President's weekly update
10 December 2020
We held an additional meeting of Senate at which I updated members on our COVID-19 testing for students – nearly 8,000 students have now been tested or have booked tests, and the ‘travel window’ of 2-9 December has now closed, though we will continue to offer testing until 18 December. Testing is now also available for staff who are working on campus. This has been an amazing achievement by many of our staff, and testing will continue after Christmas as students return on a staggered basis. Under current government guidelines students can return to University as usual in January but the only in-person teaching will be for practical and practice-based subjects and student placements. For undergraduates this will be very much as usual because January is largely devoted to assessments, which will be online this year. We have been clear in explaining this to students and indicating that if all of their assessments and teaching are online, they may choose not to return to campus until early February. Our libraries and study areas will remain open and we are aiming to expand social and study spaces.
The latest data show a marked decline in infection rates across Greater Manchester, with the lowest rates in wards including our University. There is, therefore, the possibility that at the forthcoming review date next week, our region may move to Tier 2, which would mean we can start to return to more normal activities, albeit with COVID security measures remaining. We also reported to Senate on our meetings with elected student representatives in halls and Students’ Union officers, to consider rent rebates and student behaviours in our residences, including continued large gatherings, which have attracted many complaints from students, staff and local residents. Senate discussed the report on the inquiry into the erection of fences at our Fallowfield site and our response. You can also ask questions about the report and any other University matters at the staff open meeting on 11 December.
Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, reported that on the census date of 1 December we were above target numbers for the recruitment of home and international students for undergraduate and postgraduate taught study. Applications for the next academic year are approximately on target for UK students, well below target for EU students (who after Brexit will count as international students) and 40% above applications last year for international students, though it is still very early in the cycle of applications for 2021 entry.
At our Planning and Resources Committee (PRC), we reviewed the progress and activities of our Whitworth Art Gallery and Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, both of which have been heavily impacted by the pandemic but are planning a return to more normal activities as soon as possible. PRC also reviewed the report and recommendations on fencing and discussed our current financial position and future projections.
Due to much higher than expected student recruitment, our budget assumes only a small deficit in the current year. The latest forecast suggests that the position may be stronger than this but with significant risks of lower than usual student retention and additional costs due to COVID-19. The five-year forecasts are much more pessimistic, indicating an ongoing decline in our position as UK fee income and full research costs decline in real terms. As we have reported previously, our income streams are not keeping up with inflation while our costs, especially staff costs, are running above inflation with the prospect of very much higher pension costs.
We held the Annual Performance Review for the Faculty of Science and Engineering, which covered many topics including the remarkable adaptation to online teaching, staff and student workload and stress, better engagement of students in teaching and learning, contribution to net zero and climate change, increasing postgraduate researcher numbers, cross Faculty teaching and research and the opportunities and challenges of MECD.
At the Russell Group Board meeting we shared similar concerns about student retention, the calls from many students for more in-person teaching and discussed the return of students in January with Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan. We also discussed shared concerns about the USS pension and the need to provide an affordable and sustainable pension for all of our staff. We recognised that the recent government spending review was better than had been feared given the current financial position and welcomed the uplift in research funding and the ongoing commitment to a significant uplift in research and development funding.
I joined a meeting of our team leading on Innovation District Manchester - the plan for our North Campus. We heard from all current bidders to be our commercial partner about their vision and detailed plans for the site and their great excitement about what they described as a unique opportunity. The process was slightly delayed by the pandemic but should be concluded by early summer 2021.
The Health Innovation Manchester Board discussed the next phase of delivery of health benefits for the region, with a major focus on digitalisation and optimal use of electronic heath records. It also considered how the new Pankhurst Institute will bring health benefits, particularly through engaging humanities, science and engineering in healthcare.
We have been having ongoing discussion with the campus trade unions with regard to the redeployment policy and targeted voluntary severance. All three trade unions (UCU, Unison and Unite) have balloted their members and the outcome is to support the changes in these policies. We will be communicating the full details of these changes to staff in the coming days.
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor
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