University Council Minutes 3 Feb 2026

Minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2026 at 9.15am in person in rooms BG133-134, Business School, Oxstalls Campus

Membership:
Becki Albrighton
Ingrid Barker
Mark Burch
Thomas Chambers
James Cooper
Ruth Dooley
Nicola de Iongh (Chair) (until end C.26.15)
Steve Gardiner
Tracey Harrison
Bianca Holland
Prof Geoff Layer
Dame Clare Marchant – A
Freya Rowley
Prof Adeela Shafi
Pamela Sissons
Elonka Soros
Rt Revd Robert Springett (Acted as Chair from C.26.16)
Joe Sucksmith – A
Julie Walkling
Dr Peter Warry

Board Apprentices:
Ben Edgington-Thomas
Eleanor Hill

In attendance:
Dr Matthew Andrews (Secretary to Council), Chief Operating Officer
Julie-Ann Brooks, Director of People
Katharine Clough, Chief Marketing Officer
Stewart Dove (for C.26.15), Director of Student Experience
Prof Cathia Jenainati, Executive Dean – Partnerships (Head of School –
Business, Computing and Social Sciences)
Dr Graham Parton, Executive Dean – Teaching Innovation (Head of
School – Education, Health and Science)
Camille Stallard, Chief Financial Officer
Tanya Collins, Head of Governance and Legal
Steph Base (Minutes), Senior Governance and Secretariat Officer

C.26.01 Prayer
The Rt Revd Robert Springett led the meeting in a prayer.

C.26.02 Welcome, Apologies and Quorum
Received: apologies for absence from Clare Marchant, Joe Sucksmith and Angus Pryor.

Noted: the following:

1. this was the first meeting for Adeela Shafi as the new Academic Staff Member of Council.
2. Stewart Dove would be in attendance for item C.26.15.
3. the meeting was quorate.

C.26.03 Business of the Agenda
Noted: the following:

1. that there had been no request to unstar any item on the agenda, and therefore it was assumed that items C.26.17 to C.26.23 had been approved or noted as stated.

C.26.04 Declarations of Interest
Noted: none were raised.

C.26.05 Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2025

C.26.05.1 Resolved: Council approved the minutes as an accurate record of the meeting held on 25 November 2025.

C.26.06 CONFIDENTIAL: Matters Arising (C/01/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.07 Chair’s Business including Key Issues Report (C/02/26)

C.25.07.1 Received and Noted:

1. the Key Issues Report from the Committee Chairs on the key points discussed at the following meetings:
   i. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 11 December 2025
   ii. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 20 January 2026

C.25.07.2 Noted: since the last meeting:
a. two decisions had been made via circulation: confirming the appointment of Prof Adeela Shafi as the new Academic Staff Member of Council, and the appointment of Tracey Harrison as the Vice-Chair of Council from 01 July 2026.
b. three uses of the Company Seal:

1. On 15 December 2025: in relation to the overage linked to the sale of Broadlands-Farmery buildings at Park Campus, for Deed of Variation between the University of Gloucestershire (UoG) and Robert Deacon Builders Limited.
2. On 23 December 2025: in respect of a lease for the CeAL Building at FCH, between the UoG and National Star Foundation lease relating to the property known as the Centre for Active Learning (CeAL building) at Francis Close Hall campus.
3. On 5 January 2026: Contract relating to FutureSim.

c. no exercises of delegation had been made.

Section A: Main Items for Discussion

C.26.08 Student Union Report to Council (C/03/26)

C.26.08.1 Received: the Students’ Union (SU) update, which was taken as read. The following were noted in particular:

1. a high demand for emergency food parcels at Christmas, noting the scheme would reopen with tighter processes;
2. a call for academic staff to support the Student Leader Programme;
3. Varsity planning was underway, and Council Members were invited to support students at Plock Court on 15 April 2026;
4. Cheltenham Student Forum was established;
5. strong student opposition to Office for Students (OfS) proposals on degree classification changes, and the SU were coordinating a sector-wide response and engaging with the National Union of Students (NUS), Department for Education (DfE) and the OfS;
6. Speak Week, w/c 16 February 2026, would involve discussions with local councillors and MPs on key student issues;
7. work was progressing with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on enhanced support for international students.

C.26.08.2 Considered: the following:

1. Council Members commended SU advocacy on post-92 issues;
2. discussion and clarification on sector use of the term “discounting”;
3. SU engagement data collection was improving through new monitoring tools.

C.26.08.3 Noted: recent activities within the SU.

C.26.09 CONFIDENTIAL: Vice-Chancellor’s Report (C/04/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.10 CONFIDENTIAL: Financial Performance Monitoring Report (C/05/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.11 CONFIDENTIAL: Estates Update (C/06/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.12 CONFIDENTIAL: City Campus Closure Report (C/07/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.13 Academic Board Update for Council (C/08/26)

C.26.13.1 Received and Noted: an update which provided Council with key recommendations, decisions and discussions arising from business considered at the Academic Board meeting on 3 December 2025.

C.26.13.2 Considered:

1. an update on the progress of the revalidation exercise being carried out as part of the Curriculum Transformation Programme (CTP).
2. noted that Council webinars on the topic of Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) had been scheduled for late spring;
3. the outcome of the OfS consultation was expected in spring, followed by further consultation in autumn;
4. the increasing importance of NSS data;
5. Academic Board was preparing a response to the OfS report into Bachelors’ Degree Classification Algorithms and the practice of discounting lowest marks to award the best outcome. Council requested further information on this, and it was suggested that it might be possible for this to be included within an upcoming Council webinar on TEF;
   Action: COO
   
6. Academic Board was preparing a response to the OfS report into Bachelors’ Degree Classification Algorithms and the practice of discounting lowest marks to award the best outcome. Council requested further information on this, and it was suggested that it might be possible for this to be included within an upcoming Council webinar on TEF;
7. how the Student Voice in TEF relates to NSS questions, and how to join the dots, particularly at course level, and in partnership with the SU;
8. the Student Members of Council raised concerns about the effectiveness of some academic engagement in supporting course representatives and the impact on NSS scores, requesting improved communication and support from academic staff and Associate Heads of Schools.

C.26.13.3 Resolved: Council agreed that the Executive Deans (Heads of Schools) would consider how best to support the SU in supporting students, in response to a lack of engagement from some academics.
Action: Exec Deans (Heads of Schools)

C.26.14 CONFIDENTIAL: Loan Refinancing Update
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.15 CONFIDENTIAL: Student Experience Annual Report 2024/25 (C/09/26)
This item was considered under Confidential Business.

C.26.16 Ethical Approval Process for University Relationships (C/10/26)

C.26.16.1 Received and Noted: an update on the revised ethical approval process for University relationships, which introduced two key enhancements: the integration of student voice and the requirement for partnerships exceeding £100k to be reported to the Audit and Risk Committee. Members considered the draft policy, the accompanying due-diligence questions, and supporting reference materials, noting the proposal to remove named organisational examples to maintain an objective, evidence-based approach. Council discussed the review arrangements for longer-term and high-value partnerships and highlighted the need for the flowchart to more clearly reflect the independent scrutiny undertaken by Executive Leads and the Commercial Team.

C.26.16.2 Resolved: Council approved the ethical approval process for University relationships, subject to a few minor amendments as considered above.

Section B: Starred Items for Approval

C.26.17 Council and Committee Dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28* (C/11/26)

C.26.17.1 Received and Noted: the previously agreed dates for 2026/27.

C.26.17.2 Resolved: Council considered and approved the proposed date change for the Council meeting in November 2026, and approved the 2027/28 Council and Committee dates as recommended by Governance and Nominations Committee, subject to further changes to reflect recommendations made in the Governance Review.

C.26.18 Revised Health and Safety Policy Statement* (C/12/26)

C.26.18.1 Resolved: Council received and approved the Health and Safety Policy Statement to ensure continued compliance with statutory obligations and alignment with the University’s strategic objectives.

C.26.19 Senior Chaplain Recruitment* (C/13/26)

C.26.19.1 Noted and Supported: the outlined recruitment process.

Section C: Starred Items for Information

C.26.20 Student Casework Annual Report 204/25* (C/14/26)

C.26.20.1 Noted: the annual report of Student Casework 2024/25.

C.26.21 NSS Student Survey Results 2025 & Associated Actions (C/15/26)

C.26.21.1 Noted: the report of NSS Student Survey 2025 results and associated actions.

C.26.22 Review of Council Schedule of Business* (C/16/26)

C.26.22.1 Noted: the Schedule of Business.

C.26.23 Minutes from Council Committees*
Noted: that the minutes from the following meetings would be available from https://connectglosac.sharepoint.com/sites/UniversityCommittees:

1. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 11 December 2025
2. Finance and General Purposes Committee, 20 January 2026.

C.26.24 Any Other Business:
The Chair noted that it was Thomas Chambers’ last meeting as a Member of Council, and
thanked him for his exceptional contributions to Council, particularly his financial experience
and questioning, during his time as a Member of Council, and wished him all the best for the
future.

C.26.25 Date of Next Meeting
Noted: the meeting of Council on Tuesday, 28 April 2026 at 9.15am via MS Teams.

University of Gloucestershire
University Council

Action list for the meeting held 3 February 2026