the
Revised
COURT
MINUTES of the first meeting of the 2014/2015 academic year held on
Monday, 13 October, 2014, in Room 3011, Academic Building, 10 Stockwell Street,
Greenwich, London, SE10 9BD, commencing at 5.30 pm.
Present:
Mr S Howlett (in Chair)
Mr J Barnes
Mr A Brooks
Dr A Coutroubis
Mr L Devlin
Mr N Eastwell
Mr P Hazell
Ms M Hay
Mr A L Holmes
Mrs D Khanna
Professor D Maguire
Professor P Maras
Ms E Passey
Mr J Stoker
In attendance:
Professor T Barnes (Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise))
Mrs T A Brighton (SEO (University Court))
Mr R Daly (Director of Finance)
Professor S Jarvis (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Development)
Ms L Nadal (University Secretary)
Ms A Poulson (Chief Operating Officer)
Mr S Walker (Head of Educational Development Unit)
Apologies for Absence:
Mr A Albert, Mr S Davie, Professor P Griffiths, Mr W Leech, Mrs H Wyatt
CRT 14/1
WELCOME
The Chair welcomed Alec Coutroubis, Louise Nadal and Anne Poulson to their first
meeting and also welcomed Court Members to the new Stockwell Street building.
He congratulated the University on its new landmark building and asked that the
Court’s thanks be relayed to Adele Brooks and the rest of the team responsible for
the building project.
CRT 14/2
DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of conflicts of interests.
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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CRT 14/3
ITEM FROM THE CHAIR
3.1
Court Strategy Day
The Chair reminded Members that a half-day strategy discussion was scheduled for
3rd November. The intention was to examine two or three strategic items in detail
and Members would be given an interim report on the work of the Court Long
Term Strategy Group. He asked for suggestions from Members for other topics of
discussion which included student experience plans incorporating improvements to
teaching and the quality of learning.
3.2
CUC Meeting
The Chair stated that he would be attending a CUC Plenary meeting later in the
week. David Willets, formerly the Minister of State for Universities and Science,
was to be a guest speaker at the dinner. He would report back on this event to the
next meeting.
CRT 14/4
PRESENTATION FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE EDUCATION
DEVELOPMENT UNIT
The Court received a presentation from the Head of the Education Development
Unit on the Greenwich Connect Project concerned with taking forward the
University’s strategy for learning technology.
In the ensuing discussion, it was noted from the report on the National Student
Survey results (see minute 14/8) that teaching had fallen marginally below the
sector average and the Court speculated on whether this reflected the University’s
slower pace of progress in this area or whether there were other causes. It was
reported that there were no formal mechanisms in place for recognising and
rewarding good teaching and it was suggested that this could be a future area of
evaluation for the Staffing Committee.
The Chair stated that on-line learning was one of the areas being reviewed by the
Court Long Term Strategy Group and he welcomed the update on the different
pedagogical approaches.
CRT 14/5
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (CRT 14/P01)
The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2014 were approved and signed as a true
record.
CRT 14/6
MATTERS ARISING
6.1
Access Agreement
The Court noted that OFFA had approved the University’s 2015-2016 Access
Agreement submitted in April 2014.
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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6.2
Public Interest Disclosure Policy
It was noted that minor textual changes had been made to the policy since its
approval by Court in July 2014.
CRT 14/7
STUDENT RECRUITMENT (CRT 14/P02)
The Vice-Chancellor reported a satisfactory outcome to the 2014/15 recruitment
round. Applications submitted through the Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service (UCAS) had exceeded those for the previous two years. Numbers recruited
through Clearing had fallen slightly but this was thought to be due to some Russell
Group universities entering Clearing for the first time. The University had strived
to maintain a strong entry tariff and the average for this recruitment round was
estimated to be over 330. It was now anticipated that undergraduate new home
registrations would fall slightly short of the Student Control Number (set at 160
more than 2013/14) but would meet the agreed budgetary requirements for the
forthcoming year. Recruitment of post-graduate and overseas students was also
reported to be healthy. In line with expectations at this stage of the cycle, there had
been a slight decline in Partner College numbers. The Court was pleased to note
the successful recruitment round and expressed its appreciation of the efforts of all
staff involved in the recruitment of students.
CRT 14/8
NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 2014 : RESULTS (CRT 14/P03)
The Court considered an analysis of the results of the 2014 National Student
Survey. It was reported that 86% of Greenwich’s students had said they were
satisfied with their experience. This matched the sector average and also the
satisfaction rate for 2013. The Medway School of Pharmacy had scored 85%
satisfaction. The best performing departments were Civil Engineering and
Mathematical Sciences. With the exception of teaching (85%) and Students’ Union
(62%), the student satisfaction rates for all sections of the main survey had either
been higher or equal to the sector mean.
It was noted that Greenwich was now ranked 4th out of its Peer Group of eleven
institutions. The Student Experience Committee would be scrutinising the results
in detail and would be paying particular attention to those areas which had
performed poorly, or where there was scope for further improvement. The Court
would receive a detailed report on this aspect of the work of the Student Experience
Committee at a future meeting,
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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CRT 14/9
EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES : OCTOBER 2014 (CRT 14/P04)
The Court received a report on progress towards achieving employment outcomes.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) reported that the results of
the 2014 survey of Destinations of Leavers in Higher Education had indicated a
slight increase in the number of full-time first degree leavers in graduate
employment or further study. However, owing to the size of the cohort, the
proportion of students in graduate level employment had fallen from 53% to 49%.
The proportion of part-time students in graduate outcomes was above the sector
average but overall Greenwich’s employment levels were trailing the sector.
It was reported that the students interviewed for the 2014 survey had enrolled
before the Greenwich Employability framework had been put in place. It was
anticipated that the next DLHE survey would reflect the benefits of the REED
initiative. A recruitment campaign, run at this year’s graduation ceremonies, had
been successful in attracting students to register with the REED job seeking service
and the campaign was to be run again at the October ceremonies.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) further reported that evidence
across the sector indicated that a meaningful internship enhanced the probability of
gaining a job on graduation. With a view to increasing the level of investment in
this area, the University had commissioned a study on internships. The study had
examined the current practice and allocation of resources for internships and made
a series of recommendations for the realignment of employability services across
the University.
The Court noted that management had agreed to implement all of the study’s
recommendations. The central provision for employment services was being reorganised and extra resources to support students were being deployed at local level
within the Faculties. The study had identified that skills development, mentoring
and aspiration raising were critical to the successful securing of placements by
students. The Court noted that the study reported on the variability of the Personal
Tutoring provided and discussed the importance of ensuring that there was
wholesale engagement by academics in this activity. The Court also noted that the
study had made no reference to the use of Advisory Boards whose membership
included senior managers in a number of professions and leading companies.
The Court looked forward to hearing more about the work in this area in the future.
CRT 14/10
INTERIM REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN
(CRT 14/P05)
The Court received a summary of progress in meeting key performance indicators
as at October 2014. The University’s performance in 14 of the KPIs had been
updated since the last meeting.
The Vice-Chancellor reported some concern with progress with KPI 2 (% academic
staff with a doctorate) where the current position of 43% of staff was behind the
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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target of 60%. He proposed that Court should analyse and review the KPI targets at
its Court Strategy Day in the spring.
CRT 14/11
COURT LONG TERM STRATEGY GROUP
The Chair reported that an interim report on the work of the Court Long Term
Strategy Group would be considered at the Court’s half-day strategy discussion in
November. He recalled that the Group had been established at a time of change in
the external higher education environment. Having reviewed the factors likely to
impact on the University the Group had concluded that the current model of
campus-based teaching would not change in the immediate future.
The Chair stated that the Group had focussed on four strategic themes; international
pathway colleges, on-line learning business, estates and sports facilities and
alliances with other providers. He gave a brief outline of the Group’s work in each
area and noted that a proposal for a possible partnership with an international
pathway college provider would be presented to the next Court meeting.
CRT 14/12
VICE-CHANCELLOR’S REPORT (CRT 14/P06)
The Vice-Chancellor presented his report on recent developments and highlighted
the following issues:

Daniel Defoe Halls of Residence – The University’s new Halls of Residence in
Creek Road in Deptford had opened on schedule for the start of the 2014-2015
academic year. The Halls provided en-suite accommodation for 358 students.
A recent chip pan fire had caused minor damage to a kitchen but a defective fire
sprinkler had caused more significant water damage to other areas. The
University was working with the Facilities Management contractors to resolve
the matter.

Sunday Times League Table – The University had risen three places from 101
to 98 in the recently published Sunday Times League Table. Good progress had
been made in the areas of tariff entry score, good honours degrees and student
retention/completion but considerable improvement was needed in the scores
for staff : student ratio and graduate prospects. Work to improve these areas
was in hand.

Blake Hall – Blake Hall, a private college in Deptford and one of the
University’s UK partners, had had its Highly Trusted Sponsor licence revoked
by the Home Office’s United Kingdom Visas and Immigration. The
reputational and other risks were being examined. The University was aware of
its continuing responsibility to the existing students studying for Greenwich
awards.
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
page 5
CRT 14/13
AUDIT COMMITTEE
In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee, John Stoker reported verbally on
the following principal items of significance rising from the meeting held on 6
October 2014:
13.1
Internal Audit Annual Report 2013-2014
Within their annual report, the Internal Auditors provide a formal opinion on four
areas; governance, risk management, control and economy, efficiency and
effectiveness. The Internal Auditors had concluded that the first three areas were
satisfactory but had indicated a downward direction of travel for economy,
efficiency and effectiveness. This adverse opinion was based on value for money
evaluation of two areas of the University’s operations, printing and reprographics
and legal fees. The Committee had believed that the opinion should include a more
general assessment of the overall value for money ethos across the University and
the Internal Auditors had agreed to quantify their opinion in this respect.
13.2
Business Continuity Planning
The Committee had reviewed a report prepared by external consultants on the
University’s business continuing planning arrangements and had been reassured by
the work in train.
13.3
Internal Audit Review on Budgetary Control and Financial
Reporting
The Internal Audit review of the processes governing budgetary control and
financial reporting had received a limited level of assurance because of the
continuing tendency for large year-on-year unforecast surpluses. This was a
recurring issue and, bearing in mind the large opportunity cost involved, both the
Audit and Finance Committees would continue to take an interest in this area of
control.
13.4
Internal Audit Review on Equality & Diversity
The recent internal audit of the University’s responsibilities for meeting the
requirements of the Equalities Act 2010 had recognised that, due to a prolonged
period of restructuring and change within the Human Resources (HR) area, there
had been a hiatus in progress in certain areas. The Internal Auditors, however, had
given the report an amber-green rating, and had been reassured that the matter was
now being given greater priority and the outstanding compliance issues could be
rectified in the short term. The Staffing Committee would be monitoring progress.
13.5
Appointment of External Auditors
The External Auditors were reaching the end of their five year appointment but had
the possibility of a two-year extension. The Committee had considered the pros
and cons of the options available and agreed, for a number of reasons, that reappointment would be appropriate. This was dependent upon the satisfactory
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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outcome of a desk review comparing a number of external audit providers and a
formal recommendation would be made to a future meeting of Court.
CRT 14/14
STAFFING COMMITTEE
The Chairman of the Committee reported verbally that the re-established committee
had met for the first time immediately prior to the meeting of Court. A minor
modification to the terms of reference had been agreed. There had been a lengthy
review of the HR Strategy which had been in existence since 2012 but now failed to
reflect the present structure and strategic aims of the institution. A revised HR
strategy was to be developed for consideration at the next meeting of the
Committee in March. The Committee had been brought up to date with the status
of consultations with Trade Unions on a number of HR policies. As these
discussions would be continuing between meetings of the Committee it was agreed
that some issues would be progressed via correspondence and subsequently
reported to Court. The Committee had agreed that a series of standard metrics
needed to be developed in order to enable future monitoring of performance of
staffing related areas and these would be reviewed at the next meeting.
CRT 14/15
STOCKWELL STREET DEVELOPMENT : PROGRESS REPORT (CRT 14/P07)
The Court was pleased to note that the Stockwell Street building had opened to staff
and students on the expected date of 15 September 2014. It was anticipated that
practical completion would be achieved in the next week or so when the
outstanding areas, such as the service yard at the rear of the building, roofs, the
plant rooms and risers, would be handed over by the contractor. In the meantime
some final fit-out work and snagging was continuing.
It was reported that the building had been generally well received both locally and
in the press although some neighbours had raised questions about privacy and
security. The University was taking these concerns seriously and was in
discussions about possible adjustments.
CRT 14/16
WOOLWICH INCIDENT – REPORT OF INDEPENDENT INQUIRY PANEL
(CRT 14/P08)
The Court received the draft report setting out the findings of the Woolwich
Incident Inquiry Panel. The Inquiry had been established in response to media
assertions in the aftermath of the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich on 22
May 2013 that the two suspected killers had been former students of the University
of Greenwich.
In working to meet its terms of reference, the Panel had met on ten separate
occasions, had interviewed 14 witnesses and had reviewed a significant volume of
University and Students’ Union records As a result of its work, the Panel had
concluded that:
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
page 7
i
Michael Adebolajo had been a student at the University but Michael
Adebowale had not and no evidence was found linking him to the Students’
Union or any of the student societies;
ii
there was no evidence indicating that the University, its Students’ Union or
its student societies had contributed in any way to any radicalisation of
Michael Adebolajo;
iii
there was no evidence at the present time of radicalisation or violent
extremism in the University, the Students’ Union or its student societies.
The Court noted that the current policies, procedures and controls to prevent
extremism, radicalisation and violence (term of reference 4) were currently under
review by the University and the Students’ Union. The results of this work, which
was being carried out under the direction of the Chief Operating Officer and
University Secretary, would be reported to the Court at a later date.
The Court agreed that the Inquiry Panel had been very thorough in its investigation
and that the report was a robust exposition of the position and, subject to some
minor textual corrections, approved the report for general publication.
The Court asked that its appreciation be conveyed to Edward Walker-Arnott, chair
of the Panel, and the other members for their time and assistance in undertaking the
Inquiry.
CRT 14/P09 STUDENTS’ UNION: YEARLY REPORT ON ACTIVITIES (CRT 14/P09)
The Court received a report on the work and activities of the Students’ Union
during the 2013-2014 academic year.
The number of sports clubs and societies supported by the Students’ Union had
risen significantly during the year. There were now 16 sports clubs, 57 societies
and two academic societies with a total of 4520 members. The ‘Give it a Go’
programme had been particularly successful with over 1,600 students participating
in sports events and a football festival. The ‘employability toolkit’ had been
introduced to enable students to log their volunteering hours and a Union Awards
event had been held to celebrate the volunteering achievements of students.
Students continued to be involved in the work of Latitude Lookout (a regular
newspaper), Latitude Radio and Latitude TV. A Sustainability Hub, supported by a
team of student ‘Green Ambassadors’, had been established in partnership with the
University.
The President reported that 2013/14 had been the final year of the current Three
Year Plan and a new Three year Plan had been developed following extensive
consultation with the student body. A series of work priorities for the year had
been compiled reflecting the needs, views and wishes of students. Central to these
was the over-arching objective of providing students with an effective student
voice.
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
page 8
The Court commended the President and the team of elected officers on the
achievements outlined in the report and noted the plans for the coming year.
CRT 14/17
STRATEGIC DISCUSSION ITEMS 2014/2015 (CRT 14/P10)
The Court noted the list of strategic discussion items for the 2014/2015 session.
CRT 14/18
CHAIR’S APPROVAL: STOCKWELL STREET MAIN CONTRACT
(CRT 14/P11)
The Court endorsed the decision of the Chair (taken in accordance with the
Standing Order on Chairman’s Action) to pay the increased contract figure for the
main contract for Stockwell Street of £2,161,500 (exclusive of VAT) (being the
difference between the original contract sum of £37,597,497 and the estimated cost
of £39,750,000).
CRT 14/19
ACADEMIC COUNCIL MINUTES (CRT 14/P12)
The Court received the minutes of the Academic Council meeting held on 18 June
2014.
CRT 14/20
STUDENTS’ UNION: AMENDMENTS TO BYE-LAWS (CRT 14/P13)
The Court noted amendments to the Students’ Union Bye-Laws, effective from 1
July 2014, which had been approved by the Interim University Secretary under the
delegated authority of the Court.
CRT 14/21
UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES (UTCS) UPDATE (CRT 14/P14)
The Court received an update on developments with the Royal Greenwich
University Technical College and the establishment of the Dartford and Medway
University Technical Colleges.
Following an independent review of teaching at the Royal Greenwich UTC, a plan
for improvement was now being implemented. An Interim Principal had been
appointed following the unexpected resignation of the Principal.
The Leigh UTC at Dartford had opened in September 2014 with 135 pupils and,
despite earlier concerns, the building was successfully completed on time.
Recruitment of the first cohort of students for the Medway UTC had started and
preparatory works and construction of the new building were under way.
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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CRT 14/22
2015 AWARD CEREMONIES (CRT 14/P15)
The Court noted the schedule of dates for the July and October 2015 award
ceremonies (see Appendix 1 to these minutes).
CRT 14/23
EXECUTION OF DEEDS (CRT 14/P16)
The Court noted:
(i)
the signing as a Deed of the following “Group A” document:
LEASE relating to premises known as Building 2, The Movement, Greenwich (ie
Daniel Defoe Halls of Residence) between (1) Legal & General Pensions Limited
and (2) University of Greenwich
(ii)
the signing as a Deed of the following “Group B” document:
LEASE of BMX field at Stud Groom’s Cottage, Bexley Road, London SE9 2PG
between (1) University of Greenwich and (2) Merlyn Woodhouse, Ben Belcher and
Joe Goodman.
CRT 14/24
MEMORANDUM OF ASSURANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY BETWEEN
HEFCE AND INSTITUTIONS (CRT 14/P17)
The Court noted that HEFCE had revised its Financial Memorandum with the
higher education sector and issued a new Memorandum of Assurance and
Accountability between HEFCE and Institutions effective from 1 August 2014.
The Memorandum set out the terms and conditions for the payment of HEFCE
grants and included a revised Audit Code of Practice.
The Court received a summary of the key differences between the previous
Financial Memorandum and the new Memorandum and noted that the University
was making appropriate adjustments to its procedures and operations to
accommodate the requirements of the Memorandum.
The meeting ended at 7.40 pm.
T.A.Brighton
24 October 2014
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
page 10
Appendix 1 to minutes of the Court meeting held on 13 October 2014
AWARD CEREMONY DATES 2015
OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE CHAPEL, GREENWICH
Monday 13 July 2015
Architecture, Design & Construction (Faculty of ACH)
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Greenwich Maritime Institute (Faculty of ACH)
Business (Faculty of Business)
Thursday, 16 July 2015
Business (Faculty of Business)
Friday, 17 July 2015
Computing and Mathematical Sciences (Faculty of ACH)
ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL, ROCHESTER
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
Medway School of Pharmacy
Engineering (Faculty of Engineering & Science)
Thursday, 23 July 2015
Engineering (Faculty of Engineering & Science)
Science (Faculty of Engineering & Science)
Natural Resources Institute (Faculty of Engineering & Science)
OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE CHAPEL, GREENWICH
Week 1
Monday, 19 October 2015 Health & Social Care (Faculty of Education & Health)
Tuesday, 20 October 2015 Health & Social Care (Faculty of Education & Health)
Law School (Faculty of ACH)
Wednesday, 21 October 2015 Humanities (Faculty of ACH)
Week 2
Monday, 26 October 2015 Education (Faculty of Education & Health)
Tuesday, 27 October 2015 Education (Faculty of Education & Health)
Partnership Division
CRT 14 M-1 13 October 2014
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