Handing-Over Notes for Deans of Faculties

4.0  Faculty Business

The Faculties meet four times each session, about a week ahead of the Academic Affairs Committee so that they can forward items for discussion to that Committee. Their minutes are reported to the next Senate. The Standing Orders of each Faculty set out their main responsibilities. Among the key items discussed are:

4.1 Module Approval: all new modules must be approved the relevant Faculty, and any significant changes to existing modules also need approval. A new module approval form and notes of guidance for completing the form are available on the Web. Each of the Faculties has its own procedure for considering module proposals before they are put to Faculty for approval.  

4.2 Scheme Approval: under new arrangements from 2005-06, the Deans collectively are asked to consider all proposals for new or revised study schemes to determine which form of approval they require. The proposals then go forward to the relevant Faculty and then may need to go to either a full or an internal approval panel before final approval by the Academic Affairs Committee. Scheme approval and other forms are available on the Web. The Deans will chair validation events when these are required (typically where the new scheme marks a significant departure from existing provision rather than a repackaging of existing modules).

4.3 Departmental Board Minutes: the Faculties each receive minutes of departmental boards and staff:student consultative committees and may discuss any issues arising out of these. Some departments submit minutes of Learning and Teaching Committees.

4.4 Quality Assurance:  the Faculties discuss a range of issues relating to the quality assurance of teaching, and may put forward comments and proposals to the Academic Affairs Committee or develop Faculty norms and policies where appropriate, to promote consistency within the Faculties. The Faculties also check the responses of departments to the University’s QA questionnaire and report any outstanding issues to the Academic Affairs Committee. They review in November each year the Annual Programme Monitoring exercise carried out by departments. Another key task is consideration of the reports of external examiners on taught study schemes. The Deputy Dean prepares a summary of reports for the November Faculty, checking that departments have responded to points relevant to them, and identifying any issues requiring consideration at Faculty or University level.

4.5  Faculty Research Monitoring Committees: twice each session, the Deans chair meetings at which the progress of research students is considered. In June/July decisions are taken on whether to approve the progress of students to the next year of study and any problem cases are identified and discussed. In some cases the Dean will write to students on behalf of the Faculty to express concern and/or offer support. This is a key part of the University’s measures to ensure that research students complete their theses within the required deadlines. There is also a cross Faculty Monitoring meeting in early September, chaired by the Dean of Postgraduate Studies, to consider a small number of student cases where it is decided in June/July that progress to the next year of study cannot yet be confirmed.

4.6 Executive Action: The Deans are empowered to take action executively on Faculty matters requiring urgent attention where waiting until the next Faculty meeting might occasion a significant delay. In such cases, the Dean will report to the next meeting of Faculty on the executive action taken.