Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
Operating in Gold Command mode for the first part of today’s meeting, UEB discussed a number of operational and campus issues:
- UEB heard that the first in-person open day since the start of the pandemic took place over the weekend, with a very positive response from those potential students and parents in attendance. UEB expressed its thanks to all involved, noting the key role played by the student ambassadors who helped ensure such a welcoming environment.
- The latest student and staff COVID cases dashboard was reviewed. Incidences in our own community continue to remain extremely low, as are case levels in Southampton. The continuing importance of regular testing for students and staff was again underlined.
- UEB heard there is considerable uncertainty about the 21 June checkpoint in the government’s lockdown exit road-map, and the potential implications for us, particularly around continuing social distancing and working from home. We will of course update our community when we have further clarity.
The meeting then reverted to normal UEB mode to discuss a number of other issues:
- UEB approved a new Authorship, Contribution and Publishing Policy. This has been developed as part of our Concordat to Support Research Integrity, to ensure that authorship decisions are taken appropriately so that all who contributed are listed as authors, and those who have not, are not unnecessarily added as contributors. The policy will be presented to the next meeting of Senate for a final approval.
- UEB noted publication by the Office for Students (OfS) of a new data measure ‘Projected completion and employment from entrant data (Proceed)’. This new measure, which aims to provide students with an indication of how likely new entrants on a higher education course are to achieve successful outcomes over the lifecycle of their studies, is the outcome of an OfS consultation with the sector on a new experimental measure ‘Start to Success’. Overall, as a university we perform above our benchmark and quite strongly, relative to the sector.
- Our internal auditors KPMG attended for a discussion about potential topics for the 2021-22 internal audit programme. Topics are usually identified through three routes: topics due for regular review based on a previously agreed cyclical plan; topics being covered at other HE institutions in the 2021-22 academic year; and topics identified through review of the Council papers and Strategic Risk Register.
- In addition to the regular review of the University Risk Register, there was a discussion about a potential revision to its format, which has been largely unchanged since its introduction in late 2016. This will also lead to a future UEB discussion about the identification and development of the University’s risk appetite.