UEB 14 September 2015

• UEB received a paper on higher education funding and one on higher education regulatory changes. They flagged some of the potential issues with likely regulatory changes in England and the possible effects on Wales.

• It was noted that the Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) was being cut for English domiciled students but not for Welsh domiciled, and the University was reviewing this imbalance between a certain group of students.

UEB received the following regular reports:

• PVC College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Monthly Report. The report noted that significant strategic and operational changes were successfully introduced for confirmation and clearing in the College for August 2015. Unlike in previous years, a stronger central presence was enabled by new IT systems and business intelligence data. This enabled the College team and Schools to exercise far greater control of offers made to applicants in order to recruit the strongest possible students across the College, protect Schools’ tariff profiles, and ultimately – it is anticipated – improve league table performance. The paper also noted the following staffing changes: Matthew Williamson started as College Registrar on 1 August; Professor Stuart Allan started as Head of School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies on 1 August for a term of five years; Professor Gillian Bristow started as College Dean for Research from 1 August 2015 for a term of three years; and Professor Martin Jephcote has been re-appointed as College Dean for Education.
• PVC College of Physical Sciences and Engineering Monthly Report. The report updated on College research applications and awards for 2014/15. Noting that both are up considerably on the previous year with 126% of their target achieved. The College oversaw a successful confirmation and clearing period in August, supported by the new Business Intelligence reporting tools.  The College overall NSS student satisfaction score is 90%, with four of the seven Schools meeting or exceeding the KPI and no School below 85%.
• PVC Student Experience and Academic Standards Monthly Report. The report update on NSS results and progress made but noted that there was often considerable variation in performance in Schools and in programmes of study.  Five design teams have been selected to progress to stage two of the design competition for the Centre of Student Life.  Design proposals will be considered by a panel chaired by the Vice-Chancellor at the end of September. An update on progress will go to Council in December with the full business being presented before the end of the academic year.  There was also an update on the lecture theatre refurbishment and contingency plans that have been developed to mitigate any delays in completion.