It was noted that a mailing had gone to Learning &Teaching staff with advice on a number of assessment-related matters. This had included a note that where external examiners resigned in connection with the industrial action, contact should be made with the Senate Office for advice.

Following a request from ASC, the Adam Smith Business School had provided information around the delayed submission of the School's PGT Annual Monitoring Report. The School had been dealing with additional pressures arising from the double intake of students, meaning that by December only half of their PGT students had completed their programmes of study. There had been issues around external examiners, in part due to industrial action but also the move to reduce high stakes assessment had created a greater workload for them. Problems had been encountered in preparing samples for external examiners from online assessment. ASBS expressed a preference for timetabling of exams for their large classes early in the diet in order to ease the pressure on marking and external examining processes. The School had also set up a working group to review external examiner fees, and were working towards increasing the number of external examiners for session 2022-23.

As had been noted at the March meeting of ASC, where a course had several components of assessment it was acceptable for the external examiner to comment in advance on a sample rather than on every component. In relation to ASBS's expressed wish to have exams for large classes timetabled towards the beginning of exam diets, ASC noted that several other Schools would favour such an arrangement and that the timetabling process was already under pressure.

The experience reported by some ASC members, in contrast to that reported by ASBS, was that making assessment materials available to external examiners had become easier since the introduction of online assessment. However, there was uncertainty around the extent to which giving access to materials on Moodle was permitted. It was agreed that clarity should be sought on this issue. A question was raised more broadly on how well the management of assessment information on Moodle was operating. It was agreed that a report on various aspects of this (access for external examiners, operation of online exams, grade capture and aggregation tool) should be requested for the October 2022 meeting.

Action: Senate Office

At the March 2022 meeting, ASC had discussed a paper submitted by Professor Morgan-Thomas concerning questions around the definition of contact hours in teaching. It had been agreed that the issues mainly fell under the Learning & Teaching Committee's remit rather than ASC's. However, given that the course and programme approval process fell within ASC's remit, it was noted that the course specification template would be updated for the 2022-23 cycle, directing staff to use the narrative text box to provide greater clarity around the form of teaching on the course. This was being taken forward in conjunction with Professor Fischbacher-Smith.

Ms Butcher had undertaken to investigate whether there was any recent guidance from QAA on this issue. She reported that there was guidance for students and staff on contact hours, (this would be circulated to members). The guidance dated from 2021 and had had some updating in connection with the greater use of online teaching during the pandemic but the taxonomy used was not very specific about the different types of learning. QAA had advised that no comprehensive review of the advice was currently planned.

Action: Senate Office

It was noted that the Classics review, which had been delayed due to the industrial action, was now scheduled to take place on 24-25 November 2022. 

ASC/2021/47.1.1 College of Social Sciences - ASBS

Dr Doherty introduced the PGT Annual Monitoring summary for the Adam Smith Business School. A number of aspects of teaching had been highlighted as having gone well such as online delivery, as recognised by students and external examiners, and the move away from reliance on high stakes end-of-course assessments. However, concerns were raised in areas similar to those seen in reports from other parts of the University: excessive staff workload, lack of student engagement for those studying remotely, plagiarism and wider concerns regarding the integrity of online exams. Dr Doherty noted that as well as complying with the University's own quality processes, ASBS was subject to many requirements arising from accreditation by professional bodies. There was sometimes tension between the two, and Dr Doherty planned to have a meeting with the ASBS to look at this more closely.

ASC noted other issues highlighted in the report, again consistent with issues raised elsewhere: class sizes associated with higher student intakes, English language proficiency, pressure on project supervision and technical support for teaching.

It was noted that at the May meeting ASC would normally receive responses to issues being raised at a University level through the AMR process. However, due to significant staff absence in the Senate Office this had been delayed. Ms Butcher advised that the work would be taken forward through the summer with responses being circulated to the committee and a full report provided to ASC at the first meeting of the new session.

Responses had been provided to the recommendations arising from the Review of Urban Studies that took place on 25-26 May 2021. Professor Anderson and Professor MacGregor had reviewed the responses and Professor Anderson presented a report on their behalf. While the School had identified and taken forward appropriate actions under a number of recommendations, it was felt that further information/updates were required:

Recommendation 1: Strategy for growth: a response from External Relations was awaited.

Recommendation 3: Teaching accommodation: Estates had not reported fully.

Recommendation 5: GTAs: a fuller response was requested on what was being done to support mentoring and training.

Recommendation 11: It was unclear if the School had had discussions with IT Services and Academic and Digital Development (which had now replaced LEADS), as suggested.

Recommendation 12: Graduate Attributes: no specific actions had been reported.

Recommendation 13: The work on communication and engagement with PGT students was still in the planning stage.

Recommendation 14: Promoting awareness of the student rep role was still to be taken forward.

Recommendation 15: Advising: actions had not yet been taken forward.

Recommendation 16: Student Community: the response referred to reverting to in-person activities but the recommendation required a broader response.

Recommendation 17: Collaborative provision: more information would become available in the autumn.

Recommendation 19: English language classes for visiting Nankai students: no action was yet being reported.

It was agreed that further responses on the above recommendations should be requested for the November 2022 meeting of ASC.

Action: Senate Office

ASC had received a draft of the Glasgow School of Art's Academic Framework at its meeting in March 2022. Minor amendments had been made in response to ASC's comments. ASC agreed to approve the framework subject to one further point: at section 2 there was a reference to 'GSA awards' and it was noted that this should be 'GSA programmes leading to University of Glasgow awards'.

It had previously been reported that revised GSA Codes of Assessment and Appeals would be received for approval at the current meeting. The documents were currently at the stage of advanced drafts, requiring some further amendments. ASC agreed to delegate authority for the approval of both documents under summer powers to the Convener of ASC and the Clerk of Senate.

ASC received the report from the Periodic Review of the GSA School of Design, held on 10 - 11 February 2022, noting:

• the revalidation of 15 programmes for six years from September 2022, and
• 12 recommendations and four commendations made in the Review report.
It was noted that Recommendation 5 suggested that there should be a School-level approach to course evaluation rather than localised approaches within the School. ASC asked for clarification on why course evaluation should be systematised on a School- rather than institution-level basis.

Action: Academic Collaborations

ASC also approved the revalidation of the following two programmes delivered jointly by the University of Glasgow and GSA for six years from September 2022:

• BEng/MEng Product Design Engineering
• MSc Product Design Engineering
In relation to joint GSA and UoG programmes, a question was raised about the relationship between ASC's scrutiny of GSA's revalidation process and the scrutiny carried out by the University through Periodic Subject Review. It was agreed that this should be clarified through dialogue with the Academic Collaborations Office with a view to ensuring that future documentation submitted to ASC in relation to joint degrees was more explicit as to the aspects of validation that ASC were required to scrutinise, and that appropriate information was included to facilitate this.

Action: Senate Office

ASC received the report of the Validation for the MRes Zoonoses & Epidemiology of Animal Infectious Diseases, which took place on 2 March 2022, and the response to that report setting out the progress made in relation to the conditions and recommendations. ASC was pleased to note the comprehensive responses and clear timelines. In relation to condition (a), which concerned the requirement for clarity around the delivery model, it was noted that while some of the actions were complete, work would be on-going until commencement of the programme in September 2022. ASC agreed to approve validation subject to the continuation and completion of this work.  

On the recommendation of the Clerk of Senate, ASC agreed to approve the appointment of one new member of staff as a University of Glasgow Associate University Lecturer. (This staff member had been omitted from the list of new staff approved at the University of Glasgow-Edinburgh Theological Seminary Joint Board which took place on 15 December 2021.) 

The School of Simulation & Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art was subject to Periodic Review in session 2019-20. ASC received the final update report on progress made in relation to five recommendations. 

ASC noted that, following in-principle approval given at ASC meetings in March and May 2021, the following had been validated by the Glasgow School of Art, effective from September 2022:

BDes Design for Health & Wellbeing (New)

MDes Design Innovation Suite (Major Amendments)

MDes Design Innovation & Future Heritage (New)

MDes Innovation & Circular Economy (New)

BDes/MEDes Product Design (Major Amendments)

ASC noted the approved Full Review Report from the review of Film & Television Studies, Theatre Studies and the Centre for Cultural Policy which took place on 3-4 March 2022. Dr Ballance and Dr Ferguson had acted as reviewers and had noted a number of issues raised in the review which had been highlighted to ASC in other ways, e.g. the pressure associated with significant increases in student numbers, teaching accommodation, the role of Student Support Officers, a number of issues associated with the transfer of students from Glasgow International College.