans were discussed and areas highlighted where the board could support and/or facilitate collaborative working, as well as establishing where the board could be lobbying/supporting /removing barriers. The meeting was fruitful and collegiate and a follow up meeting is scheduled for 9 May.
Business plans will continue to be developed, with the aim of moving away from fragmented actions to more working across cohorts of students.
AOB
The Chair thanked the Board for all the work being done on Shaping Futures initiatives.
Employability Plan
This item was not discussed at the meeting but needed to be reported to the group following its presentation at the Board of Governors March meeting.
Agenda
- Apologies for absence
- Record of the meeting held on 5 March 2018
- Committee reports
- Chair’s Business
- Student’s Business
- Monthly Performance Report
- Summary and Recommendations from the Review of Timetabling
- Office for Students – Guidance on access and participation plans
- BME Attainment Gap
- Academic Advising
- Hallam Guild Update
- ACHIEVE and Faculty plans 18/19
- AOB
- Employability Plan
Attendees
Christina Hughes – Chair; Helen Best; Simon Bromley; Julie Brunton; Julie Byrd; Leopold Green; Graham Holden; Kevin Kerrigan; Rebecca Khanna; David Laughton; Bernie Marshall; Neil McKay; Sarah Swales; Simon Thompson; Claire Ward; Rachel Parnham – Acting Minutes Secretary and guests presenting items