| Description | Minutes of a committee established in 1998, together with the Taught Postgraduate Committee (see UB/COM/105) and the Undergraduate Committee (see UB/COM/106) to approve and advise on research programmes on behalf of the Academic Board of Senate (see UB/COM/60 for minutes of this committee).
Its terms of reference were to scrutinise proposals relating to research degree programmes prior to approval by the Academic Board; to approve new modules and amendments to existing modules for research programmes; to advise on, monitor, and recommend to the Academic Board on any activities or initiatives undertaken under the supervision of the Graduate Research School; to consider any matters relating to academic policy development and implementation relating to research programme provision referred to the Committee by the Academic Board; and to take decisions on applications from individual students relating to their progress within, or despite regulations.
Membership consisted of a chair appointed by the Academic Board from among its members; the Deputy Director of the Graduate Research School; twelve further members appointed by the Academic Board; two student members, nominated by the Guild of Students; and a Secretary. The first meeting of the committee was held on 10 November 1998, and meetings were held around three times a year.
One of the first responsibilities of the Committee was to discuss the future role of the Graduate Research School and its operation following the abolition of the Faculties and the Graduate Research Committee (see UB/COM/84 for minutes). Minutes of the first meeting of the Research Postgraduate Committee include a paper clarifying the role of the Graduate Research School, which was to concentrate on the recruitment and support of students while the Postgraduate Committees took responsibility for the procedural and regulatory aspects of postgraduate work
Minutes contain information about module and programme approval and regulations and examination regulations and procedures, as well as issues arising from the Academic Audit. The Committee also acted as a Progress Board for research students and received reports on student appeals, and therefore the minutes include some reserved business items relating to student matters. The other major role of the Committee was to consider Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) proposals and recommendations. It reviewed the University's Code of Practice in light of the publication of the QAA Code of Practice for Postgraduate Research Programmes, and minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 1999 contain copies of a QAA consultative paper on higher education qualifications frameworks, and a copy of a report entitled Quality Assurance Agency Programme Specification Proposals: a Policy Response. Minutes of the meeting held on 4 May 2000 include a copy of the QAA Quality Audit Report for the University of Birmingham, February 2000
Information papers are regularly included with minutes of meetings. Minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 1999 include a copy of University of Birmingham Viva voce guidelines for staff and students, and a copy of the Northern Universities Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer response to the QAA Consultation Paper on Qualification Frameworks. Minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2000 include copies of UK Council for Graduate Education reviews; and Northern Universities Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer (NUCCAT) conference report and assessment and credit project report.
Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2000 refer to a revision of the Committee's terms of reference. Progress Board business and policy development were to be separated, and the Progress Board function was to be removed from the remit of the Committee. The Taught Postgraduate Committee and Research Postgraduate Committee were to be merged, but this merger was deferred while the Taught Postgraduate Committee was developing regulations for taught postgraduate programmes. Minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2001 state that there should be joint meetings of the two committees during the academic session 2001-2002 to identify any potential difficulties with the merger, followed by a full merger for the academic session 2002-2003 if there were no problems. The meeting held on 18 June 2001 was probably the last before the trial merger. See UB/COM/123 for records of the merged Postgraduate Committee |