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The BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES beg leave to report to the Council as follows:
External developments relating to graduate education again figured significantly in the Board's agenda in 2000. In March the Board considered the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Code of Practice on External Examining. Regular readers of the Board's Annual Report will know that the QAA has taken what might be described as a dirigiste approach to its remit and the Code of Practice received by the Board in March provided a further sixteen 'precepts' against which subject review would measure compliance. The Board consulted with Degree Committees to establish which particular issues must be addressed.
In May the Board contributed to the University's response to a consultation from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on 'flexible support for doctoral level training'. This proposal replaces the system of quota awards of Studentships to Departments with a Doctoral Training Account (DTA). Departments would be free to deploy their DTA as they saw most appropriate to attract and support graduate students. The Board expressed considerable concern at the possible implications of the proposals for the College fee, likely effects of variable rates of stipend both between institutions and within institutions, and the danger that the proposals might encourage undue influence over the University's activities by external parties. In the light of the responses received nationally, the EPSRC have agreed to move ahead with the introduction of the DTA and the University will have to decide whether to opt in or to retain the existing quota system.1
In October the Board addressed themselves to three important aspects of graduate provision in the University. The Board commented on the consultation paper circulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) reviewing research policy and funding. The Board, in particular, focused on those questions relating to the place of research students and research training within the Research Assessment Exercise, including the facilitation of collaboration between institutions to support the delivery of postgraduate research programmes; the case for development funding to ensure adequate output of Ph.Ds in certain areas; and the question of minimum standards for the delivery of postgraduate research programmes.
The Board also received the report of the University's Data Protection Working Party which, following an extensive review of the Data Protection Act 1988, made a number of recommendations to the University as to how compliance with the Act should be achieved. The Board gave detailed consideration to the report and the implications for their operations. Members noted that, in general, academic references from countries operating laws of open access to information are significantly less valuable than those without such laws. However, the Board have agreed to the recommendations made by the Working Party that allow access to personal data but also protect the interests of 'third parties' (particularly referees and examiners).
The Board were also pleased to facilitate collaborative doctoral arrangements with overseas institutions. The Board have been approached on a number of occasions by graduate students seeking a 'co-tutelle' arrangement between Cambridge and French or Belgian institutions. Under these arrangements students have two supervisors, one in each institution, and submit one thesis in candidacy for a doctoral degree from both universities. 'Co-tutelle' arrangements are enshrined in French legislation and are relatively common in Europe. The Board approved a model form of collaborative doctoral arrangements, which firmly located the arrangements within the existing University of Cambridge regulations for doctoral degrees. It was with pleasure that the Board agreed the first collaborative arrangement the following month.
In December the Board welcomed the decision of the HEFCE to transfer the Institute of Zoology from the University of London, through which the Institute previously received its HEFCE grant, to the University of Cambridge as its new funding partner. The Institute of Zoology, a body which exists to 'identify, undertake, and communicate high quality biological research which benefits the conservation of animal species and their habitat', shares research interests with a number of Departments in the University and the Board were pleased to accept responsibility for graduate students registering through the University with the Institute.
The Board considered, on a number of occasions in the year 2000, difficulties in the operation of the Student Records System and the welcome possibility that it was to be replaced by a modern, off-the-shelf system, customized to meet the specific needs of the University, Faculties and Departments, and Colleges. The Board are well aware that the current system does not meet the needs of the office and other parts of the University for the production of management information, official returns to the Funding Councils, or the efficient processing of matters relating to Graduate Students. Even responding to major developments such as the Gates Cambridge Trust (see section 5.2) are limited by the inadequacies of the current system. The Board were, therefore, very disappointed to learn that the University has put off the decision to purchase a new system for an unspecified period.
The overall number of applications for admission in the 1999-2000 competition fell by around 5% compared to the previous year. Applications from UK students fell by 4%, continuing the gradual decline in numbers from a peak in 1995. Applications from overseas students fell by 2.5% and from EU students by 14%. Applications from EU students had grown strongly in the 1998-99 cycle and the fall back was not unexpected. Applications for M.Phil. Degree courses fell by 3% overall; the increase of 0.9% in UK applications and the decrease of 0.9% in overseas applications were swamped by a fall in EU applications of 16%. UK demand for research courses continued to decline, with a reduction of 9% in the number of applications made. Falls of 10.5% and 3.5% occurred in the EU and overseas categories respectively. Applications to other taught postgraduate courses (listed in the footnote to Table 1) decreased overall by 7.5% with the smallest reduction amongst UK applicants (2.5%) and the largest amongst EU applicants (14%).
The number of offers of admission as a Graduate Student fell overall by 2%, with a fall of 6% in offers made to M.Phil. courses, an increase of 3% in offers made for postgraduate courses, and effectively no change in the number of offers made for research places. Of particular note was an increase in the number of offers made to EU students seeking research places of 6.6%, in spite of the decrease in the number of applicants in this category. The numbers of offers made for postgraduate courses increased by 5% for UK students and by 8% for overseas students. These increases offset a decrease in the number of offers made to EU students of 11%.
During 2000, the Board considered in detail applications from twelve prospective students whose formal academic qualifications did not meet the Board's normal minimum entry requirements but whose admission was recommended by Degree Committees. The number so considered was the smallest ever and represented fewer than 0.2% of all those students offered admission. The Board monitor particularly carefully the progress of those applicants who have been scrutinized in this way and who take up their places at Cambridge. They have been pleased to note that, with few exceptions, progress has been entirely satisfactory.
The numbers of applications confirmed increased by 4.5% over the 1998-99 competition. Of particular note are the increases in confirmation given to students registered on research courses: UK confirmations increased by 7%, EU by 1%, and overseas by 16%, giving an overall increase of almost 9%. The take-up rate on offers (confirmed admissions as a proportion of offers made) continued to show a solid improvement based on increases in the UK and overseas categories. The take-up rate on offers fell back for EU students after a sharp rise last year. The following table shows take-up rates in recent years in percentages:
| M.Phil | Research | Other | Total | |||||||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
| Home | 52 | 60 | 63 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 45 | 55 | 57 | 61 | 67 | 70 |
| EU | 42 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 62 | 58 | 50 | 58 | 53 | 49 | 59 | 57 |
| Overseas | 39 | 43 | 47 | 33 | 34 | 40 | 34 | 35 | 41 | 36 | 38 | 43 |
| Total | 43 | 50 | 53 | 49 | 52 | 57 | 40 | 45 | 47 | 45 | 50 | 54 |
Whilst causality cannot be assumed, the Board note that the recent rises in the home take-up rate correlate with the operation of the Committee on Grants' Domestic Research Studentship Competition, this year, for the first time, combined with Millennium Scholarships.
The number of Graduate Students coming into residence (Table 2(c)) shows a significant rise over the 1999 figure with increases in all categories. The 2000 figure re-establishes the trend of a generally rising Graduate Student population. The fall in 1999, shown in the Board's last Annual Report, was a matter of particular concern, particularly as the number of Cambridge graduates staying on appeared to have fallen sharply (Table 2(e)). Following further extensive investigation, the Board were relieved to confirm that the reported fall was the result of a 'bug' within the Student Records System. The error has been corrected and the 2000 and subsequent figures should be accurate. Table 3 shows the continuing rise in the number of students registered for the M.Phil. Degree. As it is now almost impossible to obtain public funding for a Ph.D. Degree in the Humanities or Social Sciences without obtaining an M.Phil. Degree first (the 1+3 model), this continued rise is not unexpected. Table 13 shows that over 25% of students approved for a one-year degree continue on to Ph.D. work. In the ten years from 1991 the proportion of students admitted initially for an M.Phil. Degree has risen from around 15% of those admitted as prospective research students to around 30% in 1999.
The 1999 Annual Report included for the first time a disaggregation of new entrants by School and these data are included again. The proportions of intake remain similar to last year, with the School of Technology increasing its share of intake against a fall for the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
| School |
1999 |
2000 |
| Art and Humanities | 15% | 16% |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | 35% | 32% |
| Physical Sciences | 18% | 20% |
| Biological Sciences | 20% | 19% |
| Technology | 11% | 14% |
The Board have continued to make procedural changes in both the admissions process and those processes relating to current Graduate Students. Following consultation with the Local Examinations Syndicate and local experts on English language acquisition, the Board have extended the range of qualifications they accept as meeting their English language proficiency requirement for admission. A pass in the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English at Grade A or B now provides an alternative route for applicants to meet the University's stringent English language proficiency test requirement. On a related topic, the Board were very pleased, in October 2000, to give strong support to the plans of the University Language Centre to offer pre-sessional English classes beginning in 2001. The Board look forward to working with Faculties and Departments and the Centre to ensure that students whose English is almost, but not quite, sufficient for straightforward admission are able to improve sufficiently to begin their studies.
The Board continue to make progress with the development of a radically revised and updated Graduate Studies Prospectus, which will be available from August 2001. The Board do not expect alterations in the Prospectus alone to have a significant effect on levels of qualified demand for admission but improvements should, however, give prospective students assistance in navigating the necessarily complex procedures of admission to both the University and a College.
In 2000 the Board also considered the level of maintenance to be required from incoming Graduate Students and agreed that significant increases are needed in the short to medium term to ensure that students have sufficient funding to live in Cambridge. These increases will be phased in and the requirement for students beginning in October 2001 has already been set at a level above inflation.
The Board have considered and commented to the General Board on proposals for new one-year M.Phil. Degree courses in Materials Modelling; Quantitative Modelling of Industrial Processes; Economics with Econometrics; Earth Sciences; and a suite of new M.Phil. Degree courses from the Department of Land Economy - Real Estate Finance, Environmental Policy, and Planning, Growth, and Regeneration. The Board have also commented on a new two-year M.Phil. Degree course in Chinese Studies. This course has been established as a result of a successful bid for inclusion within HEFCE additional funding for Chinese Studies. The Board have also considered changes to the Special Regulations for M.Phil. examinations in Sociology and Politics of Modern Society; Theology; Medical Sciences; Veterinary Sciences; Development Studies; Computer Speech, Text, and Internet Technology; History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine; Musicology; Finance; Philosophy; Economics with Econometrics; Economics with Development; Economics with Finance; and Economics. The Board have also considered changes to the Regulations for Master of Studies Degrees (M.St. in Local and Regional History) and to the General Regulations for the Master of Studies Degree, supporting the removal of the limit of the number of students that can be registered for the Degree at any one time.
In 2000, the Board were pleased to support the establishment of a Degree Committee in International Studies, to be responsible for Graduate Students in the areas of International Relations and Latin-American Studies. The Board have worked closely with officers in the new Degree Committee to ensure the transfer of appropriate students from cognate Degree Committees in the most efficient and effective way. The Board were also pleased to welcome the introduction of the Graduate School in the Biological, Medical, and Veterinary Sciences. This cross-Faculty body, the first cross-Faculty Graduate School in the University, has taken on a number of responsibilities for Graduate Students in Departments in the Faculty of Biology and the Faculties of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Veterinary Medicine. The Board hope to receive during 2001 the first Annual Report of the School and await this with interest.
The Board considered during the year changes to the regulations for the review of the results of exam-ination for postgraduate qualifications. Discussions are ongoing and the Board hope to be able to report further on this matter in its next Annual Report. The Board reported in 2000 that they expected to work with the General Board in reviewing various issues relating to M.Phil. Degree provision in 2000; this will now happen during 2001.
The four-year submission rate for Ph.D. students continues at just over the 70% mark. The rate remains at 72-73% and the Board continue to support Faculties and Departments as they encourage students to sub-mit in good time. The four-year submission rate disaggregated between the Schools remains in roughly the same proportions although variations appear year on year. As in the past there are gaps between the submission rates of men and women, but no clear pattern can yet be traced between Schools or from year to year. The four-year submission rate for Graduate Students is an important indicator and the Board continue to keep it under close review.
2000 was the twenty-first year of operation of the Overseas Research Students ORS Awards Scheme, administered by Universities UK. The Board forwarded 172 nominations for ORS Awards (the maximum allowed) for consideration by Universities UK and 151 new awards were offered. This represented a success rate of 88%, compared with a national success rate of 67%. 59 of the new awards were made to graduate students already in residence and 92 to potential 2000-01 entrants. 141 of the 151 new awards have been taken up in October 2000 and five more award-holders are expected to take them up within this academical year. In December 2000, 424 graduate students held ORS awards, of whom 399 were in residence (the other award-holders having leave either to work away from the University or to intermit their studies).
The competition for nominations for an award continues to be severe, and the Board are able to nominate only 30% of those eligible, even though the great majority of applicants applying for an ORS award through the University of Cambridge are very well qualified in terms of the competition's criteria. The University's quota continues to fall as, in the 2001 competition, the quota will be 162, the lowest yet.
The Board have continued to make awards, from its General Fund and from the Lundgren Fund, to overseas research students registered for the Ph.D. Degree who find themselves in unforeseen financial hardship and, from its General Fund, to UK research students who have been mainly funded from private resources and who, again, find themselves in unforeseen financial difficulty. In the course of the year, the Board have been able to provide assistance to around 77 Graduate Students through these various schemes and to a further 93 students who received help with thesis and other minor expenses.
The Board continue to make a contribution from its General Fund to the Domestic Research Students Awards Scheme, administered by the Committee on Grants.
The Board were pleased to hear that the availability of funding for overseas and EU students received a major fillip when the University accepted a very substantial benefaction from the William H. Gates III Foundation for the provision of Gates Cambridge Scholarships. It is intended that around 225 scholars will be in residence at any one time, the bulk of them Graduate Students. The Board have co-operated closely with the Gates Cambridge Trust in making arrangements to distribute application forms to the widest possible range of students.
In 2000 the Board approved eleven candidates for the Sc.D. Degree, two candidates for the Litt.D. Degree, and one candidate for the D.D. Degree. They also approved eleven candidates for the Ph.D. Degree under the Special Regulations (not included in the figures in Table 11).
The Board have also recommended a change to the regulations for higher doctorates, requiring those seeking a higher doctorate to prepare a short summary of their work. This is in line with changes agreed in 1999 to the requirements for the Ph.D. Degree by special regulations. The Board hope that this change will both allow applicants to consolidate their work into a summary for the benefit of their Examiners and will facilitate the acquisition of those Examiners by Degree Committees.
The Board have also continued to approve successful candidates for the M.St. Degree, of whom there were fifty-seven in 2000.
During 2000 the Board considered nine cases in the first stage of the procedures in place under the provision of the regulations for the review of the results of examination for postgraduate qualifications (Statutes and Ordinances, 2000, p. 414). Three of these cases related to candidates not approved for the Ph.D. Degree, four to candidates not approved for the M.Phil. Degree, one to a candidate not approved for the M.Sc. Degree, and one case related to a candidate not approved for the M.St. Degree. The last case does not fall within the regulations as they currently stand, but the Board agreed to consider the case.
The Board have not, in 2000, supplied statements to the Review Committee of the General Board for any students, but have received reports by the Review Committee on three cases, two involving candidates not approved for the Ph.D. Degree and one for a student not satisfied with the outcome of an M.Phil. examination. One case relating to a Ph.D. examination was upheld by the Review Committee and the other two cases were dismissed.
One case, which falls outside the introduction of the review regulations as it is concerned with removal from the Register of Graduate Students rather than examination results, went to judicial review in June. The decision of the Board, acting on behalf of the University, was upheld in court. The student has been granted leave to appeal. The case continues.
The Board have begun their own review of the review regulations as noted earlier in this Report.
Following consultation with the Graduate Tutors' Committee and the Senior Tutors' Committee, the Board have agreed to co-opt a Graduate Tutor to their membership and the first co-opted member in this class joined the Board in January 2001. The Board were also pleased to invite the President of the Graduate Union to attend for the open business of Board meetings and he has done so since October 2000.
As noted in last year's Report, Sir Geoffrey Lloyd retired as Chairman of the Board in 2000. His place has been taken by Professor William A. Brown, Master of Darwin College and Professor in the Faculty of Economics and Politics.
During 2000 the Secretary of the Board since 1988, Mr D. P. F. McCallum, moved from the Board's office to take up a post elsewhere in the University. The Board are most grateful to him for the care and attention to detail with which he administered the Board's business for over a decade. The University appointed Dr Laurie Friday as Secretary from June 2000.
The Board's staff has also been increased by the appointment of a new Administrative Officer, Dr Nichola Tooke, to assist the Secretary and the Assistant Registrary. The Board welcome this additional appointment as providing much needed additional resource in an area of strategic importance to the University.
8 January 2001
| W. A. BROWN (Chairman) | L. GLADDEN | P. F. KORNICKI |
| G. A. J. AMARATUNGA | G. P. HAWTHORN | F. J. LEEPER |
| D. R. FERGUSON | P. HEWETT | S. RANKIN |
| I. FLEMING | L. B. JEFFCOTT | B. SAHAKIAN |
| L. GELSTHORPE |
Copies of the list of Graduate Students on the Register at 1 December 2000 are available from the Secretary, Board of Graduate Studies, 4 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RZ.
NB: The Statistical Summary is provided online in the form of an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Notes on viewing files are provided
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