University of Glasgow
Academic Standards Committee
Minute of Meeting held on Friday 7 October 2011 at 9:30 AM in the Melville Room
Professor Vince Bissell, Dr Barbara Burns, Professor Graham Caie, Professor Philip Cotton, Professor Neil Evans, Professor Thomas Guthrie, Mr James Harrison, Mr Matthew Hastings, Professor Bob Hill, Professor Carole Hough, Dr Martin Macauley, Ms Helen McAvoy (vice Mr George Tait), Dr Kevin O'Dell, Dr Allison Orr, Ms Anna Phelan, Dr Karen Renaud, Dr Bill Stewart, Professor David Watt (Convener).
In Attendance:Ms Helen Butcher, Dr Christopher Loughrey (for item ASC/2011/4), Ms Eleanor Waugh.
Apologies:Dr Jack Aitken, Dr Mike Carroll, Professor Frank Coton, Mrs Elizabeth Hancock, Professor Alice Jenkins.
Welcome
The Convener welcomed the following new members to their first meeting of the Committee: Barbara Burns, James Harrison, Carole Hough, Kevin O'Dell, Allison Orr and Eleanor Waugh. It was also noted that Alice Jenkins had also re-joined the Committee as convener of the Programme and Course Approval Working Group.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as a correct record.
It was reported that EdPSC had approved the following regulatory proposals recommended by ASC:
- Revised Generic Regulation combining PGT and MRes degree programmes - there would also be further consultation with Deans of Graduate Schools;
- Amendments to the Code of Assessment Senate had not approved proposals from ASC and EdPSC regarding discretion in the award of honours classifications. Instead, it had been agreed that there should be further consultation with Schools and Colleges.
It was noted that the Programme and Course Approval Working Group (PCAWG) would meet this semester and would consider the possibility of expanding the proposal support document to improve information on proposers' responses to consultation feedback.
Members also noted that PCAWG would consider at its next meeting the issue of collecting information on current courses which have an opt-out from coursework reassessment.
ASC noted that the report of the validation of the proposed new Joint MSc in Product Design Engineering at Glasgow School of Art had not been referred to the Clerk of Senate and ASC Convener for approval under summer powers as it has not yet been ratified by the School of Engineering. It was now expected that the validation report would be submitted to ASC at its meeting on 18 November 2011.
Dr Loughrey introduced his report on the proposal from the School of Veterinary Medicine to introduce an intercalated Masters by Research degree programme for BVMS students.
Members were advised that the intercalated degree would be taken after the first three years of preclinical training on the BVMS as this was the optimal break point in the degree's structure. Years 4 and 5 needed to be taken together as these consisted of training in medicine and surgery in year 4 followed by final year clinical rotation. The School was confident that the intercalated entrants, who would be highly motivated and talented students, would have sufficient scientific grounding to undertake research at Masters level.
ASC gave in-principle approval to the proposal noting the following benefits.
- The degree would provide a meaningful research experience to undergraduate students and thus help to attract graduates into scientific/academic careers, contributing to the development of the next generation of academic leaders in Veterinary Medicine.
- The experience of a full year of research and the completion of a Masters thesis would lay the groundwork for PhD work and increase our graduates' competitiveness for prestigious scholarships and PhD positions.
- The postgraduate intercalated qualification would be particularly attractive to international students, many of whom entered the BVMS as BSc graduates.
- The availability of an intercalated Masters degree at Glasgow would remove our current disadvantage compared to many UK Veterinary Schools which already offer postgraduate intercalated degrees.
The proposal would now be considered in detail through agreed programme approval procedures.
ASC agreed to the undernoted proposals regarding the regulations on Incomplete Assessment and Good Cause in the Code of Assessment. Revised regulations would be drafted and submitted to ASC for confirmation in advance of their introduction in the Code in 2012-13.
Action: Senate Office
Amendment of the regulations on Incomplete Assessment and Good Cause to:
include provision for up to 25% of any expected attendance requirement to be waived where Good Cause is established. This would draw a parallel with the provision for up to 25% of incomplete assessment to be waived where there was Good Cause (along with no further opportunity to take the assessment), and would prevent the situation where students who had been absent with Good Cause received Credit Refused due to their failure to meet the required attendance levels - even if they had fully completed course assessments. Members also noted that it was important that Schools were fully aware of the consequences for students if they failed to meet set attendance requirements, and therefore Schools should be clear about the minimum level of attendance they considered necessary for credit to be awarded. As with assessment, the revised regulation would allow Schools to stipulate a 100% attendance requirement;
specify that students being considered for the award of an unclassified honours degree arising from Incomplete Assessment and Good Cause would not need to have satisfied the normal requirement in relation to satisfactory completion of a dissertation. It was acknowledged that the award of an unclassified degree was unusual and given that the award of such a degree could be based on as little as 30% of the total honours assessment, members agreed it would be harsh to deny the degree to students on the basis of the lack of a dissertation. Members noted that the unclassified degree was not a widely understood award and therefore recommended that an explanatory note should be added to the transcript of students receiving this award.
Action: Senate Office and SLP
specify that where honours assessment was affected by Good Cause, course grades should be returned where 75% or more of the course assessment was completed and, the MV grade returned where less than 75% of the course assessment was completed. It was agreed that it would be unfair for the final grade on the student transcript to show MV where more than 75% of the assessment had been completed. This would not change the fact that any completed portion of the assessment would be counted in the overall calculation of the honours classification. It was noted that at sub honours level there would a later opportunity to take the assessment and therefore a final grade would eventually be available.
ASC noted other work currently in progress with ARSC:
Operation of Discretion by Examination Boards
Following Senate's request for further consultation on proposals on the operation of discretion in relation to the award of honours classifications and the award of merit and distinction in PGT programmes, ARSC was in the process of gathering information on:
- practice in different parts of the University in relation to the operation of discretion in the different borderline zones;
- the recent debate in the College of MVLS concerning borderline vivas.
ARSC would then report to Colleges and Schools, and seek views on proposals before reporting further to ASC.
Assessment of Visiting Students
ARSC had reviewed the existing principles on the assessment of visiting students which had been developed in 2003 and had identified some modification and update to these. The Sub-Committee was consulting with Colleges before bringing formal proposals to ASC.
Review of the Code of Assessment in relation to professional degrees
This review was underway and the following issues had been identified for further discussion with representatives from the various professional areas:
- Schedule B (for some assessments 'Satisfactory' and 'Unsatisfactory' were considered to be the appropriate outcomes).
- Multiple forms of assessment on single courses, being assessed through Schedule A and Schedule B, which could not be combined in order to establish one overall course result.
- Reassessment (there was some concern about how the Code's provisions applied in relation to the components and sub-components of assessment being used on some courses).
- The fact that the professional degrees in MVLS were neither 'honours' nor 'non-honours' programmes in the traditional sense used in the Code of Assessment, and that the significance of certain features of the degrees were thus not fully captured.
ASC considered a paper which proposed a schedule of North American (NA) grade equivalences to the University's grades. The schedule had been submitted following the School of Veterinary Medicine's request for the existing equivalence schedule held by the Registry to be updated. There was a strong demand for grade equivalence information from the high number of NA students registered on the BVMS degree.
It was proposed that the schedule could be adopted for use by both NA students studying at Glasgow for full degrees, or shorter durations such as a single semester; and to assist in the grade conversion of any Glasgow students who undertook some study abroad in NA. While members agreed that any statement of grade equivalence or conversion should work in both directions, there was concern at the prospect of adopting the proposed schedule as a University-wide standard. It was observed that the proposed schedule did not reflect current conversion practice in other areas of the University, and it was also noted that the newly introduced regulations for the assessment of study abroad allowed Schools - with reference to the College Dean of Learning & Teaching - to develop and publish their own conversion schedules on a programme by programme basis. It was considered that such conversions were likely to vary between subjects and also between different NA institutions.
ASC therefore agreed that there should not be a standard University schedule of NA grade equivalences, but that these should be agreed, and published, locally at College and/or School level. It was noted that the School of Veterinary Medicine would be free to adopt the proposed schedule if the College of MVLS was in agreement.
The Clerk of Senate raised a separate matter in relation to student information and academic transcripts. He noted that concern had been raised among PhD students regarding the lack of any provision of transcript information. It was agreed that this matter would be referred to the Student Transcript Working Group which reported to EdPSC.
Action: Senate Office
ASC/2011/7.1.1 Electronics & Electrical Engineering
ASC received the report of the Review of EEE which had taken place on 24 February 2011. Members welcomed the report and noted the following points in particular:
- the Panel was impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the staff and GTA groups;
- EEE demonstrated a number of strengths as evidenced by several commendations such as the inclusive approach adopted in responding to the Self Evaluation Report, providing students with opportunities to apply their learning through practical work, and supporting students to identify industrial placements;
- the Panel also noted that EEE demonstrated an awareness of areas requiring improvement which were represented in the recommendations.
The report, including its 23 recommendations, was approved.
ASC/2011/7.2.1 Accounting & Finance
The Committee received a report providing a further update on progress with 3 recommendations from the Accounting & Finance review held in February 2010. Members agreed that good progress had been made and that no further information on this review needed reporting to ASC.
ASC/2011/7.2.2 Civil Engineering
ASC received a report providing a further update on progress with 4 recommendations from the Civil Engineering review held in March 2010. Members agreed that sufficient progress had been made and therefore no further information on this review needed reporting to ASC.
ASC/2011/7.2.3 Dental School
ASC received a report providing a further update on progress with 2 recommendations from the review of the Dental School held in March 2010. Members were satisfied with the reported progress and therefore no further information on this review needed reporting to ASC.
ASC/2011/7.2.4 Dumfries
The Committee received a report providing a further update on progress with 4 recommendations from the review of the Dumfries Campus held in February 2010. Members agreed that the recommendations had been addressed and therefore no further information on this review needed reporting to ASC.
ASC/2011/7.2.5 HATII
ASC received a report providing a further update on progress with 3 recommendations from the review of the HATII held in February 2010. Members were satisfied that the recommendations had been addressed and therefore no further information on this review needed reporting to ASC.
ASC/2011/7.2.6 History of Art
The update report relating to recommendations from the above review was unavailable and therefore was deferred to the next meeting of ASC.
ASC/2011/7.3.1 2010-11: Summary of Recommendations
ASC received and noted the summary of the recommendations made by PSR panels in session 2010-11. The majority of the recommendations were found to relate to one of three identified themes of student support; resources for learning and teaching; and feedback on assessment.
The Committee did not identify any issues which required any further action, as it was noted that the issue relating to accommodation for Music was considered under another item (see minute ASC/2011/8 below).
ASC/2011/7.3.2 Summary of Good Practice / Key Strengths
The Committee considered the report which identified items of good practice noted by PSR panels in session 2010-11. It was agreed that all items should be disseminated across the University. The Senate Office would therefore take this forward by seeking further information and contact details from the relevant Schools before the good practice was published online and also drawn to the attention of the Learning and Teaching Centre to input to other relevant developments.
ASC also agreed that instances of good practice relevant to recommendations in other reviews should be highlighted to the relevant School.
Action: Senate Office
ASC received a report detailing the responses which had been received in relation to the items identified as requiring attention in the Quality Officers' Annual Monitoring Report for 2009-10. ASC agreed that the responses should be fed back to School Quality Officers directly and also considered by the Quality Officers' Forum (QoF).
Dr Macauley, the Convener of QoF, commented that while the feedback was useful and showed some engagement with the issues raised, it also appeared that in some cases the responses had not answered specific questions and he was concerned that this would not help with the issues of scepticism in the annual monitoring process which had been reported at the previous meeting.
The Committee noted that in a number of responses, comment had been passed questioning whether the annual monitoring process was the most appropriate mechanism for seeking action on the issues raised. Members also suggested that the progressive summarising of issues through the reporting process caused some problems in providing clarity on the issues requiring attention. Dr Macauley confirmed that the modifications to the process under the new academic structures would help in that there was now an explicit action for Schools to identify issues which could be addressed immediately, rather than being passed through the process before any actions were taken forward. It was also noted that the summarising would be reduced as individual College reports would be submitted to ASC for the 2010-11 annual monitoring round.
Attention was drawn to the response from Vice Principal (Strategy and Resources) regarding the accommodation for Music, which stated that "a new building for Music is not currently seen as a priority by SMG or Court and is not included in the 10 year capital plan." ASC was deeply concerned by this response to a longstanding and serious issue concerning learning and teaching resources. It was also noted that this had been the predominant issue during the Review of Music held in February this year. It was agreed that EdPSC should be asked to consider whether any further action should be taken on this issue.
In considering the remainder of the report, ASC agreed to the following actions:
- A review of the student carers' policy in order to include a similar clause to that in the Religion and Belief Equality Policy which would permit carers to highlight special circumstances early on; these would then be passed to Registry to take into account in the set up of examination timetables (although accommodation of requests could not be guaranteed and would be subject to other constraints);
- Referral of issues 13 and 15 in section A1 to the Joint Strategic Management Board for GIC; and,
- Request updates on progress as follows:
-
- The Director of RIO for issues 1 and 14 in A1 following further input from the College of Arts and School of Veterinary Medicine respectively;
- The Clerk of Senate in relation to actions for the Chief Advisers Sub-Committee (see A7);
- The Head of EFL on the outcome of the meeting to discuss the request from Medicine to provide guidance on writing scientific reports for overseas students (see A14);
- Items on AV in teaching space referred on to AV-IT Services (see A17, Section B).
ASC also noted that no response had been received from the Director of IT Services and a reminder would be sent.
ASC agreed to recommend its proposed remit and composition for 2011-12 to EdPSC, see Appendix 1.
The proposed membership of ASC for 2011-12 was approved for recommending to EdPSC, see Appendix 2.
The Committee approved the membership of the four Programme Approval Groups for session 2011-12.
ASC received and noted the report from the above Joint Board meeting held on 1 June 2011.
The report of the above Joint Board meeting held on 7 July 2011 was received and noted.
ASC received an update on the Statements of Intent issued from the Glasgow School of Art for proposed programmes which were scheduled for validation during the current session.
The Statements of Intent which had been approved by the Convener of ASC, and the Clerk of Senate under summer powers were noted:
MDes Design and Citizenship
MDes Digital Culture
The Committee also considered the Statement of Intent for a new degree: MEd Creative Practice. It was agreed to approve this document on the condition that the validation panel included an additional member from the School of Education in the University who would be invited to consider specifically GSA's resources and expertise to accommodate delivery of a Master of Education degree programme.
It was also noted that the GSA Academic Council had approved a Statement of Intent for an Undergraduate International Foundation Programme, although this would not be a validated award.
ASC received and noted a report detailing new programmes and major changes to programmes which had been approved by the Convener and Clerk of Senate under summer powers either following fast-track scrutiny or carry forward from the proposals considered by the Semester 2 PAGs.
The following programmes were approved for 2011-12. [Proposals are for new programmes unless marked with * which denotes a major change to a current programme].
College of Arts
MSc English Language & English Linguistics*
MSc English Language & English Linguistics (Applied)
College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences
BVMS*
Doctorate in Health Professions Education*
BSc (MedSci/DentSci/VetSci) in Virology
MSc Cardiovascular Practice
MSc Sport & Exercise Science
College of Science & Engineering
BEng (Hons) Mechatronics
BSc Earth Studies
BSc (Hons) Statistics*
BSc (Hons) Statistics and another subject*
BSc Statistical and Mathematical Studies*
MRes Advanced Statistics
MSc Automotive Engineering
MSc Biostatistics
MSc Embedded Electronic Systems
MSc Environmental Statistics
MSc Geomatics & Management
MSc Mechatronics
MSc Social Statistics
MSc Software Development
MSc Space Systems Engineering
MSc Statistics
MSc Sustainable Energy
MSc Sustainable Water Resources
MSc/PgD Aquatic System Science
MSc/PgD Coastal System Management
MSc/PgD Freshwater System Science
MSc/PgD Marine System Science
MSci Statistics*
MSci Statistics and another subject*
College of Social Sciences
MSc International Management for China
LLM International Property and Digital Economy
LLM International Law and Security
MEd Professional Practice in Higher Education/Diploma in Academic Practice*
MRes/MSc Global Security
MSc Chinese Studies
MSc Drug and Alcohol Studies
MSc Global Economy
MSc Global Health
MSc International Business and Economic Development
MSc International Business and Entrepreneurship*
MSc International Management and Design Innovation
MSc International Management and Leadership
MSc International Strategic Marketing
MSc Management with Enterprise and Business Growth
MSc Management with Human Resources
MSc Management/Management with International Finance/Management with International Real Estate*
MSc Transnational Crime, Justice and Security
ASC noted the numbers of new courses and course amendments processed through PIP during session 2010-11. The number of course changes had reduced from the previous year, and there was a small increase in new course proposals and a large increase in course withdrawals. The latter represented a large-scale deletion of obsolete courses in the process of transition to the online course catalogue last session.
There were no items of reserved business.
The next meeting of the Academic Standards Committee will be held on Friday 18 November 2011 at 9.30am (venue to be confirmed).
Created by: Ms Helen Butcher