Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
A variety of issues were discussed at today’s UEB meeting.
- There was an update from the Chief Operating Officer on our Active Campus plans for preparing the University for the return of students and staff to a COVID-secure campus environment. An immense amount of activity continues and at pace. The UEB meeting coincided with the opening of the Jubilee Sports Centre, another important step in the careful re-opening of our facilities. A huge amount of regularly-updated information continues to be provided for staff and line managers, which can be found here. It is vitally important that everyone ensures they stay familiar with the information, guidance and expectations.
- UEB also discussed the publication a few days previously of a paper on the implications of COVID-19 for Higher Education by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). In the paper, SAGE recognises that: “Higher Education provides an important role in society, directly providing substantial numbers of jobs and supporting economic and knowledge development through trained graduates and new research” and UEB was reassured that the key issues raised in the paper are being addressed by our preparations.
- There was also an update on the Southampton Testing Programme, following last week’s announcement by the Government of support for the second phase of the programme within educational settings in Southampton, including our students and some staff. This ground-breaking programme aims to keep the infection risk low in Southampton through convenient, non-invasive saliva testing, giving confidence to our staff, students and local communities.
- This was followed by an update on our various Strategic Major Projects, and UEB also received a “closure” report on the Pricing and Scholarships This undertook a major review of international UG and PGT fees, discounts and scholarships. The project was instigated due to the large number of pricing points and scholarships, which resulted in varied decision-making channels and often widely varying decisions on fees and scholarships across the University, which could be confusing to prospective students. As a result, consensus was reached on the need for change with fee decision-making and greater consistency in the use of scholarships. The Vice-Chancellor thanked all those involved in the project, and encouraged maintaining momentum on embedding its conclusions. There was also an update on initial findings from the Modernising the Student Experience project.
- The Vice-Chancellor highlighted two recent University rankings announcements: Southampton is ranked joint 127th in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, and placed 15th amongst UK universities. In the 2021 Guardian University Guide Southampton has risen to 23rd place overall, and we are ranked first for Civil Engineering and Electrical & Electronic Engineering and feature in the top 10 across five other subjects including Music, Mechanical Engineering, Modern Languages & Linguistics, Philosophy, and Geography and Environmental Studies.