ASC/2008/60 Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday 23 April 2009 

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as a correct record. 

ASC/2008/61 Matter Arising 

 

ASC/2008/62 Convener's Business 

There was no Convener's business to report. 

ASC/2008/63 Report from Academic Regulations Sub-Committee 

The Committee received and noted a report on the current consultation with faculties seeking responses on options for further harmonisation of undergraduate regulations. The consultation considered possible standardisation of progression arrangements within various types of degrees, progression to Honours where selection took place after two years of study, and honours assessment weighting. It was accepted that a single set of degree regulations to cover all undergraduate awards would not be possible; instead the aim of the consultation was to establish whether there was scope to reduce the significant variation which currently existed in these areas.

It was noted that the consultation response date was 1 June and thereafter the Academic Regulations Committee would meet to discuss the way forward. Any regulatory amendments would need to be finalised by April 2010 to enable them to be built into the new system being developed under the Student Lifecycle Project.

ASC/2008/64 Report from Faculty Quality Assurance and Enhancement Officers on Annual Monitoring for Session 2007-08 

Dr Aitken, Convener of the FQAEO Group, introduced this report. He expressed thanks to all staff who had contributed to the annual monitoring process including course conveners and faculty staff with responsibility for quality; he also acknowledged the work of Mrs Wright in the Senate Office who had produced the report and been instrumental in developing the University's activity in this area.

Members were pleased to note a number of developments which had contributed to the increasing level of engagement and systematisation of the annual monitoring process. These included:

• The introduction of a template for the preparation of the Faculty overview of Annual Monitoring Reports;
• Enhancements to the Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) proformas to reflect the feedback received from staff ;
• The provision of a template to guide departmental scrutiny of reports.

It was noted that the new template for the Faculty overview of annual monitoring reports had helped the Group to identify common issues and to share good practice; it had also helped to improve the forward reporting to ASC.

For next year, it had been agreed to adopt a new approach to scrutiny of PGT reports, modelled on ASC's own system for reviewing DPTLA reports, where each FQAEO would scrutinise another faculty's PGT report and present a reflective summary for discussion within the FQAEO Group. It was also planned to encourage departments to complete their reports earlier, after first diet assessment results had come in, rather than waiting for resit diet results and therefore to encourage departments to complete the process earlier.

In a further move to improve the process, the Senate Office was offering a workshop in June 2009 on "Getting the most out of Annual Monitoring" which was intended primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate course conveners.

The Committee welcomed the progress that was being made with the process and agreed that the FQAEO Group should formalise the requirement for Heads of Department to include a report of the Department's scrutiny of AMRs to accompany these documents when they were submitted to the FQAEO.

It was noted that following discussion with the Director of the Equality and Diversity Unit, the AMR proforma had been amended to include a section for information on equality and diversity in future reports. Members suggested that the current wording in the proforma was too vague and would not elicit good information. It was therefore suggested that more specific questions should be presented along with a link to current University policy statements in this area.

Action: Senate Office

In considering feedback arising from the monitoring process, members were pleased to see that student satisfaction had been evident in all reports and that where issues had arisen, steps had been taken to address them. The Committee was advised that staff and student concerns over inadequate teaching accommodation had lessened; however there was concern from the members that the lack of small teaching space was an ongoing issue which, it was agreed, required addressing. Dr Aitken agreed that a meeting would be held with the Vice Principals for Learning, Teaching & Internationalisation and Strategy & Resources in order to take this matter forward.

Action: Senate Office

The Committee noted the issues identified for further action and agreed that these should be taken forward by the individuals identified below with a request for progress to be reported back to ASC in October or November 2009.

Generic Accommodation Issues

• Ongoing difficulties with securing appropriate accommodation on the main University campus for small group teaching [Action: Director of Estates & Buildings]
• Lack of accommodation for classes of 30-40 students [Action: Vice Principal (Strategy & Resources) and Director of Estates and Buildings]
• Request for University to conduct an annual review and upgrade of teaching rooms [Director of Estates and Buildings]
• Improvements in the efficiency of central room bookings with particular attention to avoiding unnecessary movement of courses between rooms [Action: Director of Estates and Buildings]
• Provision of instructions for use of IT equipment in teaching venues [Action: Director of IT Services]

Faculty of Arts

• A clarification of the University position on the September weekend is required to avoid confusion, particularly for new students and in fairness to students (and staff) with childcare commitments. [Action: Vice Principal (Learning, Teaching & Internationalisation) and University Secretary]

Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences

• A plea for a period of stability following the major reorganisation involved in accomplishing the introduction of the New Academic Year. [Action: University to note]
• Refurbishment of the Biology laboratories on the 9th floor of the Boyd Orr is an urgent priority. Staff involved were devastated to learn that the refurbishment, expected to occur in summer 2009, has been postponed. Poor facilities are considered bad for retention. The same goes for SCENE. [Action: Vice Principal (Strategy & Resources)]

Dental School

• There has been a major refurbishment programme in the Dental School, which has resulted in the provision of good facilities. The remainder of the building requires refurbishment and the University's support is requested to ensure that this is addressed. [Action: Vice Principal (Strategy & Resources)]

Faculty of Education 

• Consideration be given to the ways staff undertaking the New Lecturers Teaching Programme are further supported and mentored by their parent Departments. [Action: Director of Human Resources and Vice Principal (Learning, Teaching & Internationalisation)]
• In line with the Internationalisation agenda establish more flexible arrangements, including scholarships and, as appropriate, reduced fees for students from developing countries currently unable to pay full cost recovery overseas fees. [Action: Vice Principal (Learning, Teaching & Internationalisation)]

Faculty of Information & Mathematical Sciences

• Central Room Bookings confirmed teaching rooms quite close to the start of the first semester, making it difficult for staff to react to the allocation of teaching space and for any unsuitable assignments to be swapped. [Action: Director, Estates and Buildings]

Faculty of Law, Business & Social Sciences

• Limited access to 'plug and play' technology in PG teaching accommodation, and poor IT Help Desk service/coverage. [Action: Director of IT Services]

Medical School

• Maternity leave cover in areas with a heavy teaching load should be a priority. This is particularly notable in the case of the MSc (Med Sci) Human and Clinical Nutrition, where only one replacement was supplied to cover three members of staff on maternity leave. [Action: Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine]

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

• The need to develop teaching and laboratory facilities at Garscube, both to alleviate the demand at Gilmorehill and to facilitate enhancement of the teaching and learning experience of science based subjects due to limited facilities/increased student numbers. In this regard the Faculty corporate plan has proposed construction of a new teaching and conference facility, on the Garscube site, which would address many of the shortcomings identified within the FACMR with regard to teaching spaces. In addition, construction of such a facility would address related issues identified outside of the FACMR, such as the inadequate capacity of current on site catering and would enhance integration of the university within the wider local community. [Action: Vice Principal (Strategy & Resources) and Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine]
• Promote to students an inquiring mentality rather than learning to assessment. [Associate Dean, Learning & Teaching, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine]
• Enlarge facilities for post mortems. [Action: Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine]
• The Faculty would like increased commitment and support from Estates and Buildings for identified projects. [Action: Director of Estates and Buildings and Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine]  

ASC/2008/65 Report on External Examiners' Reports for Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Programmes/Courses - 2007-08 

Ms Omand from the Senate Office introduced this report providing an overview of External Examiners reports received for Session 2007-08. All reports had been reviewed by the Senate Office, categorised in terms of the level of satisfaction expressed by the External Examiner, and then forwarded to departments for consideration and action as necessary. It was noted that 80% of the reports received showed at least general satisfaction, with 23% showing the highest level of satisfaction from External Examiners.

Issues requiring attention were wide ranging with a number falling into the areas of marking and marking consistency; assessment (overlap between coursework and examination questions; amount of choice; repetition of questions year on year; length of examination); and procedural issues such as amount of time available to scrutinise papers. Matters would be taken forward as follows: (i) departments would respond directly to individual examiners' comments, and (ii) the Senate Office would forward relevant issues to the Code of Assessment Working Group, and review the Guidance Notes for External Examiners also ensuring that these were disseminated to departments, particularly new Heads of Department.

In terms of procedural issues, one member commented that in light of the University's new academic structures, it would be useful to review the External Examiner appointment form to consider whether all individual courses needed to be included on the form.

Action: Senate Office

Members were pleased to note the areas of good practice identified by External Examiners and the examples provided in annex 3 of the report.

The issue of fees was noted, and it was recognised that comparatively, fees paid to External Examiners were lower at Glasgow. It was agreed that this required serious consideration by the University, and members therefore welcomed the current consultation which was taking place in Faculties.

ASC/2008/66 DPTLA Business 

 

ASC/2008/66.1 Full Review Reports 

ASC/2008/66.1.1 English Language

This report of the above review held on 20 February 2009 had been considered in detail by ASC members Professor Hill and Dr Whittaker.

The Committee was pleased to receive a positive and fair report of a well-functioning and enthusiastic department. It was agreed that the Department should be commended for the range of assessment and feedback offered to students. Members also congratulated the Panel on the relatively small number of recommendations arising from the review (seven).

Attention was drawn to item 3.3 in the report which presented the view of one of the external Panel members that research activity, and particularly the supervision of research students, should have been covered by the review. The report indicated that the external Panel member intended to write to the Vice Principal (Learning, Teaching & Internationalisation) to express his view. ASC noted that the University had recently introduced a separate mechanism for PGR review which took the form of Faculty-wide reviews of Graduate Schools. The first review, of the Faculty of Arts Graduate School, would take place in early June.

ASC approved the seven recommendations for onward transmission to those identified for action.

Action: Senate Office 

ASC/2008/66.1.2 English Literature

This report of the above review held on 16/17 March 2009 had been considered in detail by ASC members Mr Guthrie and Dr Skett.

Members found the report to be fair and positive demonstrating the impressive leadership of the Head of Department, and high quality support to both GTAs and students. Sixteen recommendations had been identified by the Panel. The Committee welcomed the robust recommendation (2) covering assessment feedback to students.

ASC agreed that the Associate Dean for Leaning & Teaching, rather than the Dean, should be asked to take forward actions arising from Recommendation 4 along with the Head of Department. With this amendment, the 16 recommendations were approved for onward transmission to those identified for action.

Action: Senate Office 

ASC/2008/66.1.3 Mechanical Engineering

This report of the above review held on 25/26 February 2009 had been considered in detail by ASC members Dr McCafferty and Dr Cutts.

The Committee noted that this had been a positive review which had demonstrated a significant number of key strengths in the Department including excellent links and consultation with industry.

While the sentiment was welcomed, there was concern at the expression of the recommendation designed to encourage the use of innovative practices in the department (see paragraph 4.7.3 of the report). Members felt that with its present wording this recommendation seemed to make innovative practice a requirement, and this might have the counter effect of constraining the development of original ideas. It was therefore suggested that a lighter touch could be achieved with revised wording such as: "The Review Panel recommends that the Department considers how the experience of successful innovation in learning and teaching could be shared across the Department with a view to inspiring enthusiasm and wider uptake by staff members.".

Noting the correction required to the number of recommendations (18 were listed in the final section), and subject to revision of the recommendation regarding innovative practices as detailed above; the reported recommendations were approved by ASC for onward transmission to those identified for action.

Action: Senate Office 

ASC/2008/66.1.4 Scottish Literature

This report of the above review held on 24 February 2009 had been considered in detail by ASC members Dr Bissell and Professor Watt.

The report demonstrated a successful review from a department with enthusiastic and dedicated staff who focused on research-led teaching. The 12 recommendations were considered to be reasonable in light of the Panel's findings, although it was agreed that recommendation 5 should also be directed to the Dean of Faculty as it concerned a course delivered by another department. Recommendation 10 was strongly supported and it was agreed that this should also be directed to the Head of the Library.

ASC approved the 12 recommendations for onward transmission to those identified for action, subject to adding individuals to take forward recommendation 5 and 10 as detailed above.

Action: Senate Office 

ASC/2008/66.2 12-Month Update Reports 

ASC/2008/66.2.1 Classics

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above Department's review which had taken place on 25 February 2008. It was noted that the Review Convener was satisfied that the recommendations had been, as far as possible, given full and appropriate consideration. In particular the Convener commended the Head of Department's considered and pragmatic response to the balance between Honours options and core courses under Recommendation 11. With regard to Recommendation 9 concerning adequate information for junior staff regarding promotions, it was agreed that the department should be advised to ensure that P&DR was not relied upon as the sole means of disseminating information on promoted appointments.

ASC agreed with the Panel Convener that a number of recommendations required further action and therefore an update on Recommendation 3 should be provided in October 2009 and updates on the remaining recommendations detailed below provided in May 2010.

Recommendation 3 concerned the replacement of a retiring Senior University Teacher with a research active member of staff. It was agreed that an update was required describing the effect on the teaching and administrative roles of staff in view of the new staff member's more research active role.

Recommendation 8 concerned the review of teaching profiles to allow larger group teaching and reduce amount of time spent on small group teaching. An update should be provided after the staffing situation has been resolved.

Recommendation 13 concerned inclusion of aims of ILOs and highlighting transferrable skills.

It was agreed to request a fuller response to this recommendation to include reference to transferrable skills.

Recommendation 16 concerned replacement of examinations with continuous assessment for postgraduate students. It was confirmed that a mixture of assessment methods should be encouraged and that a further update on Postgraduate assessment was required.

Recommendation 19 requested the SRC to ensure that student representatives be given instructions on minute writing. ASC agreed with the SRC's response that the practice of students taking minutes should be discontinued; and therefore requested that the Department should make alternative arrangements and provide an update on these.

Action: Senate Office

ASC/2008/66.2.2 Economic & Social History

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above Department's review which had taken place on 10 March 2008. It was noted that the Review Convener was satisfied that the recommendations had been given full and appropriate consideration. However he proposed that a progress report on Recommendation 4 which concerned opportunities for group work among Honours students should be provided to ASC.

ASC agreed that a progress report on Recommendation 4 should be provided in May 2010.

Action: Senate Office

ASC/2008/66.2.3 Economics

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above Department's review which had taken place on 24 January 2008. It was noted that while the Review Convener was satisfied that a full and appropriate response had been given to the majority of the recommendations, there were a number where work remained ongoing.

ASC agreed that the undernoted recommendations required additional responses which should be reported to ASC in May 2010, with the exception of Recommendation 16 which should be reported to ASC in October 2009.

Recommendation 2 concerned improving formative elements of assessment at UG and PGT levels to increase the number and quality of feedback opportunities. An update should be provided on the Postgraduate Teaching Committee's consideration of an improved form for returning helpful feedback to students; and of procedures for monitoring the quality of feedback returned.

Recommendation 3 concerned the introduction of new assessment practices to support enquiry led learning at levels 1 and 2. It was agreed that the Department should be encouraged to take forward and report on further development of the work done to date which the response indicated there could be scope for.

Recommendation 5 concerned the conversion of study abroad grades. An update should be provided on ongoing Faculty work.

Recommendation 8 concerned student comments on aspects of the Careers Service. It was agreed that the Careers Service staff should initiate the discussions with the Department and its students, as suggested, and should provide an update response.

Recommendation 9 concerned embedding employability at Levels 1 and 2. ASC agreed that the Department should reconsider its response to this recommendation. In particular, it should explore how it might work with the newly appointed Faculty Employability Officer to the benefit of students at Levels 1 and 2.

Recommendation 11 concerned reviewing the PGT programme structures to eliminate duplication and ensure choice as advertised. It was agreed that an update should be given on ongoing work.

Recommendation 16 concerned rates of payment for GTAs. It was noted that the Department of Human Resources was reviewing practices regarding rates of payment for GTAs and that a first meeting to consider collated information had been planned for April 2009. ASC echoed the Convener's concern that this work had not been completed and therefore requested an early update on progress from HR.

Recommendation 18 concerned tutorial provision at PGT level. The Convener of the Panel expressed disappointment at the slow progress with the introduction of smaller group sessions as the Department reported that it was unlikely that any significant change would be implemented until at least 2010-11. ASC agreed that an update response from the Department at the end of session 2009-10 should be provided with a firm commitment to introducing some type of smaller group session in all its PGT programmes in September 2010.

Recommendation 19 concerned student representation on teaching committees. It was agreed that the Department should provide an update on their review of whether to add representatives to Departmental committees in light of experience with student participation on Teaching and Learning Committees.

Action: Senate Office

ASC/2008/66.2.4 Geographical & Earth Sciences

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above Department's review which had taken place on 8 February 2008. It was noted that the Review Convener was satisfied that the recommendations had been, as far as possible, given full and appropriate consideration. ASC joined the Convener in congratulating the department on the progress made so far.  

ASC/2008/66.2.5 History

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above department's review which had taken place on 20 February 2008. It was noted that the Review Convener was satisfied that the recommendations had been, as far as possible, given full and appropriate consideration. Attention was drawn to the response to recommendation 16 concerning the department's experience of using the anti-plagiarism software Turnitin which was found to be of limited value, since it did not cover books. It was noted that these comments had already been passed to the University's Plagiarisim Co-ordinator.

ASC agreed that further responses should be provided to the following two responses in October 2009:

Recommendation 1 concerned GTA rates of pay. HR should provide an update on their review of GTA pay once faculty data had been collated.

Recommendation 8: concerned refurbishment of DISH Laboratory A. The Dean should be invited to provide instructions to Estates and Buildings concerning this refurbishment and report back to ASC.

Action: Senate Office

ASC/2008/66.2.6 Theology & Religious Studies

ASC received a report on the progress made with recommendations arising from the above Department's review which had taken place on 5 March 2008. It was noted that the Review Convener was satisfied that the recommendations had been given full and appropriate consideration. ASC agreed however, that a report on further progress with a number of recommendations should be provided in February 2010. These were recommendations concerning:

• workload model (2);
• return of student assessments (4);
• integration of PDP in the curriculum (7);
• broadening the range of assessment methods (8);
• increasing inter-departmental and inter-faculty collaboration (14);
• introduction of a postgraduate staff-student liaison committee (15)
• development of team teaching and at least two staff members with overlapping expertise in each subject area (17).

Action: Senate Office 

ASC/2008/66.3 Update Reports 

ASC/2008/66.3.1 Veterinary Medicine

The Committee received a report providing further information on progress with recommendations arising from the review of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. Members were pleased to note the recent completion of the new Small Animal Hospital building. However, there was concern that progress with the curriculum review had been slow, and it was agreed that a further update on actions and priorities arising from this review should be provided to ASC in February 2010.

Action: Senate Office

ASC/2008/67 Item Referred from Scottish Agricultural College 

 

ASC/2008/68 Items Referred from Glasgow School of Art 

 

ASC/2008/69 Summary Report of the Review Visit to the Linked Work Training Trust (Central), Grangemouth 

The Committee received the above report of the Review Visit which had been held on 25 February 2009, and approved the recommendation that the University's partnership with LWTT should continue and that LWTT staff should be recognised as teachers of the University for the purposes of teaching on courses leading to degrees and postgraduate diplomas of the University. It was also noted that a Memorandum of Agreement would be developed to formalise the arrangement.

ASC/2008/70 Follow-Up Reports from Programme Approval Groups 

 

ASC/2008/71 Report on Internal Audit of Programme and Course Approval Procedures 

The Committee received and noted a report on the internal audit of the University's programme and course approval procedures that had been conducted on behalf of the University by Deloitte and Touche. The audit had taken place during March and April 2009 with representatives of Deloitte meeting Senate Office staff, reviewing a sample of six new programmes which had been approved by ASC in 2007-08, meeting faculty staff involved with the sampled proposals, and an examination of proposal documentation. A draft report of the audit would be sent to the University for comment, and thereafter a final report would be submitted to Court. Informal feedback had been generally positive, although it had been remarked that some variation in practice had been discovered between faculties.

ASC agreed that the final report should be considered by the Programme and Course Approval Working Group which would provide feedback to ASC and advise on any changes of practice or guidance for staff which arose from the audit conclusions. 

ASC/2008/72 Enhancement-led Institutional Review (ELIR) 2009 - Update 

Members received and noted an update on the University's ELIR which would be held in October and November 2009. This exercise would (i) check that the University was properly maintaining effective arrangements for quality assurance and maintaining standards; and (ii) assess the effectiveness of the University's work in enhancing the student learning experience. Members noted that a team of six reviewers would meet with groups of University staff and students at both visits in October and November. The first visit was primarily a preparation for the main visit (Part 2) in November, and would allow the panel to set the agenda for Part 2 which would involve a larger number of meetings than Part 1.

As part of the process the University was required to submit an evaluation of its own performance on academic standards and quality. This document, the Reflective Analysis, was currently being produced, and the first draft, which was nearing completion, would be considered by the University's ELIR Steering Group. Draft versions would also be published on the University's website and comment would be welcomed at any time.

The visit would conclude with a judgement on the University's ability to maintain standards, and this would be expressed in terms of the panel's 'confidence' in the University. 

ASC/2008/73 Dates for Next Session 

The schedule of dates for the Committee's meetings during 2009-10 was noted as follows:

Friday 9 October 2009

Friday 20 November 2009

Friday 19 February 2010

Friday 23 April 2010

Friday 28 May 2010 

ASC/2008/74 Any Other Business 

 

ASC/2008/75 Date of Next Meeting 

The next meeting of the Academic Standards Committee will be held on Friday 9 October at 9.30am (venue tbc).