For Internal Use Only

Leadership Update

Date June 2012 This is the latest in a series of regular briefings containing University-wide updates. Briefer This briefing contains a summary of high-level, key messages to support you with your face- to-face communications with your direct reports.

Ideally, it should be communicated face-to-face to your direct reports by the end of the month – not circulated by email – and should provide an opportunity for your colleagues to give you feedback on the content.

It need not be presented verbatim. Please summarise where appropriate and deliver in a way you are most comfortable with to ensure that messages are authentic.

Please add your own content, which is relevant to your support division, college, school, or area of expertise.

The briefing should enable your direct reports to brief their own people on some of the Briefing issues facing the University. guidance Please encourage your direct line reports to add more localised information which should still be delivered face-to-face at each stage of the cascade.

Allow at least an hour for the sharing of information and feedback.

1. The University’s recent rankings

2. Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher Award winners

3. Collective Consultation

4. UK/EU Undergraduate Fees for 2013-14

5. Student Charter is published

Highlights 6. Clearing campaign ready to launch this month 7. Code of Practice: selection of employees for REF submissions

8. Key Information Sets to appear on all programme webpages

9. University Technical College at MediaCityUK

10. Annual report of first degree classifications

11. Stonewall ranks Salford as a top gay-friendly university

Salford is an enterprising University which transforms individuals and communities through Our excellent teaching, research, innovation and engagement. mission The University of Salford will be, by 2017, an outstanding University renowned for the quality of its engagement, humanity, global reach and leadership in research, innovation and education. Our vision 1 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY We espouse and promote the following values and behaviours:

Our values  The highest academic, professional and ethical standards  Service to our stakeholders, clients and partners and, in particular, putting our students first  Supporting our people and recognising and rewarding excellence and leadership  Working together for the advancement of the University  Innovation, creativity, enterprise, courage  Diversity, humanity, fairness and respect  Pride in our heritage and the distinctive difference we make to the world  Investing passion in all that we do.

 Goal 1 – Transforming learning and teaching: Huw Morris

 Goal 2 – Transforming research and innovation: Jim Yip

Our six  Goal 3 – Transforming engagement: Keith Barnes goals and  Goal 4 – Our people: Keith Watkinson owners  Goal 5 – Transforming infrastructure and services: Adrian Graves

 Goal 6 – Internationalising our University: Cynthia Pine

 Built and Human Environment: Mike Kagioglou Our four  Energy: Nigel Mellors themes and  Health and Wellbeing: Eileen Fairhurst leads  Media, Digital Technology and the Creative Economy: Brian Longhurst

 The University acknowledges the need to keep its people informed. Our employees perform better when they are involved and when they have an open and honest dialogue with their leaders.

Why we  Involvement creates good will and employees are prepared to go the “extra mile”. One need these of the targets for our People Goal 4 is to increase the number of staff engaged to at briefings least 45 per cent by 2012 – placing us in the top quartile of UK organisations.

 This briefing will help support you in addressing the issues above and will supplement our US staff magazine, as well as US Online and the Staff Channel.

1. The University’s recent rankings

2 The University has retained its position of 91st in The Times’ Good University Guide, announced this month. This is the third of the major guides for prospective students to be published this year.

Salford rose 25 places in the Guardian’s University Guide (to 84th position) and 19 places in the Complete University Guide (to 78th position). These outcomes are a testament to the hard work and commitment of the University’s teachers and professional services teams to deliver a high quality student experience.

Details of the three league tables published to date can be found on the following websites:

The Times Good University Guide 2013 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/gug/

The Guardian University Guide 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/may/21/university-league-table-2013

The Complete University Guide 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/may/21/university-league-table-2013

2. Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher Award winners

The winners of the 2011/12 Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher Awards (VCDTA) were announced this month. The VCDTAs reward colleagues who make a significant contribution to the learning experiences of students and their educational performance.

All University academics were eligible to nominate a colleague or themselves for the awards which recognise outstanding teaching practice through eight awards in total – six recognising individual achievement and two group awards which have to include both academic and support colleagues.

A panel of employees and student representatives undertook the review of applications.

Each winner receives £4000, with £1000 of this going to their School. In the group awards, the £4000 will be shared among team members.

Award winners will be presented with their certificates at this year’s graduation ceremonies which will be held between 17 and 20 July.

The full list of winners can be found at http://staff.salford.ac.uk/news/details/2872

3. Collective Consultation

A number of University & College Union (UCU) members took strike action on Tuesday 26 June regarding compulsory redundancies.

Senior leaders have been working with UCU representatives to achieve a reasonable outcome to their dispute with the University. The University will continue to press for both resolution and for the best possible outcome for those whose jobs are at risk as a consequence of the general environment in Higher Education.

In late June, the University held the last of scheduled collective consultation meetings with the Schools of Environment & Life Sciences, the Built Environment, Computing Science & Engineering, Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences and Art & Design. The required ninety- day consultation with the affected areas in these Schools ended on Monday, 25 June. An additional 30-day individual consultation period started on 26 June.

When the University opened consultation three months ago, 149 people were potentially affected. As a result of mitigation and continual consultation with the unions, this has been reduced to a total of 25 people whose positions are still at risk. This group consists of 11 hourly-paid lecturers and 10 lecturers whose current roles cannot be sustained in the future, and four people who have not been successful in selection processes, where the University has

3 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY had to reduce the number of academic colleagues working in particular subject areas.

It is important to note that none of these 25 people has yet been made redundant. The University will continue to work with each of them to look for alternatives to compulsory redundancy and to provide them with whatever support it can in this very difficult situation. This will include, in some cases, the opportunity to “teach out” academic programmes over several years.

The VC has consistently emphasised that he cannot guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies. This is because the University has had more than 400 funded student places removed from the university as a result of the Government’s “core-and-margin” policy, and will have an estimated additional 100 funded student places removed in 2013. This, combined with other pressures from the economic recession, makes it essential that the University reduces its academic staffing in those areas where the need for teaching work declines, or disappears.

In Salford Business School, the University has been able to achieve its objectives through voluntary severance and a resignation. This means that there will not need to be a selection process in this School. This does leave four hourly paid lecturers about whom the University continues to consult with the trade unions.

Important information for all UCU members who took industrial action, was published at http://www.hr.salford.ac.uk/ocp/ucu_notice.php and http://www.hr.salford.ac.uk/ocp/faqs_industrial.php.

Colleagues who took industrial action should notify HR Services of strike action taken and, where appropriate, their request to make employee and employer pension contributions. Notifications should include an employee number and can be submitted electronically to [email protected] or in writing to HR Services, Ground Floor, Allerton Building by Friday 13 July 2012. Failure to notify HR by this date would mean that the absence will be treated as an unauthorised absence and colleagues may receive pay they are not entitled to.

Further details can be found in the Organisational Change Programme Bulletins at http://staff.salford.ac.uk/transforming/news/index.php 4. UK/EU Undergraduate Fees 2013-14

University Council considered a report presented by the Director of Student Information, recommending an increase in fees to £9,000.

The Council agreed to the rise, with the proviso that the University remains vigilant in ensuring a good package of support in the form of bursaries and scholarships.

Robust market research has indicated that the £9,000 price was often viewed as a proxy for quality, so it is important that our fees should be set at a similar rate to other institutions. Evidence also showed students were primarily interested in programme choice and return on investment, rather than fee level.

Some of the additional income generated from the fee increase would go into the package of support. Recruitment materials will emphasise the value proposition to students. 5. Student Charter is published

A Student Charter, produced jointly by the Students’ Union and the University, was published this month. The charter outlines the key principles of the partnership between the University, its students and the Students’ Union.

It covers the services, support and information the University will provide, and the commitment expected of its students. In line with sector good practice, there is a section dedicated to the support and representation provided by the Students’ Union.

The Charter will be formally launched at the beginning of the new academic year in September 2012. It will apply to all registered students of the University on taught or research programmes, both on and off campus, from the 2012-13 session.

Over the summer, colleagues involved in producing the Student Charter will be visiting School Congresses to brief employees on their involvement in delivering the Charter.

4 To access the Student Charter, please visit: http://students.salford.ac.uk/uos_student_charter.pdf 6. Clearing campaign ready to launch

The University’s Clearing campaign is set to begin on 1 July 2012.

In order to meet Salford’s targets for this year – and to attract some particularly high-calibre applicants who may be going through Clearing as a result of reduced student places available across all UK universities – the Student Information Division (SID) team is actively promoting the Clearing opportunities available.

From 1 July, all Clearing calls received will be passed through to individual tutors in the relevant Schools for offers to be made. Most potential applicants, however, will wait until this year’s exam results are published before contacting Clearing teams.

At Salford, the official Clearing event will open on Wednesday, 8 August, but most calls are expected during the peak period – between Thursday 16 August and Sunday 19 August.

As the early stages of Clearing are crucial for recruiting the best students, there will be a ‘mission control room’ in Peel Building between 16 and 22 August, which will be staffed by the SID Conversion Team and a minimum of two admissions tutors from each School. It will provide close contact with other support services and a reception point to welcome ‘walk-in’ applicants.

Other highlights this year include extended hotline opening hours, additional telephone lines and computers in the Clearing centre and a digital, outdoor and radio advertising campaign. SID is working on a particularly high-profile marketing campaign this year, which features a sofa incorporating the University logo and will feature throughout Clearing and beyond for recruitment purposes.

Students and employees will act as Clearing Ambassadors in key Schools and Colleges on 16 August, providing advice, guidance and direct access to our admissions teams.

Campus and accommodation tours have also been organised between Thursday 16 and Sunday 19 August.

Any colleagues who receive Clearing enquiries should direct the caller to the dedicated phone line – 0161 295 3333 – or transfer them to ext 53333. To get involved in Clearing, or for more information, contact Joanna Haran at [email protected] or on ext 56249.

7. Code of Practice published: selection of employees for REF submissions

The University will make its submissions for the Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF) in October 2013 and has now published a Code of Practice on the Selection of Staff for REF submissions on the Research and Innovation intranet at www.ri.salford.ac.uk/ref.

All research-active colleagues are asked to look at the Code of Practice which sets out the policies and procedures that will support decisions about those to be selected for inclusion in the exercise.

REF is the new system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions which will inform Salford’s position in many research league tables as well as the allocation of research funding by the higher education funding councils from 2015.

Given the ever-growing importance of league table positioning and the weighting of funding exclusively towards 3* and 4* research (defined as ‘internationally excellent’ and world-leading’ research), the University needs to make strategic decisions about selection that will help Salford to achieve its Goal of top quartile performance for research and innovation. This does not mean that the University will only include researchers if they have a full set of 3* and 4* outputs. Returns will reflect the diversity of research that takes place across each unit of assessment and will demonstrate the University’s commitment to developing early career researchers and to showcasing the real world impact of our research - a new element of the exercise that the University welcomes.

5 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY Decisions about those to be included in each submission will be considered on a case by case basis, taking into account diverse College and School strategies, as well as Goal 2 objectives.

If you have any further queries regarding the REF, then please email [email protected].

8. Key Information Sets to appear on all programme webpages

Key Information Sets (KIS) will be introduced on all university websites from September 2012.

The KIS system will offer vital information on issues that prospective students have identified as useful through the National Student Survey (NSS). This includes student satisfaction, graduate outcomes, learning and teaching activities, assessment methods, tuition fees and student finance, accommodation and professional accreditation.

As well as providing vital information, KIS offer potential students a way of comparing the courses that interest them. According to HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England), it is the first time that this kind of data has been brought together in this way.

KIS data will appear on the Unistats website, www.unistats.direct.gov.uk, as well as being accessible via the course web pages of individual universities and colleges. The relevant information is currently being supplied to HEFCE in preparation for the launch of the new Unistats website during the week commencing 24 September 2012.

Each institution will also be preparing to embed the KIS ‘widget’ into their programme webpages by 31 October 2012.

Further details on KIS can be found at www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/lt/publicinfo/kis/

9. University Technical College at MediaCityUK

Members of University Council have agreed to the University formally becoming a member and director of the University Technical College at MediaCityUK (UTC).

The University has transferred its interest in the Wigan University Technical College to UCLAN and is now concentrating its efforts into developing the UTC which will host pupils aged 14 to 19. It will be run by a partnership from education and industry including learning charity The Aldridge Foundation, The University of Salford, Salford City College and The Lowry Arts Centre.

The College is planned to open in 2013 and is among 15 specialist UTCs that will be developed across the country.

The UTC will improve the University’s engagement with the local community and develop pathways into further and higher education. It is fully aligned to the University’s overall objectives.

10. Annual report of first degree classifications

One of our key targets is to have 92 per cent of students in employment or further education and training within six months of graduation. As degree classifications closely relate to the attainment of this target, Planning and Performance Directorate has recently analysed student attainment across the University. The annual report of first degree classifications can be accessed at www.planning.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/101720/LTEC- Degree_Classifications_201011-Apr_2012.pdf.

The report gives an indication of how the University compares to the UK sector norm as well as a breakdown of degree classifications by School 2010/11. The report also provides analysis of classification against entry tariff and programme level results by School for 2008/09 to 2010/11.

Reviewing the report, the University’s Learning, Teaching and Enhancement Committee (LTEC) noted a number of positive activities which are being undertaken and which can impact on students’ final degree classifications - the development of an assessment handbook, commitment to timely feedback on assessments and further staff development on appropriate

6 and innovative forms of assessment. The Committee also acknowledged the importance of an Academic Audit on the use of grade descriptors, the growth in the average entry grade and the ongoing impact of the Academic Portfolio Review.

11. Stonewall ranks Salford as a top gay-friendly university

Salford has scored 10 out of 10 in Stonewall’s Gay By Degree rankings of gay-friendly universities. It is one of only a handful of institutions in the UK to be awarded full marks.

The Gay By Degree guide helps prospective lesbian, gay and bisexual students find a university where they can feel comfortable to be themselves by listing the support available at each institution.

The vote of confidence builds on Salford’s success in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2012, the definitive list of Britain’s most gay-friendly workplaces. Earlier this year, the University achieved 21st place in the national rankings and was the second highest rated university.

To find out more about Gay By Degree, please visit www.gaybydegree.org.uk.

College/ Include any relevant information relating to your College or Professional Services Division. Divisional communications

School/ Department/ Include any relevant information relating to your School or Professional Services Unit/Section. Section communications

Record of notes and feedback from briefing session:

7 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY 8