Notices by the General Board

Institute of Public Health

28 May 2020

With effect from 1 August 2020

The General Board, on the recommendation of the Council of the School of Clinical Medicine and with the support of the Director and Committee of Management of the Institute of Public Health, has agreed to a change to the structure underpinning research and teaching in Public Health within the University. An Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Public Health will bring together those working in the field from across the University, replacing the Institute of Public Health.1 The IRC will be managed by Joint Directors providing leadership on behalf of the Schools of Clinical Medicine and Technology. The Board has therefore agreed to rescind the General Board Regulations for the Institute in their entirety (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 635).

Changes to governance arrangements for postgraduate students

With effect from 1 October 2020

In December 2019 the Regent House approved changes to governance arrangements for postgraduate students, to dissolve the Board of Graduate Studies and move its work to the Postgraduate Committee, a sub‑committee of the General Board’s Education Committee (Reporter, 6570, 2019–20, p. 155).

As detailed in the Report setting out those changes, the Postgraduate Committee is to undertake a review of its work and to consider the most appropriate governance and operational arrangements for postgraduate admissions (as part of the admissions review), fees (in conjunction with the proposed fees review), progress monitoring and student status, and examination and award. In October 2019 the General Board’s Education Committee established an Enquiry Group to start this review. The Group made a series of recommendations for activity to move to other sub‑committees of the General Board’s Education Committee, which were accepted by the Education Committee on 18 March 2020.1 These changes will take effect from 1 October 2020.

Admissions

The General Board’s Education Committee will provide oversight of academic standards of admission to postgraduate courses. All other matters relating to admission of postgraduate students will be considered by the Postgraduate Admissions Committee.

Examination and assessment of postgraduate taught students

Matters relating to examination and assessment of postgraduate taught students (i.e. students who are not examined by thesis and oral) currently within the purview of the Board of Graduate Studies shall move to the Examination and Assessment Committee. Applications for examination allowances, examination arrangements and alternative modes of assessment for postgraduate taught students will be considered by the Examinations Access and Mitigation Committee.

Senior Academic Promotions Committee: Appeals 2020

The procedure for senior academic promotions (Section 12.1) provides that applicants have the right to lodge an appeal against the decision of the General Board’s Academic Promotions Committee not to promote.

In accordance with the policy that Committee membership for the senior academic promotions exercise be published, the members of the Appeals Committee for the 1 October 2020 exercise agreed by the General Board are as follows:

Professor Steven Connor (Chair)
Professor Natalia Berloff
Professor Brian Cheffins
Professor Jonathan Crowcroft
Professor Fiona Karet

Secretary: Thuy Niven