Senate

Senate is our senior academic board and is responsible to Council for: general issues relating to the research, scholarship and teaching of our courses; taking appropriate action to safeguard the standards and quality of our awards; considering the development of our academic activities and the resources needed to support them; and for general advice on other matters that Council or the Vice-Chancellor may refer to them.

Senate is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and membership includes senior academics and professional service employees, representatives of the University’s teaching body, and Students’ Union representatives. Senate is supported by the University’s Governance team. For queries please contact Dr Marcus Wood, Principal Registry Officer (Extension 5066), or Mrs Leah Hill, Senior Registry Officer and Senate Secretary (Extension 4042). Proposed agenda items should be sent to the Secretary at least two weeks before the meeting to enable the agenda to be set in good time.

Senate meetings and sub-committees

Meeting dates for Senate during 2020-21 are: 23 September 2020, 16 December 2020, 24 March 2021, and 9 June 2021. There is also a joint meeting with Council on 16 November 2020. Members may access Senate paperwork by logging in to their Board Effect Platform.

The work of Senate is delegated to various sub-committees. Please see the University Committees document for full details of constitutions and terms of reference.

Academic Planning Committee

Academic Planning Committee (APC) is chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and is responsible for the development of the University’s academic taught portfolio and its formal strategic educational partnerships. This includes approval of business cases for new courses and - through the work of the University Partnerships Board (UPB) – new partnerships as well as oversight of changes to existing courses and partnerships.

APC meets as required throughout the academic year. For queries please contact Mrs Leah Hill, Senior Registry Officer and Secretary (Extension 4042).

For queries relating to partnership activity please contact Mrs Shabana Hussain, Senior Registry Officer and UPB Secretary (Extension 3571).

Education Committee

Education Committee is chaired by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Digital) and has responsibility for issues relating to learning, teaching and the assessment of our academic taught portfolio of courses. This includes putting into operation the educational aspects of our strategic plan Impact 2022, monitoring of other plans including our Access and Participation Plan, maintenance of quality and academic standards, and oversight of all aspects of the student journey.

Meeting dates during 2020-21 are: 14 October 2020, 18 November 2020, 27 January 2021, 17 March 2021, and 12 May 2021. For queries please contact Dr Emma Tomsett, Senior Registry Officer and Secretary (Extension 3186).

Research & Enterprise Committee

Research and Enterprise Committee is chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and has responsibility for monitoring and reviewing research performance across the University, identifying priority areas for research and enterprise effort and activity, and monitoring the research student environment. This includes preparation for our submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise.

Meeting dates during 2020-21 are: 7 October 2020, 25 November 2020, 23 February 2021, and 19 May 2021. For queries please contact Dr Melanie Nakisa, Research Development Unit Manager (Extension 4008), or Dr Emma Tomsett, Senior Registry Officer and Secretary (Extension 3186).

Minutes of previous meetings

If you require minutes prior to this date please contact the Governance and Quality Team in the Academic Registry.

Additional information

If you would like more information on the way in which Senate and its sub-committees operate, or would like to explore the role of different members on a committee, please consult the Committees Handbook. For a diagram of the University’s deliberative committee structure please see the University Committees document.