{"id":411,"date":"2018-03-01T22:35:37","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T22:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=411"},"modified":"2018-03-01T22:35:37","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T22:35:37","slug":"senate-sketches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/senate-sketches\/","title":{"rendered":"SENATE SKETCHES"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLUNDERING THE PENSION<\/span><\/p>\n

The VC opened his report with some good news. Applications are up, including a 9% increase from EU countries, while the sector average is down. Research grant income continues to be strong. Work has at last started on the new \u00a341M Health Innovation Campus. Now for the not-so-good news. The level of university fees was now being questioned by the government (yes, that same government that increased them to over \u00a39K in the first place). This was not good for universities, and while students might raise the odd cheer, the VC was scathing, especially about Lord Adonis\u2019 suggestion that fees be pegged at \u00a36K.<\/span><\/p>\n

The big issue was the pensions dispute. The VC gave a succinct account of the recent history of USS pensions, showing how the various changes over the last few years had steadily reduced their value. There was a dispute about the size of the scheme\u2019s current \u2018deficit\u2019 but he had thought that an agreement was close until the intervention of the Pensions Regulator. This, he believed, was political. The Regulator had been publicly lacerated over its laxity in the BHS and Capita pensions scandals and needed to show that it was on the case with USS. (Of course, an alternative interpretation might be that, as with Carillion, the Regulator was only too willing to support the employers\u2019 interest). So this was how we got to where we are now.<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point Senators might be forgiven if they thought that the VC was about to announce that he would be joining the picket lines himself the next day. Alas, this was not to be the case. When asked if he would be supporting LUSU\u2019s and other Vice-Chancellors\u2019 calls for an immediate return to national negotiations, he said emphatically that he would not. He denied the report in that day\u2019s Times that he had joined ten other VCs in calling for a resumption of negotiations. The two sides were too far apart \u2013 he used the word \u2018chasm\u2019 – and as such there would be nothing to negotiate about. Besides, Lancaster could not afford the UCU demand for a 2% increase in the employer contribution to the pension fund. It would cut into our annual surplus, and everyone knows that our surplus is for Spine embellishments, football universities, and golf courses, not for frittering away on staff. Was there any chance of students\u2019 getting any compensation for lost contact time, as is their right as consumers? Hardly! What about the strikers\u2019 pay deductions? Would the money the university saved be donated to the student hardship funds, as had happened with previous strikes? Yes, of course, but only after certain university expenses had been covered. And what were these? Why, the cost of providing pensions advice to staff who would have to grapple with the complexities of a new defined contributions scheme. You can\u2019t say that our VC doesn\u2019t think ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

ALL POWER TO THE COUNCIL!<\/span><\/p>\n

The big agenda item for the day was a raft of constitutional changes for Senate to approve. The Chief Administrative Officer opened by stating that the proposed changes followed from the recent Council Effectiveness Review and the abolition of Court, and it was largely a tidying up operation. She would not go through these in detail as she presumed that everyone had read the papers. It soon became clear that most Senators had not read the papers. Some had, though, and the claim enshrined in the proposals that Council was \u2018the supreme governing body and final decision-maker\u2019 was challenged. According to the CAO, this was required by the Code of Practice that all university governing bodies had to observe. Not so, said some Senators, with one reading aloud what the Code actually stated. To which the CAO responded with an irrefutable alternative fact – that this is what the new Office for Students might in the future require us to do. Senate seemed happy to accept this line of reasoning. One Senator seemed particularly troubled by the proposal to give Council the sole authority to make and amend Statutes and Ordinances, \u2018Henry the Eighth powers\u2019, as he called them. Against this the VC deployed his ultimate debating weapon \u2013 the Warwick Clincher. His old employer had done this, therefore so should Lancaster. Senate duly voted in favour. However, there was by now enough disquiet about the future position of Senate in terms of academic governance that the rest of the proposed changes were withdrawn for further working. But the VC had achieved what he wanted \u2013 Council now had the sole right to make, change and remove Statutes. Lancaster can now look forward to having a much smaller Senate \u2013 just like they have at Warwick, where they don\u2019t have colleges.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

BEST OF THE REST<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dean of LUMS presented the formal proposal to close the Department of Leadership and Management, and split its activities between the departments of Organisation, Work and Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation. It would seem that the process to bring this about was a model of best practice, with a \u2018consultative approach\u2019 throughout \u2018the project\u2019, \u2018clear communication given to staff\u2019, and \u2018consistent\u2019 involvement with the unions. For what really happened, see subtext 169.<\/span><\/p>\n

A proposal from the PVC (Education) for the establishment of an \u2018Institute for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching\u2019 (InELT) was warmly received, its safe passage ensured by the promise that it wasn\u2019t going to cost any money. However, it was felt that the acronym was insufficiently cumbersome for a Lancaster University institute so it was agreed that \u2018curriculum\u2019 should be inserted somewhere in its title. Perhaps it could be called something like \u2018CELT\u2019. Now that name rings a bell…<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, a paper from PPR and the Deputy VC for the establishment of an \u2018Interdisciplinary Research Centre focused on China\u2019. Now this one would cost money, so the paper was a testing of the waters rather than a definite proposal. Senate rather liked the idea, and agreed that the sponsors should go ahead with putting together a more detailed proposal.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLUNDERING THE PENSION The VC opened his report with some good news. Applications are up, including a 9% increase from EU countries, while the sector average is down. Research grant income continues to be strong. Work has at last started … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,38],"tags":[256,136,253,257,233,254,146,179,70,226,75,255],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-official-meetings","tag-andrew-laing","tag-departmental-closures","tag-fake-news","tag-institutes","tag-issue-174","tag-nicola-owen","tag-senate","tag-strike","tag-ucu","tag-university-council","tag-vc","tag-warwick"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-6D","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":223,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/11\/23\/senate-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":0},"title":"SENATE REPORT","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 23 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The November session started with a written question to the VC asking if there were any plans to build lecture theatres capable of accommodating larger groups of students. The lack of such space was causing major problems for the larger teaching departments. Replying on behalf of the VC, Deputy VC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "official meetings"","block_context":{"text":"official meetings","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/official-meetings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1146,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/subtext-189-imaginative-thinking-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":1},"title":"subtext 189 – ‘imaginative thinking subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/\u00a0 In this issue: editorial,\u00a0recruitment drive,\u00a0VC swan song,\u00a0pensions,\u00a0bailrigg fm,\u00a0dundee,\u00a0overheard on the spine,\u00a0art degree show review,\u00a0letters. ***************************************************** And so, we are almost at the end of our sixth VC's tenure. Professor Mark E Smith, CBE (as of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/395\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":2},"title":"LU TEXT LOST AND FOUND","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Those who follow us on Facebook (facebook.com\/LUSubtext - you really should 'like us', we occasionally update the page and everything!) will have seen our latest takedown of the fake news media. This time the culprit was the Times, which had the temerity to suggest that our Vice-Chancellor would be so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "lu text lost and found"","block_context":{"text":"lu text lost and found","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/lu-text-lost-and-found\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1140,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/state-of-the-uni\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":3},"title":"STATE OF THE UNI","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A moderately populated Great Hall played host to the final all-staff meeting on Tuesday 25 June, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark E Smith, CBE, before his imminent departure to southerly climes. The majority of those present, apart from the conflagration of senior managers [is this the correct collective noun for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":210,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/11\/23\/brave-new-world-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":4},"title":"BRAVE NEW WORLD","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 23 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Obviously inspired by subtext\u2019s recent embracing of technology, the Vice Chancellor has decided to bring his particular badinage of vernacular to Twitter, and you can follow him at: twitter.com\/VCMarkESmith Amongst pictures of him mingling at conferences, praising speakers and announcing his speaking engagements, we noted that the VC recently retweeted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":771,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/10\/11\/alumni-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":411,"position":5},"title":"ALUMNI NEWS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"October 11 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"News reaches subtext that our former VC Paul Wellings is continuing the friendly, inclusive style he pioneered at Lancaster, in his current role as VC for the University of Wollongong. UOW staff were striking this week over insecure work and unfair pay, in particular Wollongong's use of casual and fixed-term\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions\/412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}