Court news

The Court's meeting in April was mainly an opportunity for the governing body to revisit and monitor a number of issues which had been discussed on previous occasions.

Principal's Report

Amongst the matters drawn to the Court's attention were the following:

• The SFC grant for 2006/07, which had been revised following an error in the initial funding letter, provided a total increase for the University of 8.3% against the sector average of 7.2%. The increase in research funding, where the error had occurred, was 15.3%, against the sector average of 13.1%: this was the second highest increase in Scotland after Edinburgh. Although the outcome for the University was less than had originally been intimated, it remained a good settlement. Nevertheless there would be serious cost pressures on the University's financial strategy, which would have to be reviewed by the Finance & Policy Committee and Court.
• Constructive discussions were continuing regarding the future of the Kirkcaldy campus of the School of Nursing & Midwifery and it was expected that recommendations would be made to the next meeting of Court. The University's main objective remained to improve the overall quality of education for nursing students from Fife, but its position had been modified as a result of strong local representations. The option currently favoured of delivering the theoretical parts of the curriculum in Fife in collaboration with local FE provision was a novel solution, although there were issues still to be addressed including finance and professional accreditation.
• A group chaired by Professor Geoffrey Ward, Deputy Principal, had reviewed the book disposal policy of the University Library, about which there had been some negative publicity in the local press. A new policy had been agreed, addressing the concerns which had been raised.

The main focus of questions and comment from Court members was industrial action by AUT, potentially affecting student assessment procedures. Reassurances were given that the University would take all necessary measures to minimise the impact of such action on students. It was noted also that the University continued to encourage dialogue between the parties in the national pay dispute. The Court decided to establish a sub-group of members to advise and support management in reaching any decisions which might be required before the next meeting of Court.

Strategic Plan

The Court received a paper which was intended to form the substance of the new strategic plan for the period to 2012 and members were invited to provide guidance on the overall shape of the themes, objectives and measures. In presentation of the document, emphasis was placed on its continuity with the current plan to 2007, as well as the development of new elements. A draft of the new plan would be submitted to the Court's next meeting in June and would need to be fully compatible with the University's forward financial strategy.

Members made a variety of comments and additions or modifications to the document were agreed. Areas which were identified as requiring greater prominence in the plan included the following:

• a staff development strategy in support of performance improvement and the agenda for change, as well as adequate funding to implement such a strategy;
• maintaining and enhancing the quality of staff through strategies for recruitment, reward and retention;
• the University's strategy for student recruitment in the context of the demographic downturn in Scottish school-leavers, bearing in mind that a multiplicity of approaches could ultimately be self-defeating;
• specific research objectives, within the overall theme of promoting research excellence.

Translational Medicine Research Collaboration

The Court received a detailed report on the translational medicine research initiative in Scotland involving collaboration with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and a leading role for the University of Dundee. The Framework Collaboration Agreement, about which the Court had been advised in December 2005, had been signed and a more detailed suite of agreements had now been put in place. Public announcement of the initiative had been made in New York, Glasgow and Dundee on 3 April. The report provided further information about the partnership arrangements.

Emphasis was placed on the importance of getting the project under way quickly and making sufficient progress to ensure a long-term future for the development beyond the initial period of the agreements. Various aspects of the initiative were discussed and the Court was reassured that the associated risks were manageable.

The Chairman emphasised the scale of the task in which the University had been involved and the stiff competition which it had faced. The Principal commented that the quality of science in Dundee had been a major factor in securing the University's central role. The Court recorded its congratulations to all those involved in preparing the way for this landmark research initiative.

Restructuring

The Court received draft constitutional amendments to facilitate the restructuring of the University into four Colleges. It was confirmed that the proposed amendments to the University Charter and Statutes, which had been passed at the December and February meetings of the Court, had now been submitted to the Privy Council for ratification. The next stage was to approve amendments to the Ordinances and, subject to minor changes identified in discussion, these were approved by the Court for consultation with the Senate and subsequent confirmation at the Court's next meeting in June (see http://www.dundee.ac.uk/academic/).

Freedom of Information

The Court noted a report from the University's Records Manager providing data on the impact of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which had become fully applicable to Universities from 1 January 2005, and other information legislation to which the University was subject. The report included comparable statistics for the Scottish higher education sector as a whole. (For a copy contact l.v.sith@dundee.ac.uk).