Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director of Engagement and Advancement
Professor Mark Spearing, our President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim), opened the meeting to welcome the announcement due within minutes that Professor Mark E. Smith, currently Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster University, has been appointed as our new President and Vice-Chancellor. He is due to start at Southampton in the new academic year (2019-20).
On to normal business, and today some detailed conversations around budgets and business planning for 2019-20. It’s still fairly early in the process, but it’s already clear this is going to be a tough process this year as faculties and Professional Services grapple with fluctuating student numbers, the continuing need to achieve cost reductions across the University to ensure the University stays in surplus, as well as identifying potential opportunities for revenue growth.
Although overall student recruitment numbers across the University are looking modestly positive, there is considerable variability by subject, with the picture in some areas still causing concern. Numbers have yet to recover to prior plan levels.
The regular review of financial performance included some interesting data in a review of the last 12 months’ travel bookings through Clarity – 8,500 trips were booked for flights to 166 countries, with the most popular destinations being the UK, USA, Germany, China, Italy, France, Spain and India.
There was a further discussion about the direction and travel of Transnational Education (TNE), which will be used to inform future discussions about the role of TNE, and University of Southampton Malaysia, in the refreshed International Strategy which Winnie Eley, our Vice-President (International), will be bringing to Council in July.
In a paper on graduation catering, a recommendation that we move to a consistent approach was approved. It’s clear from a number of complaints that the graduation experience students have been getting varies considerably depending on their faculty, leading to very different catering experiences, even in the same venue at the same time. From this summer, we will move to a consistent, uniform catering offering across all faculties.
A quick update on UEB Communications, looking at how the 19 recommendations in a paper I brought to UEB two weeks ago are being progressed – one of which was this blog.
Finally, UEB noted the latest quarterly summary of UEB expenses, which we have started publishing on the website as part of our drive towards greater transparency. The Q2 expenses will be published over the comings days here.
I’m away for the next two UEB meetings, so other colleagues will be writing this blog.