Unapproved
UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA AND UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SUFFOLK JOINT ACADEMIC COMMITTEE
29 May 2012
MINUTES
Chair
Erica Towner
Present
Mr Phillip Belden, Dr Campbell, Dr Cavenagh, Dr Dewing, Ms Dobson, Catherine
Forsdike, Jane Gamble, Professor Gazzard, Chrissie Harrington, Dr Lyne, Ms
Mackness, Denis McAuley, Professor Norris, Dr Pevalin, Ms Rhodes, Professor Saks,
Mr Thirkettle, Dr Watkins, Professor Weir, Mr Wright
Apologies
Ms Carter; Professor Collier; Dr Cox; Professor Lattimer; Mr Lister; Professor Noble;
Ms Smith; Ms Walters; Professor Wright
Secretary
Stephen Knock
In attendance
Ms Fisk; Ms Frost; Ms Nixon; Mrs Spencer; Mrs Walker
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2012 were agreed to be an
accurate record of proceedings.
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MATTERS ARISING
Minute 12/04 – further to the positive outcome from the GSCC risk assessment
exercise at UCS, a meeting would be taking place between Social Work teams
at UCS and UEA.
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Minute 12/32 – it was confirmed that Professor Noel Smith had been
appointed to the position of Head of School of Social Policy and Social Work
and Professor Simon Hallsworth to the position of Head of School Applied
Social Sciences. Three Heads of Division were currently being recruited, one to
Science, Technology and Health and two to Business, Leadership and
Enterprise. The recruitment process was also currently underway for the
position of Head of Human Resources.
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At UEA, Professor Tom Ward, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) would be
leaving the University. Professor Nigel Norris had agreed to take on the role of
acting Pro-Vice- Chancellor until a substantive appointment was made.
Professor Norris would also be taking over as the UEA Joint Chair of JAC.
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CHAIRS’ REPORT
Members noted a range of items for information as outlined in Paper
JAC/12/36. Of particular note was the successful application to the QAA for
subscriber status for UCS.
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UCS IPSWICH INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW REPORT (PAPER JAC/12/37)
Members received the report on the institutional review of UCS Ipswich, which
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had taken place on 10-11 May 2012. Staff at UCS Ipswich felt that the review
had been a positive exercise that had identified useful outcomes and,
pleasingly, a number of commendations. Thanks were given to the review panel
and everyone involved in the review, especially Dr Mark Lyne and his team for
the production of the documentation.
It was recommended to the Senates of both validating universities that UCS
Ipswich be reapproved as a partner institution of the University of East Anglia
and the University of Essex for a period of five years commencing September
2012, subject to the requirements and recommendations in the institutional
review report.
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UPDATE ON RESPONSE TO UCS BURY ST EDMUNDS INSTITUTIONAL
REVIEW CONDITION AND RECOMMENDATIONS (PAPER JAC/12/38)
Members received an updated action plan in response to the conditions and
recommendations of the institutional review of UCS Bury St Edmunds. It was
noted that the strong links with industry, which was identified as a
commendation during the review, had also been identified in the IQER report.
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Members agreed that progress would be monitored at the next meeting.
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UPDATE ON RESPONSE TO UCS GREAT YARMOUTH INSTITUTIONAL
REVIEW CONDITIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (PAPER JAC/12/39)
Members received an updated action plan in response to the conditions and
recommendations of the institutional review of UCS Great Yarmouth. It was
noted that there had been a delay in completing some items identified in the
action plan and this would initially be monitored at a review group at the college
before being reported to JAC at the next meeting. UCS Great Yarmouth was
currently advertising for the position of Vice-Principal with responsibility for HE
which would be a welcome addition to the College.
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Members agreed that progress would be monitored at the next meeting.
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UPDATE ON RESPONSE TO UCS LOWESTOFT INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
CONDITIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (PAPER JAC/12/40)
Members received an updated action plan in response to the conditions and
recommendations of the institutional review of UCS Lowestoft. Particular
progress had been made towards strengthening the HE Forum.
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Members agreed that progress would be monitored at the next meeting.
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UPDATE ON UCS OTLEY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW AND NSS ACTION
PLAN (VERBAL UPDATE)
It was reported that the College had submitted a response to the detailed action
plan produced from the institutional review and the subsequent follow-up visit. A
decision on institutional reapproval would be made via Chairs’ Action in June
2012 following the outcomes of the IQER SR event taking place at the College
on 30-31 May 2012. An update would be provided at the next meeting.
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The NSS action plan had been updated to reflect current progress. The NSS
response rate within UCS Otley was 90.5%, significantly higher than the
previous year. The ISS survey results were largely positive and it was hoped
that this improvement would also be seen in the NSS results once available.
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UPDATE ON THE PROPOSED MERGER OF EASTON COLLEGE AND
OTLEY COLLEGE (VERBAL UPDATE)
It was reported that, following the publication of the report on the statutory
public consultation on the proposed merger of Easton College and Otley
College, the final proposal had been submitted by the colleges to the Secretary
of State. An Order would be laid by the Secretary of State in parliament for the
Establishment of the new Corporation.
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Members were informed that it was still the intention that higher education
provision at Otley would remain within UCS and HE provision at Easton would
continue to be validated solely by UEA. HE provision at both institutions was
complementary which facilitated this approach.
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A Shadow Board of Governors had been established and David Lawrence had
been appointed as the Principal designate for the merged institution. Two
Heads of HE positions would exist in the new structure, one at each of the
college sites. It was still the aim that the new merged institution would be
established on 1 August 2012. An update would be provided at the next
meeting.
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UPDATE ON HNC/D DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN UCS LEARNING
NETWORK CENTRES (VERBAL UPDATE)
It was reported that two centres (UCS Bury St Edmunds and UCS Lowestoft)
would deliver a limited number of ‘off-the-shelf’ HNC programmes via Edexcel
from 2012-13, with accreditation via the college but utilising UCS student
numbers and in response to employer demand. A meeting was due to take
place following the JAC meeting to discuss the proposals from UCS Bury St
Edmunds in more detail.
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UPDATE ON INTERNAL STUDENT SURVEY OUTCOMES (PAPER
JAC/12/41 )AND NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 2012 RESPONSE RATES
(PAPER JAC/12/42)
It was reported that the NSS response rate for UCS overall was up 7% on last
year. The Internal Student Survey (ISS), piloted last year, had seen a dramatic
increase in response rate to approximately 30%. This represented around 1400
responses which gave UCS valuable insight into the views of current students.
Two areas of concern identified in last year’s NSS results (the Overall
Satisfaction scores for UCS Otley and Suffolk New College) had seen
considerable improvements in the ISS results for this year. It was hoped that
this improvement would also be seen in the NSS results. The new NSS
question relating to the Students’ Union had been included in the ISS, however
no comparison could be made until the NSS results were published.
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Members were also informed that a staff survey had been conducted by Capita.
The results for UCS compared favourably with those for the sector with the
majority of responses being above the national average.
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RECRUITMENT UPDATE (PAPER JAC/12/43)
Members received an update on recruitment for the 2012-13 academic year.
UCAS applications across UCS were down by 20%. UCS Lowestoft had seen a
15% increase in applications while all other centres had seen a drop in
applications. Nationally UCAS applications were down by 7%.
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2011 had been an exceptional year with students trying to gain a place before
the fee increase and a comparison against the 2010 situation was considered
to be a more reliable indicator of success. The firm acceptance of a conditional
offer figure was up 5% on the acceptance rate of 2010. Firm acceptance of an
unconditional offer conversion was below that of last year which was mirrored
nationally.
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The summer recruitment campaign had been agreed and a TV advert was
currently being produced which was expected to be aired mid-June.
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR EXTERNAL
RELATIONSHIPS (PAPER JAC/12/44)
It was reported that following an increase in international activity, a template
MoU had been created. This document was based on the templates in use at
UoE and UEA and had been approved by Executive and Academic Board. It
was confirmed that MoUs would typically be signed at Institutional level, most
likely by the Provost. UEA had also provided an example checklist for MoUs
which was successfully in use at UEA.
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PROPOSALS TO PROCEED TO PUBLICITY AND VALIDATION
The CAT1R form for the BA (Hons) History course was considered. Given the
number of changes since the initial validation it was agreed that a revalidation
was necessary rather than a Periodic Review.
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The CAT1R form for FdA Salon Management was considered. The course had
only run once since validation and members agreed that a revalidation was
required rather than a Periodic Review.
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UPDATES TO UCS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES (PAPERS JAC/12/45 JAC/12/49)
The following Policies were approved:
UCS Management of Courses Policy;
UCS Admissions Policy;
UCS Mitigating Circumstances Policy;
UCS Safeguarding Policy.
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VALIDATION, REVALIDATION AND PERIODIC REVIEW REPORTS
(PAPERS JAC/12/50 – JAC/12/60)
It was recommended to the Senates of the validating universities that the
following courses be (re)approved for a period of five years commencing
September 2012, subject to the conditions and recommendations outlined in
the (re)validation reports being met by agreed deadlines:
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UCS Ipswich
Professional Graduate Certificate in Education [Suffolk and Norfolk Secondary
SCITT] Master of Business Administration, PgC/PgD Management
Preparation for Mentorship [level 6], Preparation for Mentorship [level 6 noncredit rated], Supporting Practice Learning [level 7]
DipHE Operating Department Practice
MA/PgD/PgC Arts Practice
MA/PgD/PgC Journalism
BA (Hons) Care Practice [progression route]
FdSc Communications Technologies: Software Engineering
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UCS Bury St Edmunds
FdA Music Production, BA (Hons) Music Production [progression route] FdA/BA
(Hons) Counselling
UCS Great Yarmouth
FdA/CertHE Fashion and Textiles
Multi-site provision
FdSc Computing and Networking (Bury St Edmunds), FdSc Applied Computing
(Business Information Technology) (Great Yarmouth), FdA Computing and
Management (Bury St Edmunds), BA (Hons) Computing and Management
[progression route] (Bury St Edmunds), BSc (Hons) Applied Computing
[progression route] (Bury St Edmunds and Great Yarmouth)
PROPOSALS TO PROCEED TO PUBLICITY AND VALIDATION (CAT
1/2/1R/2R)
Members approved the following proposals to proceed to periodic review during
the 2011-12 academic year:
CAT 1 (Proposal to Proceed to Publicity and Validation)
UCS Ipswich
BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing; BSc (Hons) Child Health Nursing; BSc (Hons)
Mental Health Nursing
MA Healthcare Education
CAT 1R (Proposal to Proceed to Periodic Review)
UCS Ipswich
BSc (Hons) Health and Wellbeing
BSc (Hons) Acute Healthcare Practice (with pathways in Accident and
Emergency; Coronary Care; Intensive Care; Peri-Operative Practice; Renal)
BSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting; School
Nursing) PgD Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting;
School Nursing)
FdA Healthcare Practice (with speciality)
PGCE [North East Essex Confederation Secondary SCITT] FdA Health
Administration
BA (Hons) Business Management with minor routes in Finance; Marketing;
Human Resource Management; Entrepreneurship
BSc (Hons) Midwifery [shortened]
UCS Bury St Edmunds
FdA/BA (Hons) Business Management
FdA Management (Uniformed Public Services)
UCS Lowestoft
FdA Supporting Inclusive Learning and Practice
CAT 2R (Proposal to Proceed to Periodic Review (multi-site))
Multi-site provision
BA (Hons) Children’s Care, Learning and Development (UCS Bury St Edmunds
and UCS Lowestoft)
FdA Children’s Care, Learning and Development [changing course title to FdA
Early Years Practice] (UCS Great Yarmouth, UCS Ipswich, UCS Lowestoft,
UCS Bury St Edmunds)
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Members approved the following proposals to proceed to revalidation during the
2011-12 academic year:
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UCS Ipswich
BA (Hons) History
UCS Bury St Edmunds
FdA Salon Management
Changes to validated provision (CAT 3)
Members approved changes to the following validated provision:
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UCS Ipswich
BA (Hons) History and BA (Hons) Family, Local and Community History
(CAT3340 and CAT3341) (changes to be incorporated in the revalidation)
BSc (Hons) Bioscience (4 year programme)
BA (Hons) Film
BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography
BSc (Hons) Radiotherapy and Oncology
MSc Science of Healthy Ageing/Regenerative Medicine
Foundation Degree in Public Health Practice
Proposals for course discontinuation (CAT 4)
It was recommended to the Senates of the validating universities that the
following courses be discontinued with immediate effect:
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UCS Ipswich
Return to Professional Practice
BA (Hons) Family, Local and Community History
Chairs’ Action
The Committee noted action taken on behalf of the Committee by the Academic
Director of Partnerships (UEA) and the Dean of Academic Partnerships (Essex)
to approve a range of items listed in Paper JAC/12/89.
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The Chairs had recommended to the Senates of the validating universities that
the following courses proceed to publicity and validation:
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UCS Ipswich
BSc (Hons) Nursing with routes to registration as an Adult, Mental Health or
Child Health Nurse.
MA Healthcare Education – this course will replace the current MA Education
for Health and Social Care Professionals programme.
The Chairs had approved the following changes to validated provision:
UCS Ipswich
(a) DipHE / BSc (Hons) Child Health Nursing – changes to the assessment of
the module ‘Contemporary Practice: Child Health Nursing’.
BSc (Hons) Health and Wellbeing – changes to the assessment of the
modules ‘Learning in Industry 1’ (level 5) and
‘Learning in Industry 2’ (level 6), and ensuring that students are only
allowed to take one of these two modules during their programme, at either
level 5 or level 6.
(b) BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design – change to module ‘Theory
and History of Interior Architecture and Design 1’ to amalgamate
assessments into a portfolio.
(c) BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design – change to module ‘Theory
and History of Interior Architecture and Design 2’ to amalgamate
assessments into a portfolio.
(d) BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design – change to ‘Professional
Studies and Dissertation’ to amalgamate assessments into a portfolio.
(e) BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design – change to ‘Seminars on
Aesthetics and Science’ to amalgamate assessments into a portfolio.
(f) BA (Hons) Film – to replace module ‘Cityscapes: Cinema and Modernity’
with ‘Development and Pre-production’. To revise ‘Professional Practice’
module to incorporate business, marketing and promotion elements of
‘Creative and Professional Development’.
(g) BA (Hons) History and BA (Hons) Family, Local and Community History –
change of title of module ‘Local Histories, People and Place’ to
‘Researching History’.
(h) BA (Hons) History and BA (Hons) Family Local and Community History –
modifications to assessment and assessment weightings in ‘History Skills’
module.
(i) BSc (Hons) Bioscience (4 Year Programme) – correction of typographical
error in definitive document relating to length of exam in ‘Maths for
Bioscience module’. Exam length is 1.5 hours.
(j) BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and BSc (Hons) Radiotherapy and
Oncology – Changes to the assessment of ‘Dissertation’ and ‘Research
Methods for Radiographers’ modules to give students a choice of a small
scale primary research project, a systematic literature review and an
extended proposal.
(k) MSc Science of Healthily Ageing/Regenerative Medicine – change
examination time from 2 hours to 2.5 hours in ‘Molecular and Cellular Basis
for Ageing’ module.
(l) Foundation Degree in Public Health Practice – changes to work based
learning in ‘Nutrition and Healthy Living’ module to identify in the module
guide that to achieve a pass in the workbook all elements are required in
the workbook. The workbook may be tailored to the individual student’s
environment and learning needs in order to meet public health practice
requirements.
The Chairs had recommended to the Senates of the validating universities that
the following change of course title be approved:
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UCS Lowestoft
From: FdA Football Development and Coaching
To:
FdA Sports Development and Coaching (with Football Specialism).
The Chairs had recommended to the Senates of the validating universities that
the following courses be discontinued:
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UCS Ipswich
(a) BA (Hons) Family, Local and Community History, with effect from 2013-14.
Recruitment suspended since 2010.
(b) Return to Professional Practice module in the School of Nursing and
Midwifery. The Nursing and Midwifery Council had centralised this
provision which was now redundant.
The Chairs had approved a temporary suspension of recruitment to the
following programmes for the 2012-13 academic year:
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UCS Great Yarmouth
FdSc Engineering (part-time Electronic and Mechanical pathways)
VALIDATION, REVALIDATION AND PERIODIC REVIEW UPDATE
(PAPER JAC/12/90 – JAC/12/92)
Members received the summary of validation, revalidation and periodic review
outcomes for the current academic year, and an update on requirements
monitoring. Members noted the list of courses due for validation, revalidation or
periodic review in the 2012-13 academic year.
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QAA INTEGRATED QUALITY AND ENHANCEMENT REVIEW
Members received the Suffolk New College IQER Summative Review Report
available on the QAA website at:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/InstitutionReports/Reports/Pages/IQER-Suffolk-NewCollege-12.aspx
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REPORT FROM THE UCS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WORKING
GROUP (PAPER JAC/12/93)
Members-received the minutes of the UCS Policies and Procedures Working
Group meeting held on 18 April 2012.
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UCS ANNUAL ACADEMIC REPORT (PAPER JAC/12/94)
Members received the UCS Annual Academic Report for the 2010-11 academic
year.
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ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE UCS PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT
TEAM (PAPER JAC/12/95)
Members received the annual report from the UCS Partnership Management
Team for the 2011-12 academic year.
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OUTCOME OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL REVIEW (PAPER
JAC/12/96)
Members noted the outcomes report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council
review with the level of achievement of ‘good’ being recorded for each of the
five areas considered in the review.
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS
It was noted that the Chair, Erica Towner, would be retiring from her role as
Academic Director of Partnerships at the UEA at the end of July. Thanks were
given to Erica for the critical part she played in the forming and development of
UCS. Members wished Erica well for her retirement.
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It was noted that Dr Wayne Campbell would be leaving the University of Essex
shortly to take up a senior post at the University of Kent. Thanks were given to
Wayne for his valued contributions to the JAC and to UCS as a whole.
DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS
Wednesday 7 November 2012 at 10.00am
Wednesday 6 March 2013 at 10.00am
Wednesday 5 June 2013 at 10.00am
Stephen Knock
Partnerships Manager
University of East Anglia
May 2012
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