The BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES beg leave to report to the Council as follows:
Hitherto the Board has published a report based on a calendar year. The last such report covered the calendar year 2003. However, to bring the Board's reporting into line with that of most other university bodies, it has been agreed to change to reporting on the basis of the academical year.
In future, the Board's Annual Report will therefore be published following the end of the academical year in question and will cover:
(a) business of the Board of Graduate Studies conducted during the academical year in response to external bodies, recommendations concerning policy matters, and changes to the portfolio of graduate courses;
(b) a statistical section covering:
The Board also publishes an Admissions Report in Michaelmas Term, which shows applications, offers, and admissions data relating to students commencing their study at the beginning of that Michaelmas Term; in the subsequent Annual Report these data will be updated to include students who commence their studies during the Lent and Easter Terms.
This Report bridges the gap between the old and new formats and therefore covers business conducted in parts of two academical years, from January 2004 to September 2005, together with admissions and census figures for the academical year 2004-05.
(a) HEFCE news
A national website on Teaching Quality Information (TQI) was set up by HEFCE in 2004. The Board worked with the Education Section to supply the necessary information for this and for an equivalent local website, CamDATA, set up by the University to reflect more accurately Cambridge structures and arrangements.
A new Quality Assurance Agency 'Code of Practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education: Postgraduate research programmes' was published following extensive consultation in September 2004. Compliance with the Code is required by 2006. The Board began a review of all aspects of its provision for research degrees in the light of the Code.
In the Easter Term 2005, the Board consulted Degree Committees in an exercise to review the classification of all M.Phil. and M.St. Degree courses under the HEFCE definition of 'taught' (PGT) or 'research' (PGR) courses. A small number of courses were reclassified as a result of this and some minor modifications to the programmes and examination procedures of some courses were approved in order to clarify the classification.
(b) Transferable skills training
The Board has collaborated with the Research Services Division, the Education Committee, the Staff Development Section, the Schools, and others to co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations of the Roberts Report on transferable skills training. Funds were disbursed to Schools for distribution to Departments and Faculties as required. The Board endorsed a report from the Graduate Tutors' Committee outlining the contribution that Colleges make in the development of transferable skills.
(c) Research Councils
The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) arrangements for Doctoral Training Accounts came into effect in 2004.
The Economics and Social Research Council (ESRC) reviewed the mode of delivery of studentships for Master's and doctoral ('1+3') training and announced that most awards for 1+3 studentships would be by quota with effect from January 2004. Awards for three-year research studentships would continue to be decided by competition, but a quota would be introduced from 2006.
The ESRC Training Development Board visited the University in the Lent Term 2005. The Board received the ESRC's draft report in July and noted in response that considerable progress had been made in 2004-05 with respect to provision for graduate students in the social sciences; for example, the opening of new premises for the Faculty of Education and the Institute of Criminology and reorganization of space in the Faculty of Economics. The Board also agreed to produce a Code of Practice for research degrees as a matter of priority.
The Arts and Humanities Research Board became a Research Council in April 2005 (AHRC). In spring 2005, the Board co-ordinated responses from Faculties to the AHRC's consultation on future policy for postgraduate studentship funding. During the year, the AHRC introduced a requirement for research training for doctoral students and provided a per capita payment to support such training. To bring AHRC policy into line with that of the other Research Councils, the payment will be extended in 2005-06 to cover transferable skills training.
(d) Office of the Independent Adjudicator
The Board welcomed the institution of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), which became available in February 2005 to consider student complaints when local procedures have been exhausted. The Board noted that the OIA would not consider complaints about admission or matters of academic judgement.
(a) Degrees
Research degrees
Proposals for the introduction of a professional doctorate, the Eng.D. Degree, were discussed further by the Board, who recommended that participation in the degree should not be piecemeal but be through an EPSRC 'centre' or as part of a local, adequately resourced Eng.D. programme only.
The Board agreed to support a proposal for an interdiscipliniary doctoral training programme in collaboration with a non-degree-awarding research institution, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in which students spend time in both Cambridge and new research facilities in the USA.
During 2003-04, nineteen students were admitted for part-time research degrees; in 2004-05, a further 26 were registered. Faculties, Departments, and Colleges are required to seek Board approval before they can accept part-time students; six Departments and five Colleges were approved to admit part-time research students during the period of this report, bringing the total number of institutions accepting part-time research students to 38 and 26 respectively by the end of September 2005.
In 2005, the Board returned to a number of recommendations remaining outstanding from the General Report of the Committee established to review M.Phil. provision ('Strathern report') published in 2002. These included: variable University Composition Fees; review of the practice of back-dating of the start of the Ph.D. to include all or part of the M.Phil. (to include fee liability); M.Phil. marking schemes and distinctions; resubmission of theses and retakes of papers; and the introduction of a part-time M.Phil. The Board began a consultation with Degree Committees, to be concluded in 2005-06.
The Board supported proposals to share course elements between M.Phils. However, it was also noted that difficulties could result if one or more contributors decided to withdraw, especially where the arrangements cross Faculties or Schools. The Board requires Schools to consider proposals for new M.Phils and agreed to recommend that particular consideration should be given to contingency planning in the case of jointly run courses.
Open reporting for M.Phil. dissertations was introduced from the beginning of the 2004-05 academical year, in line with the practice for the Ph.D., M.Sc., and M.Litt. Degrees.
The Board agreed to support some restructuring and streamlining of the M.Phil. provision in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences: in the Faculty of Economics and Politics, to include the introduction of a Certificate in Postgraduate Study with effect from October 2005; reorganization of the M.Phil. programme of the Judge Institute, involving the creation of a number of new M.Phil. courses; in the Faculty of Education, to subsume some elements of the existing M.Ed. Degree in a proposed part-time M.Phil. Degree, to run in parallel with full-time versions of the same degrees.
Changes to courses (date from which effective in brackets)
New M.Phil. courses introduced, or approved:
Archaeological Research (October 2004)
Computational Biology (October 2004)
Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise (October 2004)
Biotechnology (October 2005)
Russian Studies (October 2006)
Screen Media and Culture (October 2006)
New M.St. courses introduced, or approved:
Latin-American Studies (October 2006)
M.Phil. courses rescinded, or approved for withdrawal:
M.Phil.: Microelectronic Engineering and Semiconductor Physics (October 2004, replaced by Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise, above)
M.Phil.: History and Philosophy of Architecture (October 2005)
M.Phil.: Architecture and the Moving Image (October 2005)
M.Phil.: Soil Mechanics (November 2004)
M.St. courses rescinded, or approved for withdrawal:
Computer Speech, Text, and Internet Technology (September 2006)
M.Phil. courses for which changes to the Special Regulations were approved:
Advanced Chemical Engineering Practice
Archaeological Research
Bioscience Enterprise
Computational Biology
Development Studies
Environment and Development
Environmental Policy
Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing
History and Philosophy of Science
International Relations
International Studies
Land Economy Option B
Musicology
Oriental Studies (East Asian Studies)
Planning, Growth, and Regeneration
Quaternary Science
Real Estate Finance
M.St. courses for which changes to the Special Regulations were approved:
Applied Criminology, Penology, and Management
Applied Criminology and Police Management
International Relations
Changes in title of M.Phil. Degree courses:
'European Literature' to 'European Literature and Culture' (October 2004)
'Environment and Development' to 'Environment, Society, and Development' (October 2005)
'English Studies: British Literature 1700-1830' to 'English Studies: Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Studies' (October 2005)
'History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine' to 'History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science, Technology, and Medicine' (October 2005)
The Board approved a proposal to share papers between the M.Phil. in Economic and Social History and the M.Phil. in Development Studies.
In response to independent initiatives from the Faculties of Education and of Economics and Politics, the Board again gave consideration to the introduction of a Master of Research (M.Res.) Degree. Cambridge is now unusual among British universities in not offering this distinctive type of Master's Degree. The Board agreed to look further into whether there is demand for an additional degree to differentiate between the wide range of courses currently covered by the M.Phil. regulations and to lend flexibility to the University's future planning for Master's provision and research training leading to the Ph.D. Degree.
Other courses
A new Certificate of Postgraduate Studies (CPGS) in Astronomy was agreed (to be offered from October 2005). Minor changes were agreed to the CPGS in Physics and to the Diplomas in Legal Studies and in International Law.
(b) Examining
The Board agreed minor changes to the Memorandum to Candidates for the Sc.D. and Litt.D.; and amended the Guide to Examiners of the M.Phil. Degree in minor details, pending the completion of the consultation on the M.Phil.
The Board published on its website a statement on the nature of plagiarism and how avoid it; this statement has been widely adopted by Degree Committees and adapted for their specific academic conventions. The Board continued to work with the Board of Examinations, the Proctors, and the University Advocate towards developing a policy for managing cases of suspected plagiarism to be made available for the 2005-06 examinations.
The Board considered the use of video-conferencing as a means of carrying out oral examinations and agreed that, while this should not be used routinely to replace the Ph.D. oral, it could be used as a substitute for a written examination (which is currently the only alternative to the viva permitted by the regulations) if, in exceptional circumstances, the candidate or an examiner is unable to travel due to illness or grave other cause. The Board agreed that video-conferencing might be used in the examination for the M.Phil. in certain cases if the Degree Committee agreed that an oral was necessary but a conventional viva impractical.
In July 2005 the Board reviewed the fees paid to Assessors for the Ph.D. and higher doctorates in the light of the fees offered by other UK institutions. It was agreed to aim to maintain payments around the median for the UK distribution, and so the payment for the Ph.D. was increased to £135; the fee for Assessors of Higher Doctorates was held at £175.
(c) Supervisors and supervision reports
The Board repeated its series of eight lunchtime seminars for graduate supervisors. The take-up was disappointing, although those who came gave very positive feedback. Attendance at the induction training for new supervisors was again well attended, especially by supervisors from the Schools of the Biological Sciences and Clinical Medicine.
The use of CamGRAD, the on-line reporting system for supervisors of graduate students introduced in Michaelmas 2003, continued to increase. In Lent Term 2004, 54% of all reports due were submitted (compared to 30% in Lent Term 2003 using the old paper method). By the Easter Term 2005 this figure had risen to just under 60%. The Board undertook a revision of the supervisor database to identify and remove duplicate and obsolete records.
The Board began to prepare for the linking of CamGRAD to the new student record system, CamSIS, for the 2005-06 academical year. This development would enable students to look up their own reports. The termly pattern of supervision reporting currently used for M.Phils would be extended to Ph.D. students, providing a means for supervisors to set down a brief formal note of progress and keeping all parties concerned with monitoring the progress of the student (the Board, the Degree Committee, and the College) informed of the student's progress and status. A review of CamGRAD would then be conducted at the end of the 2005-06 academical year.
The Board comprehensively revised and published on its website the Guide to Supervisors.
(d) Graduate admissions processes and policies
CamSIS
The Board's officers and staff were engaged throughout the period covered by the report in the development of the new Cambridge Student Information System (CamSIS) database. CamSIS went live in the graduate admissions office in September 2004. Applicants were able to apply on-line for the first time from October 2004 (for entry in 2005). A charge is made for on-line applications in order to prevent frivolous or vexacious multiple applications. After consultation, it was decided to charge £25 for on-line applications but not to charge for paper applications for the time being. Of the applications received for entry in 2005-06, 1,968 (17%) were made on-line.
CamSIS has provided new facilities for the Board's admissions team and for applicants: data supplied on-line by applicants can now be downloaded directly into CamSIS, so reducing inputting by the Board's office staff; applicants can keep a track of the status of their applications through their own 'self-service' web pages and can maintain their own personal information and contact details; the admissions team can also communicate with applicants via these pages.
Adapting to the new system initially placed very considerable demands on staff, and this, together with the continuing secondment of the Head of Admissions to the CamSIS team, led to inevitable delays in processing. However, the system bedded in well during the academical year and initial difficulties were mostly dealt with promptly through collaboration with the CamSIS team. The guidance provided to on-line applicants and the information on the self-service pages have been reviewed and modified in the light of applicants' experiences.
Use of the database for graduate admissions is to be extended gradually to Departments, Faculties, Degree Committees, and Colleges, so that all those involved will be able to check on an applicant's progress by viewing the same information as that available to the Board's admissions team.
Students with disabilities
Following discussions with the Joint Committee on Disability, a new procedure was introduced to enable greater confidentiality of information relating to the disclosure of a disability by applicants. Under the new procedure, a Personal Data Sheet which is kept separate from the main Application Form is completed by the applicant, and details of any disability declared are not revealed to Faculties/Departments, Degree Committees, or Colleges until after an academic offer has been agreed. The Disability Resource Centre makes contact with the candidate, who is advised to discuss their case and any special needs with the Department/Faculty and College at the earliest possibility.
Graduate Prospectus
As the use of the web as a means of obtaining information has increased, the numbers of copies of the Graduate Prospectus produced and mailed has been reduced from 60,000 paper copies (and 5,000 CDs) for the 2003-04 publication to 35,000 paper copies (and no CDs) for 2005-06.
English language condition
The Board welcomed a paper from the Language Centre on the merits of different tests of the use of English and the need for different levels of attainment in different subject areas and different modes of study. Faculties were asked whether they wished requirements for attainment in some skills to be set higher for their courses than the Board's baseline and a number of variants were agreed for inclusion in the 2005-06 Graduate Prospectus. On the recommendation of the Language Centre, the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English was withdrawn from the qualifications accepted for admission.
3. Reports received
The Board received a report on Gender Issues in Graduate Studies at Cambridge University by Dr Breen of the Faculty of Education. The Board agreed to take forward some of the recommendations of the report, for example, publication of career destinations in the Graduate Prospectus and provision of greater information about sources of funding.
The Board welcomed the Language Centre's report 'Support for Overseas Students: the role of linguistic and cultural adjustment (September 2004)', which set out the Centre's experience of the language and cultural difficulties faced by many overseas students and its role in helping to address them.
In July 2005 the Board received the report of the Colleges' Working Party on Graduate Numbers and Provision. Both the Secretary of the Board and the President of the Graduate Union were members of the Working Party. The Board applauded the efforts of the Colleges in reaching a collegial position in setting minimum levels of provision for graduate students and agreeing to provide accommodation to single graduate students who had met the conditions of their offer by 31 July, after which accommodation would be subject to availability.
4. Graduate student fees and finances
In response to increasing demands created by devolution of responsibilities by Research Councils, the Board of Graduate Studies established a team within its office to specialize in student finances and payments to examiners and supervisors, under the direction of Dr Kate Maxwell (Assistant Registrary). The Board's Committee on Grants adopted a formal constitution.
Living costs
The Board conducted a consultation about the estimated living costs that form part of the financial requirement for admission to a graduate course. The Board heard widespread concerns, from students as well as from Faculties and Colleges, that these estimates have for some time not kept pace with the true cost of living in Cambridge and that students were experiencing hardship as a result. It was agreed that a substantial rise would be needed. After discussion with the Cambridge Trusts, it was agreed to phase the increase over two years: 4% for entry in 2005-06 and 6% for 2006-07.
Fees for staff undertaking research degrees
Research assistants whose employment is completely compatible with the study necessary for a Ph.D. Degree have for many years been eligible to apply for admission as graduate students. The introduction of part-time research degrees has increased the number of staff applying for admission as graduate students. The Board discussed the terms and conditions for such staff and, having investigated practices at other universities and consulted widely, agreed that a staff fee should be introduced that would be applied regardless of the candidate's nationality, subject of research, and source of funding.
5. Review of the Board's activities
In response to the Board's own review of its activities (Annual Report 2003), the General Board initiated a consultation on the future organization of graduate education in Cambridge, seeking responses from Schools and Faculty Boards by the end of the Easter Term 2005.
6. Membership of the Board
Professor M. J. Daunton resigned from membership in category (c) on his appointment as Master of Trinity Hall; Prof M. L. Jacobus was appointed by the General Board to serve until December 2005. Dr L. E. A. Howe (representative of the Graduate Tutors' Committee) and Dr P. C. Hewett (category (c)) and Professor L. F. Gladden (category (b)) were re-elected to serve a further four-year term from January 2005.
While the Board's constitution specifies the length of each term of office, it does not specify how many terms may be served consecutively by the same individual. The Board agreed that continuity of expertise was important and that there should not a priori be a limit to the number of terms a person co-opted to the Board could serve consecutively. Dr S. K. Rankin was co-opted for a further three-year term from January 2005. Professor L. B. Jeffcott retired as a co-opted member in July 2004.
The graduate students are represented on the Board by the student elected to serve on the General Board, who, in the period covered by this report, was also the President of the Graduate Union.
7. Staff changes at the Board
The Head of Graduate Admissions, Mr N. Tippler, remained on his two-year secondment to the CamSIS project until July 2005; Ms C. L. Burton was appointed to this post from August 2005.
Dr S. James, Assistant Registrary (Studentships), took up post in March 2004 but left in August 2004 and was replaced by Dr K. Maxwell from January 2005.
Mrs P. M. Gee, leader of the Reception team and personal assistant to the Secretary, retired after fourteen years. Ms K. J. Wilkinson was appointed to replace her.
STATISTICAL REPORT
The data reported here refer only to those applicants, students, and courses for whom the Board of Graduate Studies is the admitting authority and do not include, for example, candidates for the LL.M., M.B.A., M.Ed., P.G.C.E., and certain diplomas. For tables referred to below, see pp. 14-28.
1. Admissions and student numbers
(a) Applications for admission (Table 1 a-d)
There was a general decrease (-19%) in applications for entry in 2004 compared to 2003 (Table 1a). The only increase was in EU applications (+5%), reflecting the expansion of the European Union from May 2004. However, numbers in 2003-04 had been exceptional, with a very large increase in applications from overseas students. These patterns reflect national and international trends. A more instructive comparison may be made with numbers for entry in 2002: numbers in all categories of applicant for entry in 2004 showed a small increase over those for 2002.
The same pattern is seen in applications for M.Phil. courses (Table 1b), where the increase in EU applicants is particularly marked (+13.6%) compared to 2003. Overall, M.Phil. applications for 2004 entry were 15% lower than for 2003, but 17% higher than for 2002.
Applications for research courses were nearly 30% lower than in 2003 but 2% higher than in 2002, with reductions for almost all categories of student except EU (Table 1c).
Applications for other, taught, postgraduate courses (Table 1d) fell by 26% compared to 2003 and were 10% lower than in 2002. The greatest reductions (33.5% compared to 2003, and 13.5% compared to 2002) were seen in applications from overseas candidates.
(b) Offers of admission and confirmation of admission (Tables 2 a-d and 3)
Offers for 2004 for the M.Phil. Degree were marginally higher than in 2003 and the highest ever (Table 2a), with a shift in the balance of offers between overseas and EU categories consistent with the expansion of the EU.
Offers for research courses were 5% lower than in 2003; a real reduction in offers to overseas applicants is evident when the shift of numbers towards the EU category is taken into account (Table 2b).
The total number of offers for admission and offers for 'other, taught postgraduate' courses under the jurisdiction of the Board have not previously been reported; the numbers for 2004 entry are shown in Tables 2c and 2d respectively.
Of the total number of offers made, about half are confirmed each year as candidates meet the conditions set; this proportion (the 'take-up rate' ) is influenced by many factors, such as availability of funding and national and international contingencies, but has varied rather little over the past ten years.
The overall take-up for 2004 courses was 53%, with percentages in most categories being higher than they were in 2002 or 2003, except for overseas applicants for research course places for whom the take-up in 2004 was significantly lower than in either of the previous years (Table 3).
(c) Numbers of new graduate students coming into residence (Table 4a-f)
The distribution of new entrants among the M.Phil. courses is shown in Table 4a. The numbers of M.Phil. candidates varies markedly between courses and between disciplines and Schools. There are also considerable differences between Schools in the balance between UK, EU, and overseas candidates. The distribution of all new entrants for graduate courses among the 25 Degree Committees is shown in Table 4b.
Annual figures for the proportion of new entrants by School (Table 4c) reveal an increase in the School of Technology, resulting from the introduction of new M.Phil. courses and the transfer of the Institute of Biotechnology from the School of Biological Sciences to the School of Technology.
The numbers of new entrants in 2004 in all categories of courses was the highest recorded (Table 4d), being 18% higher than in 2003. No difficulties were reported in placing candidates in Colleges.
The distribution of new entrants among Colleges is shown in Table 4e.
In 2004 the number of Cambridge graduates staying on to take graduate courses increased by 25% compared to 2003 and was the highest, both in absolute numbers and in proportion to non-Cambridge graduates, for ten years (Table 4f).
(d) Graduate students on the register and in residence (Tables 5a-b)
The numbers of graduate students on the Board of Graduate Studies' register at December 2004, and the number of these in residence (that is, excluding those having leave to work away or writing up) are shown, disaggregated by type of qualification, sex, and fee status, in Table 5a.
The distribution of registered graduate students on the register among the Departments and Faculties in December 2004 is shown in Table 5b.
Historical data on the numbers of registered graduate students are shown in Table 5c; these reveal that, over the ten years from 1994 to 2004:
Numbers of students on the register have risen from 4,906 to 6,331 (+29% or 2.9% per annum);
The proportion of women in the total has risen from 33% to 41%;
The percentage representation of UK compared to EU and overseas students has changed from 51:12:37 to 43:17:40.
The proportion of women on the register, compared with proportions of women applying and receiving offers, shows no significant differences between these populations within any given year, but there is an overall increase in the proportion of women in all groups over time (Table 5d).
The distribution of graduate students by College (December 2004) is shown in Table 5e.
2. Submission for the Ph.D., approval and non-approval for degrees (Tables 6-8)
The proportion of research students submitting their dissertation for examination for the Ph.D. by the end of their fourth year fell slightly for the cohort starting in 2000 to 68% (Table 6a). These four-year submission data vary widely between Schools and there is considerable fluctuation between cohorts of students in some Schools (Table 6b). Overall, the University's submission rates compare well with other institutions and are above those required by Research Councils.
The numbers of candidates approved for degrees during the academical year 2004-05 are shown in Table 7 (previous figures are for the calendar years shown). The numbers of degrees awarded per annum are always fewer than the total number of candidates admitted in the relevant years because a proportion of entrants are not candidates for a degree, but for a diploma or certificate.
Only one candidate was approved for the Ph.D. Degree under the Special Regulations during the year (data not included in Table 7).
The numbers of candidates not approved for the qualification sought during the academical year 2004-05 are shown in Table 8. In 2004-05, failures comprised fewer than 1% of all examinations for full-time degrees and 7% of examinations for part-time degrees.
During the period January 2004 - September 2005, the Board approved ten candidates for the Sc.D. Degree, six for the Litt.D. Degree, two for the LL.D. Degree, and one for the D.D. Degree.
3. Awards
(a) ORSAS (Overseas Research Studentship) awards 2004 and 2005 competitions
The number of nominations the University is permitted to make for the ORSAS awards has been dropping each year for some years. The Board revised their procedures for identifying the best candidates among those nominated by Faculties in the light of previous success rates and were pleased to note that the proportion of nominees who were successful was higher than ever (Table 9).
In July 2005, the Board were notified that the ORS competition was to be devolved to universities with immediate effect, with HEFCE providing the equivalent of a Doctoral Training Account to each institution based on previous years' success rates. The Board warmly welcomed this move, which would enable awards to be made much earlier (in March rather than in May), and awards that are not taken up to be redirected to reserve candidates.
(b) Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards
In April 2004, the government announced the Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards scheme (DHPA), which provides full-cost studentships, each co-funded by a Research Council and an industrial partner, for research students from the developing world. Cambridge received thirteen awards for students starting in October 2004 and a further ten for those starting in October 2005.
After the initial year (in which there was insufficient time for a competition to be held and awards were largely decided by the Chairs of the Schools), it was agreed that these studentships should be awarded to the best candidates for ORS awards who fitted the DHPA eligibility criteria. This scheme has worked well and has avoided the need for a separate application form or separate competition.
(c) Other awards
Details of awards made by the Board's Committee on Grants in 2004 and 2005 (with 2003 for comparison) are shown in Table 10.
The Committee were grateful for the contribution of the University and the Isaac Newton Trust to the Domestic Research Studentship (DRS) scheme and to donors to the Development Office and Cambridge in America for the Millennium Scholarships. The Millennium fund allows capital expenditure and is likely to be extinguished following the 2005 competition.
4. Regulations for the review of the results of examination for postgraduate qualifications (Statutes and Ordinances, 2004, p. 403)
During the calendar year 2004, the Board considered five new cases (compared with five in 2003, ten in 2002, eight in 2001) in the first stages of the procedure. Several more ongoing cases were under consideration, one of which was referred to the Review Committee during this period. In the remainder of the academical year 2004-05 (January to September), two more new cases were considered and two cases referred to the Review Committee. Of the cases referred, one was upheld and the candidate re-examined, and in the other two, the Review Committee found prima facie there to be no case for review.
July 2006
| P. C. HEWETT (Acting Chairman) | L. F. GLADDEN | R. H. KEELING |
| G. A. J. AMARATUNGA | G. P. HAWTHORN | S. K. RANKIN |
| G. M. W. COOK | L. E. A. HOWE | B. J. SAHAKIAN |
| L. R. R. GELSTHORPE | M. L. JACOBUS |