Author: Philip Greenish, Chair of Council
Please note: information in this blog was accurate at the time of the meeting – 21 September 2022 – and may now have been superseded.
Council held its first meeting of the academic year by welcoming two new members, Ms Jenni Douglas-Todd, chair of University of Southampton Hospital Trust, and Mr Richard Gledhill, who will also chair the Audit Committee.
Our Council day started with a visit to the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences where we were hosted by the Dean, Professor Michael Butler, who was our guest speaker at the Council dinner the previous evening, and the Heads of Schools. We were briefed on key education, research and enterprise activities and discussed the performance, challenges and ambitions across the Faculty. We then split into groups to tour the National Infrastructure Laboratory and Towing Tank, as well as the Cleanroom Labs and facilities. We were immensely impressed by the quality of all we saw and by the achievements of the Faculty, which is amongst the best in the UK.
At the start of the meeting, Council acknowledged our debt to the late Queen Elizabeth II who had granted us our charter in 1952, the first of her reign, and was the University Visitor.
We then discussed the Vice-Chancellor’s report in which he covered the recent changes in government ministers (which includes the removal of a dedicated science minister), the upcoming government financial statement and its potential implications, pay and pension issues, further information on the National Student Survey (NSS), and recent league tables information. We discussed the roll-out of the new website, the problems encountered and plans to resolve them.
The President of the Students’ Union, Oliver Murray, presented his report to Council. The main focus of discussion was the impact of the rise in the cost of living on our students, including postgraduates. He also briefed us on preparations for the arrival of students for the new academic year.
The Senior Vice-President (Academic), Professor Phillip Wright, updated us on the latest data on undergraduate student recruitment which is ahead of target and has been accompanied by an increase in our entry tariff. Postgraduate student recruitment also looks very strong, although it is too early to be certain of final numbers. We were pleased to note that our accommodation commitment to students has been met in full, confirming the success of what can be a difficult balancing act. We discussed the challenge of ensuring that we can provide this increased number of students with the quality of learning experience they deserve and were satisfied that the essential steps have been taken. As the increase had been anticipated from early in the year, we were assured those preparations have been underway for many months. We noted that we are now ahead of the University’s plan for student number growth and will need to balance future student recruitment carefully against the provision of new buildings and facilities to accommodate them.
We then discussed the 10 Strategic Plans, as presented in posters for each of them. We were content that the Plans, which are each supported by further fine-grained detail, articulate how the University is to deliver the Strategy and how progress will be measured. In our annual cycle of meetings and deep dives, Council will review progress of all 10 Plans through our process for assessing the top-level University Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In approving the Plans, we thanked Yvonne Hawkins, who has led this work, for putting in place the means to deliver this key part of our responsibilities.
We then received an update on the University’s “Size and Shape” plan which links, at high level, plans for student number growth, capacity within the University and affordability, and which underpins the rationale for new buildings and refurbishments over the next 5-10 years. In essence, this analysis demonstrates to Council that the investment in facilities is justified by our growth plans and is necessary to provide the appropriate education, research and enterprise facilities. While the details will inevitably change, we were content that the size and shape work provides the essential high-level business case to underpin the Strategy.
In other matters, we received an update on progress on estates and infrastructure development, we considered and noted issues on pensions and we noted the plans for the Council effectiveness review which will be supported by an external consultant (Halpin Partnership) and is due to start shortly. Our next meeting will be held online and will include deep dives on our International and People Strategic Plans.