UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
BOARD OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Undergraduate Studies held on 19th February 2014.
Present:
Professor R Leng (in the Chair), Mr P Brown, Professor P Corvi, Ms E Davies, Dr C
Jenainati, Professor N Johnson, Dr G Martin, Dr F McKay, Dr C Melville, Dr D Wood
Dr C Wright.
In Attendance: Mrs D Christie, Professor Jan Palmowski (item 9/13-14), Dr J Taylor
Apologies:
Professor T Bugg, Ms K Moozova, Mr E. Stewart Dr J Vickery
22/13-14
Minutes
RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the meeting held on 27th November 2013, be approved with a
minor correction: agendum 9/13-14 should read: BSc Accountancy and Finance
[amendment in italic].
23/13-14
Matters arising
(a) Postgraduates as Teachers (4(c)/13-14 refers)
CONSIDERED:
A report from the working party established to consider the employment of
postgraduates as teachers (paper BUGS 18/13-14 refers)
REPORTED (by the Chair):
That the report’s recommendations would be incorporated in a final combined
report together with recommendations from the Board of Graduate Studies, and
the Chair would ensure the final report would be communicated to Board
members.
RESOLVED:
(i)
That the Chair be asked to include reference to the Learning
Development Centre’s work on quality metrics for peer observation
under the section headed “Review” on page 3 of the report.
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(ii)
That a reference to “preparation” be added in the first bullet point in
the section headed “Supplementary recommendation- review of pay
and conditions” on page 3 of the report.
(b) Pass Mark for 4th Year Modules on IUMDS (4(e)/13-14 refers)
REPORTED:
That it was reported to the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of
the Faculty of Science, at its meeting on 20th January 2014:
(i) That a working group had been convened to discuss the impact of the move
to a 50% pass mark on integrated masters degree students and had met on 10th
January.
(ii) That a paper would be produced by Teaching Quality which would be
considered by the SUGS at its next meeting in May.
(SUGS minute 22/13-14)
(c) Temporarily Withdrawn and Resit Student Access (12/13-14 refers)
REPORTED:
That the Academic Quality and Standards Committee, at its meeting on 4th
December 2013, had recommended to the Senate (minute AQSC 39/13-14
refers) that the proposal to amend Regulation 36.1.7 allowing students who are
temporarily withdrawn or undertaking resit examinations to retain access to
University IT and library facilities, as set out in paper BGS 22/13-14, be
approved.
(d) Intermediate-year Undergraduate Progression Conventions (10/13-14 refers)
REPORTED:
(i) That the full membership of the Working Group had been confirmed as:
Prof Roger Leng (Law) (Chair)
Mr Peter Brown (CAL)
Ms Becky Freeman (Life Sciences)
Mr Rob Horton (History)
Dr Cathia Jenainati (English)
Dr Joanne Lee (Italian)
Dr Graham Martin (Comp Sci)
Dr Fergus Mackay (CfLL)
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Mr Justin McArthur (WBS)
Dr Colin Melville (WMS)
Dr Dave Wood (Maths)
Dr Joe Taylor (Secretariat)
Mr Rory McIntyre (Secretariat)
(ii) That the Working Group would meet on 20/02/2014.
(e) MBio degrees (6(c) /13-14 refers)
REPORTED:
That Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Science,
at its meeting on 20th January 2014, had received a report that:
“That the School of Life Sciences had responded to the recommendations from
the meeting of SUGS held on 16 October 2013 and had confirmed the following:
(i) Students had been informed that permission to transfer into the fourth year
of the degrees would be subject to meeting the required entry criteria. Clear
criteria were advertised to all current Year 3 students on Moodle and a meeting
was held to provide information for any students who were interested in
transferring into the 4th year. Criteria for students in their second year would be
disseminated in Spring Term 2014 (minute SUGS.7/13-14(m) refers).
(ii) Students completing the MBio in Industry would be monitored regularly
throughout their placement to ensure that adequate progress was being made
and that any indicators of problems with placements were identified quickly and
addressed. Careful consideration of contingency plans for students where a
placement was unsuccessful as a result of unforeseen circumstances would be
taken prior to students undertaking this variant of the course. The opportunity
to carry out a research project within the department might be offered as an
alternative (minute SUGS.7/13-14(n) refers).
(iii) Clarification was sought and permission received from Teaching Quality for
the use of the postgraduate credit framework in Year 4 prior to the submission
of the documentation to this committee. The use of this framework was strongly
supported by the external reviewer of the degrees (minute SUGS.7/13-14(o)
refers)”.
(SUGS minute 17(d)/13-14)
(f) First -Year Board of Examiners in Social Sciences (8(b)/13-14 refers)
REPORTED:
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(i) That, at its meeting on 21st January, 2014, the Undergraduate Studies
Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences had received a report
of the Board of Undergraduate Studies’ resolution under minute BUGS 8 (b) /1314 and had recommended:
(1) That an investigation into the number and location of international
students taking September resit examinations is carried out; and
(2) That the issue is reconsidered if the investigation shows that there would
be demand for more places/more international centres.
(UFSS minute 29 (a) (ii)/13-14)
(ii) That the Board be reminded that the investigation referred to by the UFSS
(UFSS had been carried out and had been reported to the Board at its last
meeting, together with an oral report of the accompanying commentary as in
paper BUGS 16 (a)/13-14).
RESOLVED:
That after consideration of paper BUGS 16 (a)/13-14, it was the Board’s view
that the current arrangements for students wishing to take their September
examinations overseas were satisfactory, there being no sufficient evidence
which would justify the inclusion of any additional centres.
(g) Timing of the First-Year Board of Examiners in Social Sciences (8(a)/13-14 refers)
CONSIDERED:
An oral report from the Secretary to the Board concerning the conclusions of the
Working Group on Teaching Year in respect of the Summer Term examination
period in 2014.
RESOLVED:
(i) That noting that in 2014 there would be no change to the weeks used for
Summer Term exams, and in the light of the pastoral responsibilities of
departments to students who failed exams in the Summer Term, the Board
would not wish to see the Faculty of Social Sciences move its First-Year Board of
Examiners any later than the Thursday of the last week of the Summer Term;
(ii) That in considering whether to make the above change, the Undergraduate
Studies Committee of the Faculty of Social Sciences be asked to ensure the
availability of its membership, in the view of the other examination board
commitments of staff at that time.
24/13-14
Chair’s Action
REPORTED:
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(a) Waiver of the 50% Rule for named part- time students in the Centre for Lifelong
Learning
That the Chair, acting on behalf of the Board, had authorised a waiver of the rule
requiring that 50% of the assessment counting for degree credit should be by
tests conducted under examination conditions as laid down by the University's
Regulations for the Invigilation of Examinations, for twenty-one named students
reading for part-time degrees in the Centre for Lifelong Learning, who are
expected to graduate after 2014.
(b) Non-standard examination method for a named student in Chemistry
That the Chair, acting on behalf of the Board, had authorised a non-standard
examination method to permit the use of a scribe or oral examination for a named
student in the Department of Chemistry, on grounds of disability.
25/13-14
Chair’s Business
REPORTED:
That the next Directors of Undergraduate Studies lunch would be held on Friday 14
March 2014, at 12pm, in University House, CMR1.0
26/13-14
Annual Course Review Reports
CONSIDERED:
(ii) the Undergraduate Annual Course Review Report from the Faculty of Medicine
for the MBChB degree for the academic year 2012/13 (paper MUSC 43/13-14);
(iii) a summary report of the Undergraduate Annual Course review Reports
submitted by the Faculty of Arts Departments for the Academic Year 2012-13
(paper AUSC 10/12-13);
(iv) the Undergraduate annual course review reports from the Faculty of Social
Sciences (paper UFSS 29/13-14 );
(v) a summary report of the undergraduate annual course review reports from the
Faculty of Science (paper SUGS 13/13-14).
REPORTED:
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(vi) That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of
Science, at its meeting on 20th January 2014, had considered paper SUGS 13/1314 and had resolved:
“That the Secretary for SUGS should seek clarification from colleagues in Teaching
Quality about reviewing external examiners’ reports with departmental SSLCs as
recommended during the University’s QAA institutional review”.
(SUGS minute 20/13-14)
(vii) That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Social
Sciences, at its meeting on 21st January 2014, had considered paper UFSS 29/1314 and had noted:
“That the Faculty-level summary of the annual course review reports would be
produced by the secretariat in February, and circulated by email for comment”.
(UFSS minute 30 (b)/13-14)
(viii)
(by the Chair) That a University policy on the disclosure of External
Examiners’ reports to University committees was in preparation by the Teaching
Quality Office and would be an item for discussion at the next Directors of
Undergraduate Studies lunch if available.
RESOLVED:
27/13-14
(i)
That the summary reports from the Faculties of Arts, Science and
Medicine (MBChB) be approved.
(ii)
That the summary report from the Faculty of Social Sciences in
preparation be considered at the next scheduled meeting of the
Board.
New Courses of Study
(a) BA in Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods and BA in
Sociology and Quantitative Methods
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Social
Sciences, at its meeting on 21st January 2014, had considered a proposal from the
Department of Politics and International Studies for a new BA degree course in
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Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods , and a proposal from the
Department of Sociology for a new BA degree course in Sociology and Quantitative
Methods, as set out in papers UFSS.31-34/13-14, and had recommended to the
Board of Undergraduate Studies:
“That the introduction of the two new degrees proposed by the Warwick QStep Centre with the Department of Politics and International Studies and
the Department of Sociology, namely the BA in Politics, International Studies
and Quantitative Methods and the BA in Sociology and Quantitative
Methods, as set out in papers UFSS.31-34/13-14, be approved”.
(UFSS minute 33(a)/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The recommendation of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the
Faculty of Social Sciences that the new BA degree courses in Politics, International
Studies and Quantitative Methods and in Sociology and Quantitative Methods, as
set out in papers UFSS.31-34/13-14 ) , be approved.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the new BA degree courses in Politics, International Studies and
Quantitative Methods and in Sociology and Quantitative Methods, be approved
as set out in papers UFSS.31-34/13-14.
(ii) That the Q-Step Centre be asked to provide the Board with further information
about the one-week intensive Quantitative Methods Camp for the BA degree
courses in Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods and in
Sociology and Quantitative Methods , to include details of the proposed
timetable, the costs of the camp and how these are to be met and the location
and staffing arrangements of the camp.
(b) BA in Early Years Professional Studies
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Social
Sciences, at its meeting on 21st January 2014, had considered a proposal from
the Centre for Lifelong Learning for a new BA degree course in Early Years
Professional Studies, as set out in papers UFSS.36(a)-(g)/13-14, and
recommended to the Board of Undergraduate Studies:
“That the introduction of the new degree course BA in Early Years Professional
Studies, proposed by the Centre for Lifelong Learning, as set out in papers
UFSS.36(a)-(g)/13-14, be approved”.
CONSIDERED:
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The recommendation of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of
the Faculty of Social Sciences that the new BA degree course in Early Years
Professional Studies, as set out in papers UFSS.36(a)-(g)/13-14, be approved.
RESOLVED:
That the new BA degree course in Early Years Professional Studies, be approved
as set out in papers UFSS.36(a)-(g)/13-14.
(c) BA Classics (Ancient Greek) with Study Abroad in Europe, BA Classics (Latin) with
Study Abroad in Europe and BA Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study
in Europe
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Arts, at its
meeting on 22nd January 2014, had considered a proposal from the Department of
Classics and Ancient History for new BA degree courses in Classics (Ancient Greek)
with Study Abroad in Europe, Classics (Latin) with Study Abroad in Europe and
Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe, as set out in papers
AUSC 12/13-14, AUSC 13/13-14 and AUSC 21/13-14 respectively, and had
recommended to the Board of Undergraduate Studies that the proposals be
approved (subject to minor amendments).
(AUSC minute 24(a)/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The recommendation of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the
Faculty of Arts that the new BA degree courses in Classics (Ancient Greek) with Study
Abroad in Europe, Classics (Latin) with Study Abroad in Europe and Ancient History
and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe, as set out in papers AUSC 12/13-14,
AUSC 13/13-14 and AUSC 21/13-14 respectively, be approved.
RESOLVED:
That the new BA degree courses in Classics (Ancient Greek) with Study Abroad in
Europe, Classics (Latin) with Study Abroad in Europe and Ancient History and
Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe, be approved as set out in papers AUSC
12/13-14, AUSC 13/13-14 and AUSC 21/13-14 respectively.
(d) BA in Liberal Arts
REPORTED:
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That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Arts, at its
meeting on 22nd January 2014,had considered a draft proposal for a new BA
Honours degree in Liberal Arts, to commence in October 2015 (paper AUSC.14/1314), and had resolved :
That the proposal for a new BA Honours degree in Liberal Arts be approved in
principle.
(AUSC minute 24(b)/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
A draft proposal for a new BA Honours degree in Liberal Arts, to commence in
October 2015, as set out in paper AUSC.14/13-14.
RESOLVED:
That the Board approved and welcomed the preliminary proposal for a new BA
Honours degree in Liberal Arts, as set out in paper AUSC.14/13-14, and would
consider the fully developed proposal in due course.
(e) BA in Hispanic Studies with Film and BA in Hispanic Studies with Theatre
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Arts, at its
meeting on 22nd January 2014, had considered proposals from the Department of
Hispanic Studies for new BA degree courses in Hispanic Studies with Film and in
Hispanic Studies with Theatre, as set out in papers AUSC 15/13—14 and AUSC
16/13-14 respectively, and had recommended to the Board of Undergraduate
Studies that the proposals be approved.
(AUSC minute 24(c)/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The recommendation of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the
Faculty of Arts that the new BA degree courses in Hispanic Studies with Film and in
Hispanic Studies with Theatre, as set out in papers AUSC 15/13-14 and AUSC 16/1314 respectively , be approved.
RESOLVED:
That the the new BA degree courses in Hispanic Studies with Film and in Hispanic
Studies with Theatre, be approved as set out in papers AUSC 15/13-14 and AUSC
16/13-14 respectively.
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(f) BSc in Applied Engineering (Rail Stream)/DipHE and Cert HE in Applied Engineering
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Science,
at its meeting on 20th January 2014, had considered proposals from the Warwick
Manufacturing Group for:
(i) the addition of a fourth stream (in Rail) in the Applied Engineering BSc
programme, to commence in October 2014, and
(ii) the introduction of two new exit routes on the Applied Engineering
programme in the form of a Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) and
Certificate in Higher Education (CertHE), as set out in paper SUGS 15/13-14),
and had recommended to the Board of Undergraduate Studies that the
proposals be approved.
(SUGS minute 24(b)/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The recommendations of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the
Faculty of Science for (i) the addition of a fourth stream in Rail in the Applied
Engineering BSc programme, and (ii) the introduction of two new exit routes in the
form of a Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) and a Certificate in Higher Education
(CertHE) on the Applied Engineering Programme as set out in paper SUGS 15/13-14 .
RESOLVED:
(i) That the proposal for a fourth stream in Rail in the Applied Engineering BSc
programme, and the introduction of two new exit routes in the form of a
Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) and a Certificate in Higher Education
(CertHE) on the Applied Engineering Programme as set out in paper SUGS
15/13-14 be approved, subject to clarification from the Warwick
Manufacture Group of whether it intended that any student who had
completed the required credit could opt to exit the course with e Certificate
or Diploma rather than those leaving for “non-academic reasons”, it being
the view of the Board that completion of the required credit should be the
only qualifying criterion.
(ii)
That the Working Group on Intermediate Year Progression Conventions
be asked to consider the desirability of Certificate and Diploma exit
routes on the University’s other undergraduate degree programmes.
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28/13-14
Undergraduate External Examiners’ Reports for 2012/13
RECEIVED:
Pro-forma responses to the External Examiners’ reports for 2012/13 received from
departments since the last meeting of the Board (paper BUGS 17 (a-c)/13-14.
RESOLVED:
That the Chair should reconvene the Board sub-group which considers External
Examiners’ reports and departmental responses to consider the new responses
received and to report to the next scheduled meeting of the Board.
29/13-14
Future Operation of the Academic Quality Standards Committee
CONSIDERED:
An oral report from the Chair on the establishment of sub- groups by the Academic
Quality and Standards Committee and the possible implications for the work of the
Board.
RESOLVED:
That the Board should use its next “if required” meeting date to consider its future
terms of reference.
30/13-14
Global Sustainability Degree
REPORTED:
(a) That the Undergraduate Studies Committees of the Boards of the Faculties of
Science, Social Sciences and Arts, at their meetings on 20th, 21st and 22nd January
2014 respectively, had considered a paper from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(Postgraduate and Transnational Education) about a proposed BASc degree in
Global Sustainability to commence in September 2015 (paper BUGS.15/13-14),
and had resolved as follows:
Arts
(i) That the Committee noted the course structure required significant further
development;
(ii) That the market in both the UK and Australia should be tested to ensure
adequate demand;
(iii) That running a collaborative course across two institutions would pose
significant administrative delivery challenges;
(iv) That there seemed to be a degree of overlap with the syllabus for the proposed
Liberal Arts degree and this would need resolving.
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(v) That the provision of languages within the degree should be carefully
considered.
(AUSC minute 25/13-14)
Science
(vi) That timetabling would be a logistical issue as a result of the number of
departments involved.
(vii) That the different lengths of the teaching years at the two universities would
present a problem for the timing of modules.
(viii)
That the different qualifications offered by each university may present
complications when trying to decide on equivalence.
(ix) Whether a four year Australian undergraduate degree would be considered as
equivalent to the four-year IUMD.
(x) That students with a genuine concern for Global Sustainability may object to
long distance air travel throughout the course of their degree.
(SUGS minute 25/13-14)
Social Sciences
(xi) That the Chair of the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences should be briefed
before the next meeting of the BFSS about the nature of the Committee’s
discussions concerning:
(i) The timescale for introduction of the course;
(ii) The opportunity costs of committing resources to the degree;
(i)
(ii)
The carbon footprint and potential public relations risks of the degree
programme;
The accessibility of the degree to students from all backgrounds.
(UFSS minute 35/13-14)
(b) That the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences, at its meeting on 12th February
2014, received reports as follows:
From the Undergraduate student Representative:
(i) Concerns over the amount of air travel involved in the proposed degree and
its impact on the environment as well as widening participation implications
for the degree;
(ii) Concerns over the opportunity and resource costs associated with this
degree to the University’s Teaching and Leaning efforts;
From the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate and Transnational Education:
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(iii) That the organising team was working on a plan of carbon offset measures
to counterbalance carbon footprint of this degree;
(iv) That a market research and financial study would be undertaken, noting that
the degree would need to be financial viable, therefore not having negative
impact on the University’s Teaching and Learning efforts;
From Dr J Cave:
(v) That the proposal represented a welcome holistic approach to the study of
sustainability, noting that most existing degrees offered restricted discipline
focus.
(BFSS minute 27/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The paper from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate and Transnational Education)
about a proposed BASc Global Sustainability to commence in September 2015
(paper BUGS.15/13-14), together with the comments of the Undergraduate Studies
Committees of the Boards of the Faculties of Science, Social Sciences and Arts and
the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences as set out above, and an oral report from
the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate and Transnational Education).
RESOLVED:
That the Board looked forward to receiving fully developed proposals for a BASc
degree in Global Sustainability in due course, and that Board members be invited to
submit any detailed comments they may have direct to Professor Palmowski.
31/13-14
Intermediate-year Resits in the School of Engineering 2014/15
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Science,
at its meeting on 20th January 2014, had received a report:
“That Engineering had requested that Year 2 students who fail examinations in June
2014 be permitted to re-sit in September 2014 rather than waiting one calendar
year because the department was about to make the substantial changes to its
second year courses” and had recommended (to the Board of Undergraduate
Studies):
That second-year Engineering students who fail examinations in June 2014 be
permitted to resit in September 2014
(SUGS minute 28/13-14)
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RESOLVED:
That Chair be asked to take action on behalf of the Board when the anticipated
additional explanation from the School of Engineering was received noting that the
School should be asked to confirm that its proposal had received the approval of its
Student-Staff Liaison Committee.
32/13-14
Late Penalty for Student Assignments
REPORTED:
That the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board of the Faculty of Science,
at its meeting on 20th January 2014, had considered a proposal by the School of
Engineering that the University should review its policy of deducting 5% per day
from the marks of student assignments as this is not a sufficient enough penalty to
deter students from missing deadlines and had recommended (to the Board of
Undergraduate Studies and the Academic Quality and Standards Committee “that
the late penalty of 5% per diem be increased to discourage undergraduate students
from handing in assignments late”.
(SUGS minute 31/13-14)
CONSIDERED:
The above recommendation of the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the Board
of the Faculty of Science.
RECOMMENDED (to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee):
That in the view of the Board the current late penalty deduction of 5 percentage
points per working day for undergraduate students was sufficient and should be
retained.
33/13-14
Interdisciplinary teaching
CONSIDERED:
An oral report from the Chair on the current position regarding teaching credit for
staff teaching on modules outside their own department.
RECOMMENDED (to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee):
That departments be encouraged to support their staff who wish to be involved in
interdisciplinary modules through the ward of appropriate departmental teaching
credit.
JT/dc 27.02.2014
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