the
COURT
MINUTES of the first meeting of the 2010/2011 academic year held on
Monday, 29 November, 2010, in the Council Room, Queen Anne Court,
Greenwich Campus, Park Row, Greenwich, SE10 9LS, commencing at 5.30 pm.
Present: Sir Stuart Etherington (in the Chair)
Mr A Albert / Mr A L HolmesMr J Barnes / Prof P Maras
Baroness Blackstone / Ms S Patel
Mrs S Clarke / Miss C Rose
Mr S H Davie / Prof M Snowden
Mr N Eastwell / Mr J Stoker
Ms M Hay / Mrs H Wyatt
Mr P F Hazell
In attendance:
Prof T Barnes (Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise))
Mrs T A Brighton (Minutes Clerk)
Mrs L Cording (Secretary and Registrar)
Mr R Daly (Director of Finance)
Prof N Garrod (Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources))
Prof S Jarvis (Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development))
Mr C Philpott (Head of School of Education)(for item 1)
Apologies for Absence:
Mr J E Brathwaite
Mr S Howlett
Mr M Sekhon
10/27 DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of conflicts of interests.
10/28 ITEMS FROM THE CHAIR
28.1 Thanks
The Chairman thanked Christine Rose, who was attending her last meeting, for her contribution to the work of the Court. On behalf of the Members, he wished her well in her future retirement.
28.2 Browne Report : Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance
The Chairman circulated for information an article by Stefan Collini from the London Review of Books about the implications of the Browne Report.
10/29 PRESENTATION BY HEAD OF SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
The Court received a presentation from the Head of School about the work of the School of Education and its future plans.
10/30 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (CRT 10/22)
The minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2010 were taken as read and signed as a true record.
10/31 MATTERS ARISING (CRT 10/23)
31.1 Appointment of New Vice-Chancellor
The Secretary and Registrar reported that the headhunters, Saxton Bampfylde, had now finished interviewing staff and Court Members. The draft advertisement and application pack would be sent to her the next day. The advertisement was due to be placed in the Times Higher on 9th December. Final interviews would be held on 17th March 2011.
31.2 Court Strategy Day
The Secretary and Registrar reported that the Court Strategy Day would now take place on Thursday, 3rd February, 2011 at the Greenwich campus. She would be revisiting the programme for the day with the Chairman of Court in the light of the recent announcements on future funding.
31.3 Honorary Degrees 2011
The Court noted:
i the following acceptances of Honorary Degrees from the University:
Honorary Graduand Award Date of Conferment
Richard Baglin HonDUniv 20 July 2011
Paul Clark HonDUniv 26 July 2011
Baroness Gould of Potternewton HonDUniv 21 October 2011
James Loudon HonDUniv 22 July 2011
David Mallen HonDEd 19 October 2011
ii that a response from two candidates was still awaited.
31.4 Court Membership
The Court noted that Christine Rose had tendered her resignation from the Court effective from the end of the calendar year. An election for a staff representative would be held as soon as practicable.
10/32 STUDENT RECRUITMENT (CRT 10/24)
The Court received a report on student recruitment for 2010/2011. The Secretary and Registrar reported that under-graduate applications had increased by 42%. Clearing had been held as usual but had closed for most programmes much earlier than in previous years. The behaviour of students had changed this year with many more applications converting to acceptances. This had made meeting the New Entrant Control Number (NECN) (the HEFCE target set to limit numbers of new home undergraduate students) particularly challenging. Work was continuing to clarify the status of students but it was anticipated that the University would exceed its NECN by approximately 330. HEFCE had indicated that it would be imposing a fine for over recruitment and this would be known by the time of the next Court meeting.
It was further reported that overseas student numbers were slightly down on previous years. The inability of the UK Border Agency to deal with visa applications on their own timescale was thought to be a contributing factor. It was anticipated that the additional intake in January would allow the University to meet target.
The Court noted that, in response to the demand for places, the University had raised some of its ‘A’ level tariff scores during this year’s recruitment process. A further increase in applications for 2011 was expected and Members were anxious that the widening participation agenda would not be abandoned in the University’s endeavours to improve the calibre of its students. The Secretary and Registrar reassured Members that modelling of students indicated that the student population was similar in composition to previous years. Copies of maps showing the home location of students would be distributed as part of the paperwork for the Court Strategy Day.
10/33 HEFCE COMPLIANCE (CRT 10/25)
33.1 Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 July 2010
The Chairman of the Finance Committee reported that the Committee had been pleased to note a year-end surplus of £10.7m (against an original plan of £1.6m). The large variance arose from increased revenue from a number of sources but principally from additional home and international student numbers. The overall result was a strengthening of the key ratios and balance sheet.
The Chairman of the Audit Committee reported that the External Auditor had reported that the financial audit had gone smoothly. He further reported that the Committee had noted the new requirement of the Charities Act to include a statement on public benefit. The Committee had been satisfied that the statement adequately demonstrated the public benefit of the University’s work.
33.1.2 Internal Audit Annual Report 2009-10
The Court noted the Internal Audit Annual Report 2009-10 for submission to HEFCE.
It was further noted that the Internal Auditors had been satisfied that the arrangements in place for governance, control and value for money were adequate and effective.
The Court:
i approved the Audit Committee Annual Report 2009-2010 for submission to HEFCE
ii received the External Auditor’s Key Issues Memorandum together with a response from the Director of Finance
iii approved the Directors’ Letter of Representation for signature by the Vice-Chancellor and the Chairman of Court
iv received a report by the Director of Finance on the financial statements 2009-10
v approved the Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2010 for:
(a) the University of Greenwich
(b) Greenwich Property Limited
(c) Greenwich University Enterprises Limited.
33.2 Corporate Planning Statement 2010 (CRT 10/26)
The Court approved the draft Corporate Planning Statement for submission to HEFCE.
10/34 FEES & BURSARIES : ANNUAL REVIEW (CRT 10/27)
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) outlined the headlines of the annual review of fees and bursaries. Following the Court’s decision in 2009 to charge the maximum statutory tuition fee for home/EU undergraduate students, fees for all new incoming students for 2010/11 had been set at £3290. No changes to the current bursary schemes were proposed. About 60% of students were likely to be eligible for bursaries and it was hoped that by using the Student Loans Company there would be a greater take-up of bursaries. The review had determined that with effect from the 2011/12 year all part-time fees would be pro-rata to the full-time fee.
He further reported that the Finance Committee at its recent meeting had agreed that Partner Colleges’ fees would be the same as the University’s for University programmes effective from 2011/12. This would reduce competition for students amongst the partner institutions.
The Court noted that a further review of fees for the 2012/13 academic year would be necessary. The Chairman confirmed that determination of the future fee structure would be a major topic for discussion at the Court Strategy Day
10/35 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (CRT 10/28)
The Court received:
i a report monitoring the University’s performance against its key performance indicators and progress towards achieving its operational targets
ii the new operational targets for environmental sustainability relating to KPI 9 to reduce the University’s impact on the environment.
10/36 VICE-CHANCELLOR’S REPORT
The Vice-Chancellor reported verbally on the following recent developments:
36.1 Times Higher Education Awards – Tony Mann, a maths lecturer, had won the Times Higher Education Award for the Most Innovative Teacher. Under his leadership the Maths Department had been voted the sixth best in the country and the award was well deserved recognition of his dedication and commitment. The Court asked that its congratulations be conveyed and the Chairman agreed to write on its behalf.
36.2 Retirements – Three senior managers would be retiring in the coming months; Professor Les Johnson, Head of the Business School, would be leaving at the end of February 2011, and Russell Brockett, Director of Personnel, and Christine Rose, Director of Student Affairs, would both be retiring at the end of April 2011. Advertisements for all three positions would be placed shortly.
36.3 Visit to Uganda – The Vice-Chancellor together with Andrew Westby, the Director of NRI, and Simon Walker, Head of the Educational Development Unit, had visited Uganda the previous week. As part of the itinerary she had paid a visit to two NRI projects based in the country.
36.4 Visit to Qatar and India – The Vice-Chancellor would be visiting Qatar and India the following week to discuss the possibility of joint ventures. Progress would be reported to the next meeting.
36.5 Browne Report – in the light of the Government’s response to the recommendations of the Browne Report, universities were facing considerable reductions in funding for undergraduate programmes. HEFCE would be issuing its grant letters in February 2011. At that stage the University would need to determine the future structure of its tuition fees and the likely implications for the demand for places.
10/37 AUDIT COMMITTEE (CRT 10/29)
37.1 Meeting held on 18 October 2010
The Chairman introduced the report to Court setting out the principal items of significance arising from the meeting held on 18 October 2010. The following matters were highlighted:
37.1.1 HEFCE Audit of Student Data
The Court noted that the overall outcome of the audit of student returns had judged the internal systems to be appropriate. However, HEFCE had been unable to gain assurance over the systems and protocols and over the accuracy of the return, due solely to inaccuracies in the forecasting of non-completion rates. The Court noted that work to address the recommendations was under way.
37.1.2 Value for Money Strategy
The Chairman reported that the Committee had been concerned for some time about the quality of the value for money reporting. It was evident that compilation of the reports had taken considerable effort but Members had found it difficult to understand whether the University’s operations were effective. At the request of the Committee, Officers had revisited the current arrangements for value for money reporting, and had welcomed a new approach which included greater involvement by the Vice-Chancellor’s Group. The Audit Committee would continue, however, to receive an annual report on value for money in order to allow it to discharge its responsibilities for this aspect of control. The Court:
approved the revised Value for Money Strategy for immediate adoption.
37.2 Meeting held on 15 November 2010
The Court noted the report on items of significance arising from the meeting held on 15 November 2010 which principally concentrated on the following draft documentation for submission to HEFCE (see also minute 10/33):
· Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st July 2010
· 2009-10 Audit Committee Annual Report
· Internal Audit Annual Report 2009-10
The Chairman of the Committee reported on discussion with the Internal Auditors on their conclusion that systems audited relating to major capital projects and international collaborations could only provide limited assurance. The Court was reassured that the Auditors would be following up implementation of the recommendations on international collaborations prior to the QAA undertaking a collaborative audit in March 2011.
10/38 FINANCE COMMITTEE (CRT 10/30)
The Chairman introduced the report to Court outlining principal items of significance arising from the meeting held on 8 November 2010. The following issues were noted:
38.1 Students’ Union
It was noted that the Students’ Union had posted a small net surplus for the year ending 31st July 2010. A lower surplus was being forecast for this year but the Committee recognised that the overall performance of the Students’ Union had greatly improved.
38.2 2010-11 Budget
Following some updating to take account of the implications of the Browne Report and the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Committee had noted that the revised budget for 2010-11 continued to assume a surplus of £4.1m. The Court
approved the draft revised revenue and capital budgets for 2010-11.
38.3 Five-Year Financial Forecasts
In view of HEFCE’s decision to postpone the submission date of the five-year financial forecasts from 1 December 2010 to 15 April 2011, the Committee had agreed to revisit the forecasts at a meeting to be held on 28th March 2011 followed immediately by a Court meeting.
38.4 University Estate Matters
38.4.1 Centre for Indian Business – Renewal of Lease of Apartment
Noting that the apartment near Delhi International Airport was used by staff working in the area and helped to mitigate accommodation costs, the Court:
approved the extension of the lease of the Delhi apartment for a further year at a cost of £7920.
38.4.2 Stockwell Street Development, Budget Variation
Following the government’s announcement that VAT would increase to 20% with effect from January 2011, the Court:
agreed that the budget for the Stockwell Street Development be increased by £1.4m to £66.8m.
38.4.3 Stockwell Street Development, Delegation of Authority
In order to address a recommendation arising from an internal audit on capital projects, the Court:
i agreed that the Stockwell Street Steering Group be given delegated authority from the University Court subject to normal University procedures to establish the scope of the work, to oversee the agreed budget and programme, to consider and approve submissions from the design team at various review stages and to ensure adequate resources are available to manage the processes and procedures required