At its meeting on 18 October 2017 the Council approved for the second time, an amendment to University Ordinance 10 on Departments.

Rationale: To allow the wording of Ordinance 10 to be generalised to allow for flexibility in determining the appropriate leadership role as the nature and size of Departments change over time.

At its meeting on 18 October 2017 the Council approved for the second time, an amendment to University Ordinance 11 on the Appointment of Heads of Departments.

Rationale: That in some cases the role of Head of Department is incorporated into a broader substantive appointment, such as Chair, or Executive Dean and that such roles should not fall within the provisions of Ordinance 11.

Chair’s action was taken on 29 September 2017 to approve for the first time, an amendment to University Ordinance 16 on Payment of Annual Fees, Residential Charges and Other Debts.

Rationale: To reflect the introduction of an administration fee, proposed by the Fees Working Group, to cover the administration costs of following up late payments of residential charges or academic fees.

Chair’s action was taken on 29 September 2017 to confirm changes to Regulation 23 on Student Disciplinary Offences and Regulation 27 on On-Campus Residential Accommodation Regulations.

Rationale: To provide greater clarity on certain aspects of the Regulations, resolve issues that have been identified in the operation of these Regulations and update the nomenclature used within the University. In addition, more detailed examples of types of behaviour deemed to be disciplinary offences have been incorporated in line with guidance from Universities UK.

Chair's action was taken on 7 September 2017 to confirm proposed changes to Regulation 8.1: Regulations for the Part-time Degree of BEng in Applied Engineering.

Rationale: To allow students on the Applied Engineering Programme to take re-sit assessments in-year.

Chair's action was taken on 23 August 2017 to confirm proposed changes to Regulation 36: Student Registration, Attendance and Progress.

Rationale: To more fully reflect the consequences of a student’s failure to enrol at the University, and to outline the responsibilities of the University and its students in relation to sponsorship under Tier 4, to protect the interests of both parties.

At its meeting on 12 July 2017 the Council confirmed proposed changes to the following regulations:

Regulation 8.10 Regulations for the Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) and for the Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci) (Applying to all students registered on the MBChB programme from the academic year 2016/17 regardless of year of study)

Rationale: To reflect changes made to the delivery and assessment of the Specialist Clinical Placement – General Practise Module in Phase III of the MBChB programme, in response to feedback received from students and the NHS Trust.

Regulation 11 Procedure to be Adopted in the Event of Suspected Cheating in a University Test

Rationale: Arising from the work of a Plagiarism Working Group in response to cause for concern raised by the QAA in relation to another institution.

Regulation 23 Student Disciplinary Offences.

Rationale: To add Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor to those able to act as Chair of the University’s Discipline Committee.

Regulation 34 Determination of Fitness to Practise

Rationale: To approve of the constitution and membership of the Fitness to Practise Committee for the MBChB programme to bring it in line with changes that were previously approved by the Senate.

Regulation 36 Governing Student Registration

Rationale: To reflect current practice in order to prevent complaints and appeals on the grounds of procedural irregularity.

Regulation 38 Governing Research Degrees

Rationale: To introduce a new category of major corrections for research degree examinations, refining the minor corrections category to typographical amendments only, to bridge the gap between minor corrections and the requirement to resubmit a thesis.