Reports

Report of the Council on amendments to Statute A (membership of the Senate and election of student members of the Council)

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

Membership of the Senate

1. In its Notice in response to the remarks made at the discussion of the Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on the establishment of a degree of Master of Mathematics and a degree of Master of Advanced Study (Reporter, 2008–09, p. 575) the Council notified the University that it, with the General Board, would consider the status of holders of the M.Eng., M.Sci. Degrees, and future holders of the new M.Math. and M.A.St. Degrees with regard to membership of the Senate. Currently holders of the M.Eng. and M.Sci. Degrees, which are integrated degrees, are not eligible for membership of the Senate as these degrees have not been considered to be postgraduate degrees – they are awarded at the end of a four-year undergraduate course and students who qualify for the M.Eng. and M.Sci. also qualify for the B.A. at the same time. They thus become entitled to membership of the Senate if they proceed to the M.A. Degree in due course.1

2. The course requirements of the M.Eng. and M.Sci., although different to those for the Cambridge M.Phil., conform to the descriptors of the Quality Assurance Agency for a Master’s degree. This is also true of the new M.Math. and M.A.St. course requirements. After consultation with the Senior Tutors’ Committee and the Faculty Boards of Biology, Computer Science and Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics and Chemistry, and the Board of History and Philosophy of Science, the Council and the General Board have agreed to propose a change in the qualification for membership of the Senate so that all holders of a Master’s degree become members of the Senate. Thus holders of the M.Eng. and M.Sci. and future holders of the M.Math. would become entitled to membership of the Senate immediately they proceed to these degrees rather than having to wait until they are eligible to proceed to the M.A. There is, however, no intention to bar such students from also proceeding to the M.A. Degree at the appropriate time. As candidates for the M.A.St. follow the same course as those for the integrated degrees it is only appropriate that they should also become members of the Senate as soon as they have proceeded to the M.A.St.

3. The current wording of Statute A, I, 6(c) is as follows:

Statute A, I, 6(c) (membership of the Senate):

(c)all persons who hold any of the following degrees of the University: any Doctor’s degree; any Master’s degree other than the degree of Master of Engineering or Master of Natural Sciences; the degree of Bachelor of Divinity;

4. The Council recommends that the Statute be amended so as to read:

(c)all persons who hold any Doctor’s degree of the University, any Master’s degree of the University, or the degree of Bachelor of Divinity of the University;

Election of student members of the Council

5. The Council is taking the opportunity to amend Statute A, IV, 7(b) to correct a conflict with Statute A, IV, 4(b) relating to election of the student members of the Council. The need to amend this Statute was not noticed when the period of service of the student members under Statute A, IV, 4(b) was amended by Grace 12 of 13 December 1995. Under this Statute members of the Council in class (d), that is the student members, are to be elected in each academical year on a date to be determined by or under Ordinance. Regulation 6 of the Ordinances for election of members of the Council in class (d) (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 114) states that the members serve for one year from 1 July next following the election (this refers to the annual election held in Full Lent Term). However Statute A, IV, 7(b) still specifies that any person elected a member in class (d) either at the annual election or at a bye-election shall begin service on the day next following the publication of the result of the election. The Council accordingly recommends that Statute A, IV, 7(b) be amended so as to remove the reference to the annual election. The revised section would read:

(b) Any person elected a member in class (d) at a bye-election to fill a casual vacancy which has already occurred shall begin service on the day next following the publication of the result of the bye-election, provided, that, if the number of persons nominated in a bye-election does not exceed the number of vacancies, the person or persons nominated shall be deemed to be elected and shall begin service on the day following the last day for the receipt of nominations.

6. The Council recommends that, subject to the approval of Her Majesty in Council, the Statutes of the University be amended as set out in the Annex of this Report, and that the proposed amendments be submitted under the Common Seal of the University for the approval of Her Majesty in Council.

15 March 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	M. R. Clark	J. F. Li
	David Abulafia	S. J. Cowley	D. Lowry
	Ross Anderson	M. J. Daunton	Debbie Lowther
	N. Bampos	A. M. Donald	Mavis McDonald
	R. J. Barnes	R. J. Dowling	Rachael Padman
	Nigel Brown	David Good	David Simon
	William Brown	Christopher Hum	Joan M. Whitehead
	T. Chigbo	Vanessa Lawrence

ANNEX

Proposed amendments to Statute A

Statute A

THE CHANCELLOR AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

Chapter I

THE CHANCELLOR AND THE SENATE

Section 6(c).

By amending the subsection so as to read:

(c)all persons who hold any Doctor’s degree of the University, any Master’s degree of the University, or the degree of Bachelor of Divinity of the University;

Chapter IV

THE COUNCIL

Section 7(b).

By amending the subsection so as to read:

(b) Any person elected a member in class (d) at a bye-election to fill a casual vacancy which has already occurred shall begin service on the day next following the publication of the result of the bye-election, provided, that, if the number of persons nominated in a bye-election does not exceed the number of vacancies, the person or persons nominated shall be deemed to be elected and shall begin service on the day following the last day for the receipt of nominations.

Report of the Council on the construction of a new Student Resources Centre building for the Department of Veterinary Medicine

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) conducts a Visitation to the Veterinary School every seven years to accredit the veterinary course and to approve the Vet.M.B. Degree awarded by the University as qualifying graduates for membership of the RCVS. In its visits in 1994 and 2001 the RCVS recommended that steps be taken to provide better student resources. In their latest visit, in 2008, they reiterated their recommendations.

2. The existing student resources of concern to the RCVS are described as follows. The lockers for 200 clinical veterinary students are located in two rooms, of approximately 80 sq.m., in the main teaching block. The lockers are unsuitable for storage of student belongings and protective clothing necessary for proper biosecurity. The rooms have inadequate space and ventilation. There is no private changing space and male and female students use the same areas. Toilet facilities are adjacent to, but not accessible from, the locker rooms and are used by all staff in the main building. There are no general shower facilities, although restricted shower facilities are available elsewhere on the site in the Post-Mortem Room changing area and the Small Animal Theatre complex. The existing common room is located in a free-standing thirty-year-old portacabin. There is a small kitchen area, refurbished at the Department’s own cost in 2006, which is inadequate for the needs of a large student body.

3. The proposed Student Resources Centre building will be constructed at the Department of Veterinary Medicine’s West Cambridge site (see the plan below). On the ground floor dedicated locker and changing room areas (for 200 students) will be provided and stricter biosecurity will be achieved by splitting these (approx. 25:75) between ‘protective clothing areas’, for those students working with equine/farm animals, and ‘clean areas’, for storage of students’ outer clothing and belongings. A small drying room and laundry will be included and an outdoor boot washing facility will be provided. The upper floor will offer a dedicated common room, kitchen facilities, and quiet study areas for clinical veterinary students. A disabled toilet and chair lift, between the two floors, will also be included.

4. The new building will be constructed in one phase and will provide a total internal area of 480 sq.m.

5. The estimated cost of the work is £1.5m. and is to be funded from the University’s allocation from HEFCE’s Capital Investment Fund (CIF). No significant incremental running costs are anticipated for the new facilities.

6. It is hoped to submit a planning application during March 2010 in order to let a contract so that work can begin no later than July 2010.

7. Drawings of the proposed scheme are displayed for the information of the University in the Schools Arcade.

8. The Council recommends:

I. That approval be given for the construction of a new building for the Department of Veterinary Medicine’s Student Resources Centre.

II. That the Director of the Estate Management and Building Service be authorized to apply for detailed planning approval in due course.

III. That the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources) be authorized to accept a tender, within the available funding, for the building and all associated works in due course.

15 March 2010	Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor	M. R. Clark	J. F. Li
	David Abulafia	S. J. Cowley	D. Lowry
	Ross Anderson	M. J. Daunton	Debbie Lowther
	N. Bampos	A. M. Donald	Mavis McDonald
	R. J. Barnes	R. J. Dowling	Rachael Padman
	Nigel Brown	David Good	David Simon
	William Brown	Christopher Hum	Joan M. Whitehead
	T. Chigbo	Vanessa Lawrence