Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
Operating in Gold Command mode, UEB considered a number of issues relating to the pandemic and its implications for the operation of the University:
- The latest student and staff COVID cases dashboard was reviewed, which includes those students who are currently still living at home. New case rates remain very low – in fact, none were reported that morning – and UEB heard local case rates in the city have been reducing, although University Hospital Southampton’s intensive care units remain under pressure. UEB heard uncertainty still surrounds the levels of social distancing measures that will be needed when restrictions start to be lifted. The great unknown is of course the impact of vaccinations on the transmissibility of the virus, and that will determine the pace at which students and staff will be able to return safely to our campuses.
- As part of an update on discussions at the Silver Command meetings, UEB reviewed the decision to suspend academic promotions last year, one of a number of measures introduced to help manage things remotely, reduce workload for individuals and reduce costs due to the financial challenges resulting from the impact of the pandemic. UEB supported a recommendation to resume the promotions process to align with the commencement of the conventional 2021-22 timetable, opening in October this year. There were concerns that with the COVID-19 pandemic still very much ongoing, to resume the process any sooner risked significant equality and fairness consequences alongside the continuing uncertainty over finances. Full details will be communicated through a Managers’ Briefing Sheet in mid-February.
- UEB also agreed a recommendation that in-person summer graduations will, regrettably, not be able to take place this year. All students who have missed an opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony will be offered the opportunity to attend one in person in a future year.
- There was once again a discussion about the impact of this further period of lockdown on the wellbeing of staff, and an encouragement of line managers to continue to provide support and flexibility wherever possible, with a ’best endeavours’ approach. The impact of a day dominated by on-screen Teams meetings was also acknowledged. Line managers are being encouraged to review the necessity, frequency and duration of all regular meetings to see if some can be reduced, both to limit screen time and also to allow time to engage with important, non-meeting work. However, the importance of continuing with individual and team meetings relating to wellbeing was stressed. UEB heard of some local initiatives around time management and encouraged managers to think about what was possible and appropriate within the patterns of delivery of their areas of responsibility.
The meeting then reverted to normal UEB mode, focusing primarily on the monthly review of Strategic Major Projects.
- There was an update on progress with the OneWeb project, which has undertaken a fundamental review of our sprawling digital estate against the needs of our various external users, intended to fundamentally transform the University’s approach to its external digital presence. The project has now successfully completed three of its four phases, and has already seen a significant improvement in a number of areas including an increase in website traffic, and a sustained improvement in performance for tracked keywords on UG and PGT courses – proof of improvement in the University’s search engine optimisation. The pandemic has underlined the importance of our digital presence, but it is recognised that this is only one element of our need and intention to ensure we are more attractive to potential students.
- There was a brief update on our long-term Estates Strategy, ahead of a discussion by our governing Council later this month, including details of the impact that COVID-19 and Brexit are having on the ability of contractors to come to campus, as well as on the procurement and supply of some materials; a brief update on the IT and Student Experience Programmes; and a review of the overall pipeline and budgets for the Strategic Major Projects programmes.
- Finally, UEB discussed the start of LGBT+ History month, during which a number of workshops and seminars are planned for staff and students.