Agenda item

Report of the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received a report of the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama listing the activities of the Board during the last academic year including its consideration of two equality-strand analyses of the data for the 2014 entry admissions cycle and the 2013/14 assessment cycle.

The Chairman reminded the Board that the Academic Board had replaced the former Teaching and Learning Board and that this was therefore their first annual report to Governors.

The Vice Principal and Director of Academic Affairs of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama reported that, in academic terms, the past year had been a very positive one. The School had now awarded its first degrees, external examiners continued to be very impressed with the programme offer, there had been a very small number of formal student complaints and some strong degree outcomes.

In terms of student feedback on their learning experiences, the Vice Principal referred back to the fact that the agenda on this would clearly intensify as was highlighted within the Green Paper and proposals around the introduction of a TEF. The Board were informed that the School’s efforts on widening participation here and getting all to understand the importance of such surveys going forward would continue.

In response to questions regarding the various student surveys, the Vice Principal stated that the National Student Survey (NSS) contained a standard set of questions for across the sector. These therefore often have to be interpreted by Guildhall School students to be of direct relevance to their courses. The Whole School Survey (WSS) was, however, an internal questionnaire open to all years to complete.

A Governor questioned whether the School were currently employing the best strategies regarding the employability of its students. The Vice Principal recognised that there was still more work to do here in terms of ‘joining up’ existing initiatives and improving internal communication. She went on to highlight that, unfortunately, the School had performed below its HESA benchmark for work or further study at undergraduate level for the last two years. She stated that this was a particular concern if it were to become a metric in the new TEF.

In response to further questions on student employability, the Board were informed that of 9,300 alumni, 87% were employed in the creative industries and that many graduates also went on to teach as part of their careers.

A Governor stated that it would be beneficial for the Board of Governors to have more frequent interaction with Academic Board issues going forward and asked what the key points for Governors to note post TDAP were at present. The Vice Principal welcomed this input and went on to state that it would be important for the Board to monitor the way in which the School were now overseeing all of its own processes post TDAP given that this had presented staff with considerable additional work that was now more widely spread.

The Vice Principal went on to state that some of the Schools new programmes and the business models for these would also need to be strengthened going forward, particularly those with smaller cohorts. Finally, she highlighted that it would be useful for the Board of Governors to look at the issue of student recruitment going forward.

RESOLVED – That, the Board note the contents of the report.