UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
BOARD OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Undergraduate Studies held on Thursday 24th
November 2011.
Present:
Professor R Leng (in the Chair), Professor T Bugg, Professor S Gilson, Dr C
Hoerl, Professor N Johnson, Dr J Kidd, Mr P Krishnamurthy, Dr F McKay, Dr
R Moseley, Dr J Robinson, Mr S Ruston.
Apologies:
Dr C Jenainati, Dr G Martin, Dr J Snape.
In Attendance: Mr R Sherville, Dr J Taylor, Dr C Hanley and Dr P Taylor (for item under
minute 9/11-12)
01/11-12
Terms of Reference
CONSIDERED:
The Terms of Reference of the Board as approved by the Senate at its
meeting on 5th October 2011, as follows:
(a) To consider and make recommendations to the Academic Quality
Standards Committee on issues relating to the assurance and enhancement
of the quality of learning and teaching across all undergraduate provision.
(b) To make recommendations to the Senate, after consultation with
academic departments and the Boards of the Faculties, on all matters
affecting undergraduate study in the University including strategic
considerations.
(c) To scrutinise all new undergraduate course proposals and report to the
Academic Quality and Standards Committee on consideration of such
proposals.
(d) To consider the Faculty Summary Reports of the Annual Course Review
reports, teaching and learning-related sections of Strategic Departmental
Reviews (together with relevant departmental responses) and the
Undergraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee Annual Report and liaise
with departments regarding any issues of concern.
(e) To advise the Academic Quality and Standards Committee on matters
relating to examinations in undergraduate courses.
(f) To advise the Academic Quality and Standards Committee on the role of
internal and external examiners for undergraduate degrees.
(g) To report to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee annually on
the issues raised in reports by external examiners.
(h) To consider submissions from the Boards of the Faculties for nonstandard examination methods, including seen papers, open-book
examinations and reading times, and to make recommendations to the
Academic Quality and Standards Committee.
(i) To exercise delegated powers on behalf of the Academic Quality and
Standards Committee in approving, on personal grounds, minor variations in
the arrangements for the sitting of undergraduate examinations by individual
students.
(j) To consider all matters affecting admissions practices and policy and make
recommendations to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee where
appropriate.
(k) To consider requests for variations to the University's Accreditation of
Prior Learning (APL) policy for individual students.
RESOLVED:
That the Terms of Reference for the Board be approved.
02/11-12
Membership 2011/12
REPORTED:
(a) That the Senate, at its meeting on 5th October 2011 had resolved that the
membership of the Board of Undergraduate Studies for the academic year
2011/12 be as follows:
Chair
Professor R Leng
Two full time members of the academic
staff from each of the Faculties of Arts,
Medicine, Science and Social Sciences
appointed by the Senate:
Arts
Medicine
Science
Social Sciences
One member of the Board of Graduate
Studies appointed by the Senate
Dr R Moseley
Dr C Jenainati
Professor N Johnson
Dr J Kidd
Dr G Martin
Dr J Robinson
Professor P Edwards
Dr J Snape
Professor J Neelands
The Chairs of the Undergraduate Studies
Committees of the Boards of the Faculty
of Arts and Social Sciences and the Chair
of the Sub-Faculty of Science:
Arts
Science
Professor S Gilson
Professor T Bugg
Social Sciences
One member of staff appointed by and
from the Centre of Lifelong Learning
Two members nominated by the Union
of Students
Dr C Hoerl
Dr F McKay
Mr P Krishnamurthy
Mr S Ruston
(b) That Professor Edwards had now left the University and the Secretary had
informed the Governance section of the Deputy Registrar’s Office of the
vacancy in the membership.
3/11-12
Minutes
RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the meeting held on 8th June 2011, be approved.
4/11-12
Matters Arising on the Minutes
(a) Wireless Access in the Humanities Building (minute 20a/10-11 refers)
REPORTED:
(i) That the Information Policy and Strategy Committee (IPSC), at its
meeting on 10th November 2011, had considered the provision of
wireless access for all teaching and learning spaces on campus
without additional charge to the departments which use those spaces,
and had supported the proposal but recorded its concern about costs.
(ii) The relevant IPSC minute would be received by the Board at its
next meeting.
(b) Departmental plans to implement personal tutor guidelines (minute
22a/10-11 refers)
REPORTED (by the Chair):
(i) That the implementation of the Senior Tutor’s guidelines on
personal tutoring were currently under review by the Senior Tutor’s
Office therefore it would be premature to discuss the issue with
departments at the present time.
(ii) Departments would therefore be invited to forward their plans to
the Board once the review had been completed.
(c) UUK Review of External Examiner arrangements (minute 24/10-11 refers)
REPORTED:
That the Steering Committee, at its meeting on 22nd August 2011, had
considered the University’s draft response to the QAA Consultation on
External Examining (SC.597/10-11) and had resolved:
(i) That the draft response to the QAA Consultation on External Examining be
reviewed to ensure that the tone was appropriate whilst retaining the strength
of the University’s concerns
(ii) That each point within the draft response to the QAA Consultation on
External Examining on which there is a lack of agreement with the principle
proposed is reviewed with the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student
Experience to ensure that this is in line with University practice.
(iii) That a revision of the “General comments” section be moved to the
beginning of the University’s response to the QAA Consultation on External
Examining, to question how the draft complemented the proposed “light
touch” arrangements proposed for the QAA in the future.
(Steering Committee minute 844/10-11)
(d) Students’ Union data and guidance on course costs (minute 22(b)/10-11
refers)
REPORTED (by Mr Ruston):
That the report would be presented to a future meeting of the Board once
complete data was available.
(e) Personal tutoring arrangements (minute 23(g)/10-11 refers)
REPORTED :
That the Chair anticipated that this issue would be considered more broadly
as part of the Institutional Review.
RESOLVED:
That the Board should monitor the situation in the light of the outcome of the
Institutional Review, together with the results of the Senior Tutor’s review of
personal tutoring guidelines (minute 4/11-12(b) above refers).
(f) Undergraduate External Examiner Reports for 2009/10 (minute 26(f)/10-11
refers)
CONSIDERED:
The Warwick Medical School’s response to Professor Lloyd-Williams’
comments on students’ weakness in pharmacology and interpretation of
clinical data (paper BUGS 1/11-12), together with an oral report from
Professor Johnson that the Medical School had received advice from the
General Medical Council on the issue of enhancing the learning and teaching
of pharmacology throughout Phase 2 of the programme.
RESOLVED:
That the report of the Warwick Medical School on this matter was satisfactory.
(g) Special Examination Arrangements: Draft Policy on Examination
Arrangements for Students with Disabilities (minute 7/10-11 refers)
CONSIDERED:
The draft Policy on Examination Arrangements for Students with Disabilities
(paper BUGS 11/11-12) plus the minute 91/10-11 from the Board of Graduate
Studies meeting of 9th June 2011, together with a covering note prepared by
the Academic Office (paper BUGS 2/11-12).
RECOMMENDED:
5/11-12
(i)
That the Policy on Examination Arrangements for Students with
Disabilities as set out in paper BUGS 2/11-12, be approved.
(ii)
That the current model of part-centralised/part-distributed
administration of special examination arrangements be continued as
the most appropriate and efficient.
(iii)
That the Board should keep under review the demand for special
examination arrangements and the provisions of the Policy.
Chair’s Action
REPORTED:
That the Chair, acting on behalf of the Board, had agreed on medical grounds
to waive the Fifty Per Cent Rule for the cases of 3 named students, all of
which were in the proportion 0% (exam): 100% (assessment), in the light of
advice from the Disability Co-ordinator.
6/11-12
Chair’s Business
REPORTED:
That it was likely that the Institutional Review would generate matters for the
Board’s attention.
7/11-12
New Courses of Study
CONSIDERED:
The proposal from the Warwick Medical School for a new course, Advanced
Diploma in International Clinical Obstetrics and Leadership, in collaboration
with the University of Malawi College of Medicine (paper BUGS 3/11-12)
REPORTED:
That the proposed collaboration had been approved by the Collaborative,
Flexible and Distributed Learning Sub-Committee and that the modules had
been approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of
the Faculty of Medicine.
RESOLVED:
That the course be approved as set out in paper BUGS 3/11-12, subject to
minor additions and corrections notified at the meeting.
8/11-12
MBChB Curriculum Review
CONSIDERED:
The Faculty of Medicine’s progress with the MBChB curriculum review (paper
MUSC 5/11-12 et seq)
RESOLVED:
That the Board approved in principle the curriculum review outlined in paper
MUSC 5/11-12 et seq, it being noted that detailed revisions and associated
amendments to Regulation 8.10 would be presented to the Board in due
course.
9/11-12
Approval process for IATL-hosted interdisciplinary modules
CONSIDERED:
The Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning’s (IATL) approval process
for interdisciplinary modules (paper BUGS 4/11-12)
RECOMMENDED:
That the procedure outlined in the paper BUGS 4/11-12, whereby
interdisciplinary module proposals would be considered by the proposed IATL
module approval committee and subsequently be reported to the Faculty
Undergraduate Studies Committees, be approved.
10/11-12
External Examiners’ Reports for 2010/11
RECEIVED:
The procedure for the consideration of External Examiners’ reports by the
Board of Undergraduate Studies (paper BUGS 5/11-12)
CONSIDERED:
(a) The reports of External Examiners for Undergraduate courses for 2010/11
(paper BUGS 6/11-12)
(b) Pro-forma responses received from departments to the External
Examiners’ reports by the time of the meetings of the Board Sub-group
held on 1st, 2nd and 4th November 2011 (paper BUGS 7/11-12)
(c) A report from the Board Sub-Group established to consider the reports of
the External Examiners summarising key points in the reports for 2010/11
(paper BUGS 8/11-12)
(d) Pro-forma responses received from departments to the External
Examiners’ reports since the meetings of the Board Sub-group (paper
BUGS 9/11-12)
(e) The External Examiners’ reports for the Warwick Medical School
undergraduate courses (paper BUGS 10/11-12), together with oral reports
from Professor Johnson and Dr Kidd.
RESOLVED:
(f) That the report of the Board Sub-group be approved and, following receipt
of relevant pro-forma departmental responses to the External Examiners’
reports, the Chair be asked to take forward issues as necessary, as
identified in the Sub-Group’s report.
(g) That the responses of the Warwick Medical School to the External
Examiners’ reports for the Warwick Medical School undergraduate
courses, as reported by Professor Johnson and Dr Kidd, be approved, it
being noted that written responses were in the process of being prepared
by the Warwick Medical School.
JAT/RS 01.12.11
BUGS 241111 Minutes