UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
College of Arts Management Group
Minute of Meeting held on Wednesday 25 May2016 in
Room 208, 4 Lilybank Gardens.
Present:
Professor R Ó Maolalaigh (Convenor); Professor L Abrams;Miss L Broe; Professor D Broun; Dr B Burns; Professor K Crameri; Professor D Eleftheriotis; Professor D Heddon; Professor K Lury; Miss L McGarry (Clerk);Dr F Rowan; Ms G Shaw; Professor JJ Smith; Dr D Spaeth.
Apologies:
Dr P Morris; Professor C Panayotakis.
ACMG/2015/129Proposed Changes to ECDP from 2016-17 (presentation by Professor Murray Pittock and Mr Eddie O’Grady)
The Convenor welcomed Professor Murray Pittock and Mr Eddie O’Grady to the meeting to present on the redevelopment of ECDP, and Professor Michael Syrotinski as the College of Arts ECDP Champion. This redevelopment was as a result of a recent review of the programme commissioned by the ECDP Working Group led by Professor Neal Juster. The principal focus of the review was on the Development Framework and as a result of the review, SMG had agreed to extend coverage from R&T only to R track and T track. Mr O’Grady outlined those who had been consulted throughout the review and identified the key findings:
- There was a need for “just in time” induction as colleagues were unsure how to make their first steps on the programme
- It was unclear how the programme supported the University in meeting its strategic ambitions
- Bringing promotion criteria to the heart of the programme
- A one-size-fits-all approach was not welcomed
- Mentoring was working particularly well
As a result of these findings, Mr O’Grady outlined the main differences to the overall approach of the programme from 2016-17 as being:
- Learning themes to be identified in line with promotion criteria
- A bespoke “learning pathway” would be developed for each participant via a new Individual Development Planning form
- Individual Development Planning forms would be completed through discussion with line managers and input from mentors, and signed off at College level, although final sign off was up for debate.
- There would be a central training offering for optional EOD/RSIO modules agreed in discussions with EOD/RSIO/Champions
Mr O’Grady outlined the proposed offerings across all of the themes as well as the proposed programme of induction. It was intended that the Development Programme would be live for new and existing participants by September 2016. The new forms would be made available before September via the College’s ECDP Champion.
CMG highlighted the need for improved training for mentors. Professor Pittock acknowledged that there was a need for central induction for mentors and suggested that consistent mentoring across institutions was key. It was agreed that School ECDP Champions could be utilised more to support mentors.
The Convenor thanked Professor Pittock and Mr O’Grady for the update. Ms Shaw agreed to circulate the presentation to CMG.
Action: GS
ACMG/2015/130RSIO Admin Review (Professor Murray Pittock and Ms Deborah Maddern)
The Convenor welcomed Ms Deborah Maddern to the meeting, attending with Professor Pittock to gatherviews concerning the RSIO Admin Review on 20 July 2016. Views were being sought on key interactions, ethics, the various relationships with RSIO, the effectiveness of knowledge exchange and engagement, and areas of College interface with RSIO.
Following lengthy discussion during which members of CMG outlined their positive experiences in dealing with RSIO, as well as potential areas for improvement, it was agreed that further feedback should be sent directly to Ms Maddern. The Convenor thanked Professor Pittock and Ms Maddern for attending.
Action: All
ACMG/2015/131Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 27 April 2016
The minutes of the meeting held on 27 April were approved subject to amendments to:
- ACMG/2015/115.09School of Modern Languages and Cultures: EAS Business Case
- ACMG/2015/120Graduate School
- ACMG/2015/122.04Common Purpose Kuala Lumpur Global Leader Experience
ACMG/2015/132Matters Arising
ACMG/2015/132.01Internationalisation (ACMG/2015/111)
The Convenor asked Heads of School to follow-up on the action from the previous meeting to liaise with Jim Conroy regarding his attendance at School meetings in 2016-17.
ACMG/2015/132.02School of Critical Studies: Subject Name Change (ACMG/2015/113.01)
The Convenor asked that the English Language Subject Name Change be reflected on the website.
ACMG/2015/132.03Sustainability Champion (ACMG/2015/114.07)
The Convenor had received no feedback from colleagues on a potential College Sustainability Champion and asked for thoughts.
Action: All
ACMG/2015/132.04School Co-location Champions (ACMG/2015/114.08)
The Convenor asked CMG to send him suggestions for School Co-location Champions.
Action: All
ACMG/2015/132.05School Risk Register (ACMG/2015/122.06)
Professor Eleftheriotis pointed out that the planning dashboards completed by Schools included a section on risk and asked if these could be used as the School Risk Registers. Miss Broe clarified that although the risk should be the same, Schools would be required to complete the Risk Register template as risks would have to be ranked.
ACMG/2015/132.06EDU Training (ACMG/2015/125.01)
Ms Shaw reported a 76% response rate for EDU Training. The College’s target was 90%.
ACMG/2015/133Convenor’s Business
ACMG/2015/133.01Professor Kathryn Crameri
The Convenor informed CMG that Professor Crameri would step down as Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, and would leave the University with effect from the end of August 2016. Dr Burns remarked on Professor Crameri’s impressive contribution to the School and the changes she had made to its culture through open meetings, discussions and sharing. The Convenor thanked Professor Crameri for her strong legacy and impact on the School and wished her the best for the future.
ACMG/2015/133.02Guardian League Tables
The Convenor reported that the University of Glasgow was down two places in the Guardian 2017 League Tables, from 24th to 26th, and down one place to 15th in the Russell Group. The University had 13 Subject Areas in the Top 10, with four of these Subject Areas in Arts:
- Religious Studies & Theology in 4th place
- History of Art in 6th place
- Classics and Ancient History in 8th place
- Film Production and Photography in 7th place
ACMG/2015/133.03Strike Action
The Convenor reminded colleagues of the current strike action and asked colleagues to pass on details of any issues and Heads of Schools to report absences. It was agreed that Heads of School should send reminders to staff to report absences.
Action: HoS
ACMG/2015/133.04Staff Survey
The Convenor provided an update on the Staff Survey completion rates for the University, College and Schools and asked Heads of School to take action to raise these figures.
Action: HoS
ACMG/2015/133.05Project Development Board update
The Convenor reported that he would attend a meeting with Professor Neal Juster, Ms Ann Allen and Mr David Newall on Thursday 26 May. The Strategic Brief was good but not yet meeting all requirements. Members of the Project Development Board had visited Strathclyde on Tuesday 24 May and were hoping to visit other buildings to gather ideas for the Arts building. Dr Spaeth pointed out that building users at Strathclyde University required a card to gain access beyond the reception area, and questioned the effect that closing off spaces would have on the NSS. It was suggested that it may be useful to look at NSS scores for universities that had recently undergone similar changes.
ACMG/2015/133.06College Advisory Group
The Convenor reported that the first College Advisory Group meeting had been attended by 35 people and proposed to replace one College Council meeting per semester with a College Advisory Group meeting. The College Advisory Group meetings would be used to have focussed conversations on strategic matters.
ACMG/2015/133.07SMG
Miss Broe reported from the May meeting of SMG, which she had attended on behalf of the VP and Head of College, and provided updates on the Campus Redevelopment, the Budget, and the REF Review Action Plans for the Modern Languages and History of Art. While the Modern Languages Action Plan had been approved by SMG, Professor Miles Padgett had expressed concern around the ownership of some of the action points in the History of Art Action Plan. History of Art was aware of this issue as the HoC had provided similar feedback prior to the SMG discussion.
ACMG/2015/133.08SMGr
Professor Heddon reported on a recent meeting of the SMG Roundtable which she had attended on behalf of the VP and Head of College, where the focus of the meeting had been on pricing and discounting. Discussion had also been held regarding Planning Dashboards and the Planning Dashboard pilot update feedback session was scheduled to take place at the Principal’s Advisory Group meeting on 6 June where all members of PAG would be able to feed back on their experience. It was suggested that the International Summer School had not been given enough profile in CMG meetings and that this should be added to CMG agendas.
ACMG/2015/134Schools’ business
ACMG/2015/134.01School of Culture and Creative Arts: Business Cases
CMG approved business cases from the School of Culture and Creative Arts for a Grade 9 Lecturer in Theatre Studies at 1.0FTE, and a Grade 7 Lecturer in Theatre Studies at 0.8FTE, proposed to complement existing practice-based expertise and to address the gap in Theatre Studies’ current research and research-led teaching profile.
ACMG/2015/134.02School of Modern Languages and Cultures: Business Cases
CMG approved a business case from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures for a Grade 6 Native Language Teacher at 0.5 FTE, proposed to enhance the staffing profile of German and address student feedback on the amount of tutoring provided by native speakers.
CMG also approved a business case from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures for a Chair in Hispanic Studies, proposed to replace the outgoing Chair and to address issues of understaffing in Hispanic Studies. It was agreed that this post should be advertised as a Chair of Hispanic Studies and Head of School.
ACMG/2015/134.03School of Culture and Creative Arts: organisational restructuring of TFTS / CCPR
CMG considered a proposal from the School of Culture and Creative Arts to formalise the
autonomous identities of the three subgroups and recognise them as Subject Areas / Centre in their own right, in response to the top recommendation of the report from the 2015 Periodic Subject Review of TFTS / CCPR. The proposed Subject Areas / Centre were:
- Theatre Studies
- Film and Television Studies
- Centre for Cultural Policy Research
CMG approved the proposal. The Convenor and Miss Broe agreed to follow up on the next steps of approval.
Action: ROM / LB
CMG/2015/134.04Glasgow Life Business Case
CMG considered a business case from the College of Arts for a Grade 8/9 joint University of Glasgow / Glasgow Life Research Development post, to create research clusters around subjects of shared interest and to raise funds to carry out that research. The post would be funded 50:50 and tied in with Kelvin Hall. CMG expressed uncertainty around which job family this post would fit into and questioned the proposed grade. Concern was expressed around this being a facilitating post, potentially resulting in duplication. Following some discussion, CMG agreed to approve this business case in principle, agreeing that a job description was required.
ACMG/2015/135Research
ACMG/2015/135.01Grant Applications
Professor Lury reported that the College had received a variety of grants from the British Academy. Professor Lury was disappointed to report an unsuccessful Wellcome application and was seeking feedback on this.
ACMG/2015/135.02Research Leave
Professor Lury reported that all Research Leave applications had been received: 13 from the School of Critical Studies, 6 from the School of Culture and Creative Arts, 12 from the School of Humanities / SgoilnanDaonnachdan, and 8 from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The meeting to discuss these applications would be held on Monday 13 June.
ACMG/2015/135.03TRM
Professor Lury informed that Ms Gillian Richardson, who was leading the TRM project, was leaving the University at the end of June. The system was due to go live at the end of August, dependent on fixes.
ACMG/2015/135.04REF Reviews
Professor Lury reported that the HATII REF Review meeting had recently taken place while reviews were being scheduled for Celtic and Gaelic, History, English, and Theatre, Film and Television Studies.
ACMG/2015/135.05Global Challenge Fund
Professor Lury informed CMG of the Global Challenge Fund which had an unspent pot of £376 million. This could be allocated across councils and would feature strongly in highlight notices up until 2020. The Convenor pointed out that the Glasgow School of Art Strategy Group was keen to have a discussion regarding the Global Challenge Fund. The Convenor would discuss this offline with Professor Lury.
Action: ROM/KL
ACMG/2015/135.06Research Centre Application
CMG considered an application from Professor Fiona Macpherson in the School of Humanities / SgoilnanDaonnachdan for a Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience. Following lengthy discussion during which CMG raised questions over funding plans, administrative support, and what was to be gained from the Centre, it was agreed that CMG was supportive of the application. The Convenor recommended that some of the text be tidied up and that broader discussion be held regarding administrative support, and suggested that Professor Lury liaise further with RSIO regarding the application.
Action: KL
ACMG/2015/135.07Research Policy Changes
Professor Lury referred to the document circulated prior to the meeting proposing revision of current policies for Research Support at College level and outlined the proposed changes to Research Leave and the Strategic Research Allocation. The Convenor was broadly supportive of these proposals although raised questions regarding oversight from College. Following discussion, it was agreed that Professor Lury should meet with Heads of School to further discuss these proposed changes offline.
Action: KL/HoS
ACMG/2015/136Learning and Teaching
ACMG/2015/136.01University Teaching Excellence Awards
Dr Spaeth announced two University Teaching Excellence Awards winners in Arts: Mr Matt Barr in HATII and Miss Joanna Tucker in History.
ACMG/2015/136.02PIP Administration
Dr Spaeth informed Heads of School that the College Learning and Teaching Committee was moving forward with PIP reforms to course approval. This would result in more work for School committees. Ms Jane Neil would help Schools with this transition.
ACMG/2015/136.03Workload Model
Dr Spaeth announced that he would meet with Heads of School Administration over the next few weeks to discuss the Workload Model.
ACMG/2015/136.04Senior Adviser Interviews
Interviews for a new Senior Adviser of Studies would be held during the week commencing 30 May. There were two applicants for this role.
ACMG/2015/136.05Advising Review
Dr Spaeth informed CMG that the Advising Review was ongoing and Dr Wendy Anderson was aiming to prepare a report from the review for the June meeting of CMG.
ACMG/2015/137Graduate School
ACMG/2015/137.01 Graduate School Conference
Dr Burns reported that the Graduate School international interdisciplinary conference, on the theme 'Difference: Fear, Fascination and Foreignness',was into its second day and was running successfully.
ACMG/2015/137.02 AHRC
Dr Burns informed CMG that AHRC acceptances were at 15. Arts had lost seven candidates; evidence suggested that six of thesehad beenholding Glasgow as a second choice, and had opted tostudy elsewhere when they had received an offer.
ACMG/2015/137.03 Ethics Approval
Dr Burns asked for an update on progress with the ethics approval process. This had emerged from the Arts PGT CAMS report, where the pointhad beenmade that delays in securing ethical approval had held some students up from progressing with their dissertations. Professor Lury agreed to follow up on this with Mr Sam Gannon.
Action: KL
ACMG/2015/137.04 AHRC Internships
Dr Burns reported on the six AHRC post-doctoral internships with Glasgow Life. The three-month projects were now complete and this had been a valuableopportunity both for the interns and for Glasgow Life, especially the Burrell Collection where four of the projects had been based.The interns had produced excellent outputsin a short space of time. A final report for the AHRC was being compiled.
ACMG/2015/138College Secretary’s Business
ACMG/2015/138.01Insurance, IT and Student Status
Miss Broe referred to a paper she had circulated prior to the meeting regarding information for staff on insurance, IT and student status. It was agreed that this information should be made available on the College of Arts web pages and Heads of Schools should distribute the document to staff.
Action: HoS
ACMG/2015/138.02School of Culture and Creative Arts: Head of School Administration
The applications for the Head of School Administration in the School of Culture and Creatives Arts closed on 24 May and School had received 20 applications. The interview date was to be rescheduled.
ACMG/2015/138.03Project Co-ordinator
Interviews for the Project Co-ordinator cover had been held on 24 May and no appointment was made. The College would invite two candidates to interview who had been unable to attend on the original interview date.
ACMG/2015/139Finance
Miss Broe reported that the College was still running at 10.5% ahead of budget to date, and would finish the year ahead of budget.
ACMG/2015/140Risk Register
CMG discussed Risk 4: The College does not have in place the internal support structure to achieve its plan to recruit internally for senior leadership / management positions and secure succession planning. Ms Shaw informed CMG that she was working with Employee and Organisational Development with respect to Leadership Development programmes.
CMG also discussed Risk 6: Poor retention, recruitment and development of high quality staff. Professor Crameri reported some movement from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. Ms Shaw recommended a change in terminology around P&DR.