Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director of Engagement and Advancement
A number of issues were discussed under the Vice-Chancellor’s Business section at the start of this week’s meeting:
- There was a general update from both a national and a local perspective on the recent period of strike action at Southampton and other universities, which ended last Wednesday.
- The Vice-Chancellor announced that it has been possible to create a small additional budget this year to allow minor capital works such as refurbishment, during the current financial year. A small number of projects across faculties and professional services will be identified where there could be an immediate and visible improvement to the student experience. UEB welcomed the initiative.
- The Vice-Chancellor announced that Council had approved at its November meeting plans for the future development of the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus (UoSM), which will include a growth of student numbers and education programmes, and a move to improved premises. Further details will be provided ahead.
On the main agenda today:
- The start of a very important strategic conversation about Sustainability, which will be continued at next week’s UEB. Today’s discussions was about framing the issues: there is already a lot of activity underway across the University, including the recent joint Statement of Intent with SUSU; our signing of the Southampton Green City Charter supporting the City Council’s objective of being carbon neutral by 2030; our pledge to embed Sustainable Development Goals into our education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities and to annually report on progress. And of course, the remarkable and varied areas of research around sustainability issues already underway here at Southampton.
- Next week, UEB will focus on how together we can embed our University’s Sustainability vision within the framework of our research, our teaching, and the management of our operations and resources, and what resources and investment will be required to do so. However, there is also a recognition that we need to face up to some tough realities if we are all genuinely committed to take personal action, particularly around international air travel.
- For the fourth of the 2019-20 ’regular reporting’ UEB sessions, the Chief Operating Officer provided an update on the delivery and performance of the Professional Services strategic objectives. There are nine:
- University and professional services financial sustainability
- Improving student satisfaction and experience
- Meeting regulatory requirements and pressures
- Developing a strong foundation of high quality core services
- Improving staff wellbeing and development
- System and process efficiency and effectiveness
- Delivering service enhancements to support the academic vision
- Supporting delivery of the 10-Year Plan
- Reduce the “burden” of bureaucracy whilst maintaining control
UEB noted good progress already against many of the objectives. There was also a very reflective conversation around the perception of some colleagues, that we are overly bureaucratic with too many processes. Others argue these processes are required precisely because of a lack of compliance on certain issues. It’s also accepted that there are varying levels of line manager capability across the University– an issue which is being actively addressed – and a recognition that our systems don’t yet allow for more simple interactions. There was agreement that more thought needs to be put into addressing this whole issue, and this will now take place.
- UEB also discussed options for improving our competitive position in respect of international undergraduate recruitment, where we are significantly underperforming for a number of reasons; it reviewed a paper on Student Resource Planning 2020; and received a monthly update on progress against our Athena SWAN action plans.