University Council Minutes 24 June 2025

Minutes of the hybrid meeting held on 24 June 2025 at 9.15 am in BG217, Business School, Oxstalls Campus and via MS Teams

Membership:

Becki Albrighton – A
Bobola Ajibola
Ingrid Barker – A
Mark Burch
Thomas Chambers
James Cooper – A
Paul Crichard – A
Ruth Dooley
Nicola de Iongh (Chair)
Steve Gardiner
Vanessa Garratt
Tracey Harrison
Dame Clare Marchant
Pamela Sissons
Elonka Soros – A
Rt Revd Robert Springett
Joe Sucksmith
Julie Walkling
Dr Peter Warry

Board Apprentices:

Ben Edginton-Thomas
Eleanor Hill

In attendance:

Dr Matthew Andrews (Secretary to Council), Chief Operating Officer
Rakhee Aggarwal, Exec Dean – EDI (HoS Health and Social Care)
Katharine Clough, Chief Marketing Officer
Rachel Gwynne, Interim Director of Governance
Bianca Holland (Observing), Incoming Students’ Union Officer
Prof Cathia Jenainati, Exec Dean – Partnerships (HoS Business Computing and Social Sciences)
Dr Graham Parton, Exec Dean – Teaching Innovations (HoS Education and Science)
Prof Angus Pryor, Exec Dean – Research (HoS Creative Arts)
Freya Rowley (Observing), Incoming Students’ Union Officer
Camille Stallard, Chief Financial Officer
Tanya Collins, Head of Governance and Legal
Ade Odebunmi (Minutes), Senior Governance and Secretariat Officer

C.25.49 Prayer
The Rt Revd Robert Springett led the meeting in a prayer.

C.25.50 Welcome, Apologies and Quorum
Received: apologies for absence from Becki Albrighton, Ingrid Barker, Julie-Ann Brooks, James Cooper, Paul Crichard and Elonka Soros. The Chair welcomed Bianca Holland and Freya Rowley who were observing the meeting, prior to becoming the new Student Members of Council from 1 July 2025.

C.25.51 Business of the Agenda
Noted: that there had been no request to unstar any item on the agenda, and therefore it was assumed that papers C/39/25 to C/45/25 had been approved or noted as stated.

C.25.52 Declarations of Interest
Noted: that there were no interests declared.

C.25.53 Minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2025
Resolved: the minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting held on 12 May 2025.

C.25.54 CONFIDENTIAL: Matters Arising
Noted: no matters were raised.

C.25.55 Chair’s Business including Key Issues Report (C/29/25)

C.25.55.1
Received and Noted:
a. the Key Issues Report from the Committee Chairs on the key points discussed at the following meetings:
i. Remuneration and Human Resources Committee, 04 June 2025
ii. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 10 June 2025
iii. Audit and Risk Committee, 13 June 2025
iv. Governance and Nominations Committee, 16 June 2025
b. a verbal update on key items discussed at the meeting of the UoGPSL Board held on 16 May 2025, including pension fund investment performance, the Pension Quality Mark Plus accreditation, and proposed revisions to the Board’s Terms of Reference and Membership which were recommended to Council for approval in paper C/42/25.

C.25.55.2
Noted:
a. since the last meeting, there had been one decision made via circulation: the extension of Dave Oakhill’s term of office as Board Apprentice on Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC) until the end of June 2026. There had been two uses of the Company Seal: documentation related to the sale of the Hardwick Sport Centre, and documentation related to the sale of the Broadlands-Farmery site. There had been no exercise of delegation;
b. in light of recent high-profile cases in the sector, the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) had launched a major review of its Higher Education Code of Governance to take learnings from those cases, and give assurance to stakeholders to ensure they were able to respond effectively to the growing demands and pressures being placed on them.

C.25.55.3
Resolved: Council considered and agreed to move the Council Away Day from April 2026 to June 2026, and for the April meeting to be held online, to allow for members finishing their terms in June to have a proper send off, in person e.g. Student Members.

C.25.56 Student Union Report to Council (C/30/25)

C.25.56.1
Received: the Students’ Union (SU) update, noting in particular:
a. final update from the current full-time officers and preparation for smooth transition to the incoming officers;
b. the latest key activities and initiatives over the reporting period;
c. achievements of the societies and sports clubs over the year;
d. the creation of five-year project journey plan for the Harm Reduction Project;
e. the International Celebration in collaboration with the Global Scholars Ceremony held on 5 June 2026, which highlighted the cultural diversity of the university;
f. the SU Education and Welfare Officer thanked the Executive Dean – EDI (Head of School Health and Social Care) for supporting work to help address the awarding gap.

C.25.56.2
Noted: the recent activities within the SU.

C.25.57 CONFIDENTIAL: Vice-Chancellor’s Report (C/31/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.58 CONFIDENTIAL: 2024/2025 May Finance Report including Forecast 3 (C/32/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.59 CONFIDENTIAL: 2025/2026 Final Iteration of the Budget (C/33/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.60 CONFIDENTIAL: Estate Updates (C/34/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.61 CONFIDENTIAL: Appointment of Staff Members of Council (C/35/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.62 CONFIDENTIAL: Risk Management Report: Revised Risk Register and Action Plan for 2025/2026 (C/36/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.63 CONFIDENTIAL: Academic Board Update for Council (C/37/25)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.25.64 NSS Improvement Plan Status Update (C/38/25)

C.25.64.1
Received: the National Student Survey (NSS) Improvement Plan Status Update.

C.25.64.2
Noted:
a. the update on the NSS 2024/2025 action plan. It was confirmed that many of the actions were either completed or embedded into business as usual, or connected to the Curriculum Transformation Project;
b. the NSS 2025 had closed at the end of April 2025. The completion rate was just over 77% which was slightly higher than the 2024 completion rate;
c. in light of the cybersecurity and artificial intelligence being areas the University wanted to grow, it was encouraged to take a strategic approach to improve NSS scores and it was noted that its facilities, FuturePark and staff would help with that;
d. in relation to action 3.5 (to deliver a relaunch of the SU), it was reported that spaces and governance aspects, including corporate support, had been discussed which had helped University Executive form strengthened relationships with the SU;
e. a request that acronyms within papers were explained in full for Council members.
To Note: Head of G&L

C.25.65 Approval of the Scheme of Delegation for 2025/2026* (C/39/25)
Resolved: Council approved the amendments to the Scheme of Delegations.

C.25.66 Annual Review of Council’s Statement of Primary Responsibilities and Council Role Descriptors* (C/40/25)
Resolved: Council approved the revisions to the Statement of Primary Responsibilities and Council’s suite of role descriptors.

C.25.67 Annual Review of Council and Committees Terms of Reference Documents* (C/41/25)
Resolved Council:
a. approved the recommended changes to the Terms of Reference documents for its committees as outlined in the paper;
b. noted that the newly named Chaplaincy and Foundation Fellows Liaison Group would consider the existing Terms of Reference for the Council, Foundation and Chaplaincy Committee at is meeting in July 2025, and would make any recommendations regarding any amendments for consideration by correspondence with a view to amended Terms of Reference being presented for approval at Council in October 2025.

C.25.68 Updates to the UoGPSL Board of Directors (C/42/25)
Resolved: Council approved:
a. changes to the Terms of Reference for the UoGPSL Board of Directors;
b. the appointment of Cathia Jenainati to the Board;
c. the appointment of Mark Burch to the Board
d. the addition of an employee of UoGPSL to the Board, selected through an application and appointment process.

C.25.69 Annual Chaplaincy Report (C/43/25)
Received and Noted: the Annual Chaplaincy Report.

C.25.70 Apprenticeship Annual Report (C/44/25)
Received and Noted: the Apprenticeship Annual Report.

C.25.71 Council Schedule of Business (C/45/25)
Received and Noted: the Council Schedule of Business and made no recommendations for change.

C.25.72 Minutes from Council Committees*
Noted: that the minutes from the following meetings would be available from the University Committees page on Sharepoint.
a. Remuneration and Human Resources Committee, 04 June 2025
b. Finance And General Purposes Committee, 10 June 2025
c. Audit and Risk Committee, 13 June 2025
d. Governance and Nominations Committee, 16 June 2025

C.25.73 Any Other Business
Noted:
a. that Paul Crichard would finish his term of office on 1 July 2025. The Chair thanked him in absentia for his contributions to Council and particularly in relation to cyber and digital initiatives;
b. that it was the last meeting for Student Members, Bobola Ajibola and Vanessa Garratt who would complete their terms of office on 30 June 2025. The Chair expressed gratitude for their contributions to Council and the University and wished them well in their future endeavours.

C.25.74 Date of Next Meeting
Noted: the Council Development Day on Monday, 6 October at 13.30pm, and meeting of Council on Tuesday, 7 October 2025 at 9.15am. Both would be held on campus (location to be confirmed).