Reporter 1/3/00: Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows.

1. The Report of the Review Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos (Reporter, 1997-98, p. 282) contained proposals for a new management structure for the Tripos. These included the following elements:

(a) A Strategic Committee, which would maintain a strategic oversight of the Tripos and its structure, and would consider questions of general importance, such as the balance of subjects in the Tripos, student numbers, and student workload.

(b) A Management Committee, which would be responsible for the detailed administration of the Tripos and would keep the regulations for the Tripos under review; this Committee would also take the initiative in disseminating information about the Tripos, particularly in schools. The Management Committee would take the place of the existing Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 147).

(c) A number of informal inter-Departmental groups, which would co-ordinate the arrangements for teaching and would provide a mechanism for introducing changes in the content of the courses. It was suggested that there should be an inter-Departmental group for each of the experimental courses in Part IA, and two inter-Departmental groups for Mathematics.

2. The General Board reported to the University in July 1998 (Reporter, 1997-98, p. 971), proposing the establishment of a Strategic Committee. The recommendations of that Report were approved by Grace 6 of 21 October 1998. After taking account of the comments made by Faculty Boards and other bodies on the Report of the Review Committee, and after consulting the existing Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos, the General Board now propose the establishment of a Committee of Management for the Tripos, along the lines summarized in paragraph 1(b) above.

3. The Review Committee suggested that the Committee of Management should consist of nine persons chosen from among the Chairmen of the proposed inter-Departmental groups, together with representatives of the Senior Tutors' Committee and the Admissions Forum. Because the inter-Departmental groups are purely informal, the General Board propose that the nine persons to represent them should not be appointed directly by the groups themselves, but should be appointed by the Strategic Committee, after consultation with the Faculty Boards and other bodies concerned. They also propose that there should be student representation on the Committee and provision for co-opted members.

4. The General Board recommend:

I. That, with effect from 1 April 2000, a Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos be established, to be governed by the regulations set out in the Annex to this Report.

II. That, with effect from the same date, the regulations for the Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 147) be rescinded.

9 February 2000

ALEC N. BROERS, Vice-Chancellor	MALCOLM GRANT	N. J. MACKINTOSH
P. J. BAYLEY	BRIAN F. G. JOHNSON	ADRIAN POOLE
A. L. R. FINDLAY	JOHN A. LEAKE	KATE PRETTY
K. GLOVER	PETER LIPTON	M. SCHOFIELD

ANNEX

Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos

1. There shall be a Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos, which shall be responsible, in consultation with the Faculty Boards and other authorities concerned, for co-ordinating the administration of the Natural Sciences Tripos.

2. The Committee of Management shall consist of:

(a)	nine persons appointed by the Strategic Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos, after consultation with the Faculty Boards of Biology, Earth Sciences and Geography, Mathematics, and Physics and Chemistry, the Chemical Engineering Syndicate, the Computer Science Syndicate, and the Board of History and Philosophy of Science;
(b)	one person appointed by the Senior Tutors' Committee;
(c)	one person appointed by the Admissions Forum;
(d)	two members of the University in statu pupillari appointed by the Strategic Committee from among the members in class (f) of the Faculty Boards specified in sub-paragraph (a) above;
(e)	the Chairmen of Examiners for the Natural Sciences Tripos for the current academical year;
(f)	not more than three persons co-opted by the Committee, provided that it shall not be obligatory for the Committee to co-opt any person or persons.

3. Members in classes (a)-(c) shall be appointed in the Michaelmas Term to serve for three years following their appointment. Members in class (d) shall be appointed in the Easter Term to serve for one year from 1 October following their appointment. Members in class (f) shall serve until 31 December of the year in which they are co-opted or of the year next following, as the Committee shall determine at the time of their co-optation.

4. The Committee shall elect a Chairman, who shall be a member of the Committee in class (a). The Secretary of the Committee shall be the Secretary General of the Faculties or an Assistant Registrary or an Administrative Officer, as the General Board may decide.

5. The Committee shall meet at least once in each term.

6. Eight members of the Committee shall form a quorum.

7. The duties of the Committee of Management for the Natural Sciences Tripos shall be:

(a)	to keep under review the regulations for the several Parts of the Tripos and to oversee the administration of the courses of instruction leading to the Tripos examinations;
(b)	to co-operate with the Board of Examinations in making arrangements for the examinations for the Tripos;
(c)	to consider matters referred to the Committee by the General Board, the Strategic Committee for the Natural Sciences Tripos, and the Faculty Boards and other authorities concerned;
(d)	to obtain reports from the Examiners for the several Parts of the Tripos, and to ensure that Chairmen of Faculty Boards and Heads of Departments are informed, as may be appropriate, about matters arising from such reports;
(e)	to consider, in consultation with the Faculty Boards and other authorities concerned, what amendments of the regulations for the Tripos are desirable, and to report to the General Board or the University, as appropriate, concerning proposals for such amendments;
(f)	to make, after consulting the Faculty Boards and other authorities concerned, supplementary regulations for the Tripos;
(g)	subject to any powers which the General Board may wish to exercise under Statute C, I, 1(d), to determine, after consulting the authorities concerned, the time-table of teaching for the Natural Sciences Tripos;
(h)	to exercise with respect to any Preliminary Examination pertaining to the Natural Sciences Tripos, except so far as regards the nomination of Examiners, the powers and duties assigned to Faculty Boards by the regulations for Preliminary Examinations;
(i)	to disseminate information about the Tripos within the University and to promote awareness and understanding of the Tripos in schools and other institutions outside the University;
(j)	to make an Annual Report to the General Board, the Strategic Committee, and the Faculty Boards and other authorities concerned with the Natural Sciences Tripos.

8. The provisions of Statute K, 20 concerning reserved business shall apply to the Committee of Management as if it were a body constituted by Statute.

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