Vice-Chancellor's report to Senate: September 2020
Friday, 02 October 2020
The University’s response to COVID-19 – including preparations for the start of the autumn term – and updates on student recruitment, Thames Valley Science Park, University of Reading Malaysia and League Tables were included in Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort’s report to the Senate this week.
On COVID-19, the Vice-Chancellor said, “Campus is certainly filling up and starting to feel much busier and, thanks to significant work from many colleagues, COVID-related safety measures are visible across all areas of our campuses.
“In line with the latest DfE advice for Universities published in mid-September, we are implementing our blended approach for teaching (online and in person) this year, which is what the government refers to as the ‘Tier 1’ and ‘default’ option. The teaching timetable was published last week and on average students can expect about 50 per cent of their engagement to be face to face (and on some programmes, considerably more).”
On Student Recruitment, he said that “the position is slightly better than that modelled as part of the Post COVID-19 Recovery Programme Phase 1, but still considerably below the original planning assumptions”. The Vice-Chancellor also told the Senate that the student recruitment in Malaysia for September has been in line with the business plan agreed with the Council.
The full transcript is available to read online via this link.
Senate is the University's main academic administrative body. Reporting to the Council and meeting at least four times a year, the Senate advises on areas such as student entry, assessment and awards.
With around 100 members, the Senate comprises Deans, Heads and elected representatives of Schools, as well as professional staff and students. University Boards responsible for developments and innovation in research, teaching and learning report to the Senate.