UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
BUSINESS COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL
Minutes of meeting held on 25 April 2013
Present:
Colin Duncan (Convener), Eric Crockart (Vice-Convener), Steve Duggan, Nigel Lindsay,
Maitland Mackie, Lynne Mennie, Alan Milne, Mike McConnell, Marjory Reid, Jennifer
Shirreffs, Susan Stuart, Hamish Wilson, Brian Wood, Jennifer Sewel, Karen Scaife and
Emma Forster (Clerk).
Apologies were received from Christine Burgess, Jacquelynn Craw and Muriel Roberts.
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MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2013 were approved.
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MATTERS ARISING
2.1
Installation of the New Chancellor (Minute 6 refers)
The Committee noted that the installation of the new Chancellor would take place on Monday
10 June at 11.00am. Preparations for the ceremony were well underway. In line with
traditional protocol it would be the Convener of the Business Committee of the General Council
who would present the Chancellor Elect for installation.
2.2
Aberdeen Alumnus Association (Minute 9 refers)
Mrs Shirreffs reported on the recent activities of the Alumnus Association. The Association was
considering opportunities to involve students with alumni including meeting and greeting
international students.
The Committee agreed that in order to further improve links between it and the Alumnus
Association, the following members of the Business Committee should meet with
representatives of the Association:
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2.3
Eric Crockart
Brian Wood
Lifelong Learning (Minute 11 refers)
The Committee noted that the consideration of the Report of the review of the Centre for
Lifelong Learning was ongoing.
More generally, the question of extra mural activities offered by the University was raised. The
university continued to offer a range of part-time and flexible provision across a variety of
subjects, including the work being undertaken in schools on which the Committee had received
a presentation at a previous meeting. The University also had an extensive public engagement
programme co-ordinated through its Public Engagement with Science Unit.
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THE ESTATE
The Committee received a presentation from Alan Wight, Assistant Director of Estates, on the
University Estate, its history, future challenges and ongoing projects.
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In recent years the University had undertaken a significant capital programme involving
investment in new buildings on different campuses, such as Oceanlab, the Sir Duncan Rice
Library, and the Suttie Centre. Its capital programme also included major refurbishment
projects, such as 50/52 College Bounds and Fraser Noble; and conservation works. A £20M
project was now underway to improve student accommodation at Hillhead over the next few
years.
It was confirmed that Marischal College continued to be maintained as normal.
The Committee expressed its thanks and congratulations on the extent of the capital
programme.
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REPORT ON COURT BUSINESS
The Committee received an oral report from the Convener, who was also a General Council
Assessor, on the meeting of Court held on 26 March 2013.
At that meeting, the Principal had reported on recent activities including the creation of an Oil
and Gas Academy, a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon
University and Aberdeen College to address skills shortages; and the University of Aberdeen’s
Institute for Energy.
The Court had received a presentation on one of the University’s four research themes,
Environment and Food Security, from Professor Pete Smith, leader of the research theme. The
presentation highlighted that the work programme of the theme was organised around
responding to three major global environmental challenges: food security; environmental
change; and sustainable natural resource management.
The Court had considered an update on progress made to mitigate the three risks with the
highest risk scores on the University’s Corporate Risk Register these being:
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failure to establish an appropriate market share of the international student population;
failure to meet the RUK population target;
failure to improve research performance in relative terms.
The Court had also received updates on:
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staff recruitment
fundraising and development
health and safety policies
financial accounts
In discussion, the Committee commented on the University’s Institute for Energy, and stressed
the need for this to encompass energy in its widest sense including renewable sources of
energy. It was agreed to feed this comment back to the institute leaders.
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DISBURSEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT
The Committee received an oral update from the Convener of the Sub-Committee on
Disbursement for Student Study Applications. In the last round of applications and awards,
£21,000 had been disbursed: £12,000 for students undertaking medical electives, and £8,000
to students carrying out research projects. A further £1,000 had been awarded to a medical
student in special circumstances.
The Committee in making its judgement had used a scoring system developed by the
Development Trust.
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The Convener of the Sub-Committee concluded by confirming that the work of the SubCommittee had now concluded and there would no longer be a direct role for the Business
Committee in this activity. However, he hoped that the feedback from the Sub-Committee had
enhanced the scoring system for evaluating applications and would provide a useful basis for
moving forward in the future.
The Convener of the Business Committee thanked the Sub-Committee for its work.
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REPORT ON THE JOINT MEETING OF GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS COMMITTEE
CONVENERS
The Convener provided an oral report on a Joint Meeting of General Council Conveners hosted
by the University of Edinburgh on 12 March 2013. All four General Councils from the
Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen had been represented.
At the meeting, the issue of raising awareness of the activities of General Councils more
generally and engagement between Business Committees and Alumni had been discussed.
There had also been a discussion about fundraising, and the role of General Councils in this
activity.
Other specific issues raised by attendees included the following:
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the development of MOOCS (Massive Open Online Learning Courses) by the University of
Edinburgh as part of a consortium. It was noted that the University of Aberdeen had been
considering options in relation to online learning and this was identified as a possible issue
for discussion at a future Business Committee.
Online Elections: the University of St Andrews had held its first online General Council
Assessor election. There had been a very low turnout (2%) but as this had been the first
time an election had been required it was not possible to compare this with previous years.
The University of Edinburgh was appointing a Deputy Secretary for the student
experience. One of the reasons for the appointment was the feedback that Edinburgh
received in the National Students Survey as it performed less well than its peers in a
number of areas.
MEMBERSHIP
The Committee noted that the deadline for the submission of nominations forms for election to
the Business Committee was 22 April 2013.
The Committee expressed its thanks to Hamish Wilson, whose term of office was coming to an
end, and who was attending his last meeting of the Business Committee.
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COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNVERSITY COURT
The Committee received and considered a communication from the University Court which
asked it to approve two draft Resolutions. Clarification was requested on one issue in relation
to Resolution No 272 (Code of Practice on Student Discipline: Academic).
Clarification was also requested on how fixed penalties were imposed upon students. It was
noted that the normally students would not be allowed to graduate had they any debts and this
was the way in which the process was managed.
In reference to disciplinary procedures, it was noted that the University had a corporate policy
on alcohol related problems which referred to disciplinary procedures.
The Committee approved:
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Draft Resolution No 271 of 2012 [Code on Practice on Student Discipline: Non Academic]
Draft Resolution No 272 of 2012 [Code of Practice on Student Discipline: Academic]
Draft Resolution No
of 2013 [Changes to Regulations of Various Degrees]
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ROLE OF THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE
The Committee received two papers setting out its role:
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A paper drafted by Nigel Lindsay and previous circulated in 2011
The General Council factsheet produced by Alumni Relations
The Committee agreed that:
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The paper previously circulated in 2011 should be re-worded to reflect that it was formally
adopted by the Committee
The General Council factsheet should be included on the website, and it should be made
clear that it was a factsheet and not the formal standing orders
These papers should be presented to the first meeting of every session.
REPORT FROM THE CLERK AND REGISTRAR
The Clerk gave an oral report on the following matters.
10.1 Electronic Voting
The Ordinance to introduce electronic voting had now been approved and passed by the Privy
Council.
10.2 Post-16 Bill and Code of HE Governance
In relation to the Post-16 Bill on Higher Education, this had now reached the second stage.
The Consultation on a revised Code of HE Governance closed in June, and following this
deadline the Government would consider the Code in the context of the Post-16 Bill. The
Committee agreed that those Committee members who wished to contribute on the
Government’s Consultation should do so as individuals, and the weblink would be circulated to
allow this.
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next scheduled meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday 25 June at 4.00pm.
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