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Humanities Faculty Plan – 2016

Faculty of Humanities Plan and Strategy 2016

Part One – Overview

A: Overall Strategy

(a) IntroductionThis has been another good year for the Humanities Faculty as we seek to build on previous good work. Undergraduate teaching remains strong and our UG applications have increased through most parts of the Faculty. Our PG numbers have also increased in parts of the Faculty in a nationwide climate where applications are falling in some subjects. Research applications (number and total value) for 2014-15 went up, and awards for this year show an improvement on last year. We are increasing our engagement with colleagues and organisations outside of the HE sector year on year, with many relationships bearing real fruit. A number of other successes are mentioned in the rest of this document.

We echo something from last year’s plan. We believe that much of our strength lies in the positive atmosphere and high morale that has been created and sustained within the Faculty. The Dean and Faculty team attach the highest priority to maintaining staff morale. Without it, nothing else can happen. It is clear that the Faculty is an entity that matters to its staff, something to which they can relate and something they care about. This is shown by the cooperation between our Schools on a variety of different initiatives, and by the number of colleagues who apply for Faculty–level posts. We continue to believe that this atmosphere of cooperation will be of increasing importance over the next few years as we are challenged on a number of fronts, particularly with finances under great pressure.

We also repeat something central in last year’s plan. If there is one phrase that marks the past few years within the Faculty it is ‘realistic ambition’. We need to know where we are and what we can realistically achieve, whilst still being bold enough on a number of fronts to challenge others and lead. Whilst it is our Schools and subjects that, in the main, will be and should be known by various communities, we do not shy away from the thought that the Faculty itself should be known for various aspects of its work. This overarching idea continues into this year’s plan. (b) Vision(i) The Faculty welcomes the new Institutional Plan, 2015-2020. As always, we seek to push ahead on all three fronts: research, education and engagement. Our Faculty plan, our Schools’ plans, and the activity that lie behind all seven documents show our drive and energy. More details are provided of our work and achievements throughout the rest of this document, but some overview is required.

Our Faculty is confident in its abilities to deliver world-class education across a large range of disciplines and sub-fields, confident in the large amount of exciting research and scholarship that it produces, and strongly engaged with others across the HE sector and beyond. We believe that as we move closer to 2020 we will be known increasingly as one of the leading faculties in the UK for our arts and heritage work. The Humanities Faculty is open and transparent, and we look for leadership from all quarters and at all levels.

We repeat from last year’s plan the following thoughts. “It is clear that in a period when finances are tight, and tight because of increased competition around the sector, then it will be our ideas that set us apart. We will also have to be determined and focused enough to see those ideas succeed, and we will need to balance our ability to generate and sustain ideas with all of our ongoing commitments.” In last year’s plan we gave two examples to illustrate these thoughts. We update both examples here.

The Dean and others are developing a vision and strategy across the whole University for Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH). A colleague from Arts Council England is on secondment with us and the Gulbenkian during 2016 to help with this. Developing a vision of what the Faculty and

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University can achieve over the next five, ten, twenty years regarding ACH is of paramount importance to us: we see it as having central application across research (including impact and public engagement), education (especially UG and PG placements) and engagement (working with various organisations, from the local to the international, offering various secondment opportunities). We anticipate presenting a final vision and strategy document during Autumn 2016. Modest bids to help support our vision will be made so as to cement activity and encourage more. The Faculty is already playing a full role in many formal activities involving ACH in the county, and we will continue to play a leading role in Canterbury’s potential bid for European Capital of Culture 2023. Initial discussions with our colleague from ACE tell us that whilst there are many individual ACH activities that a range of universities pursue, no university has anything approaching a coordinated vision for their work, and so there is the potential for Kent to be genuinely pioneering.

Internationalisation: the past two years have seen the Faculty and all Schools refresh their efforts to increase the international mobility of the student body and to increase our recruitment of overseas students. During 2015-16 around 250 Humanities students went abroad for study or work through various schemes organized through IP. Architecture, Arts and SMFA have been working in concert for a while to pool resources regarding international recruitment, whilst English, History and SECL have been doing so for less time but with increasing success. We all believe that putting time and energy into international recruitment is worth it for long-term benefit. The coordinated internationalisation of Faculty personnel and our research is also an important emerging issue. We repeat an idea from last year: it would be beneficial to have a University team or office that catered specifically for visiting academics, and we think that more should be done to increase the range of bursaries for visiting fellowships. Lastly, we are strongly committed to the success of our European Centres and see them as pivotal to the long-term future of the University. We have recently been working with the European Office and FPA in order to make clear how they are financed in order to encourage growth and investment from our Schools. Below we indicate how we see the Centres growing over the next few years.

Whilst welcoming the new institutional Plan and the clarity it provides, the Faculty and our Schools would welcome a discussion concerning the various recruitment targets included in the Plan, what they mean for our subjects, and how the size and shape of our various student constituencies will change as we move towards 2020. (ii) The SchoolsIn January the Dean sent letters to all six Schools indicating the Faculty’s priorities from now until 2020. Whilst other factors are part of the Institutional Plan, we regard the issues listed below as crucial and core.

ensure that your School is in a good financial state, and that it can meet the savings targets set by the University as a minimum;

maintain or increase (as relevant) student recruitment, in all aspects. We should also aim to increase average UG entry tariff whenever possible;

maintain or increase (as relevant) NSS scores, and pay attention to other relevant teaching metrics, in anticipation for the TEF that is very likely to be introduced soon;

ensure excellent preparation for a future REF across all three main areas: outputs, impact and environment. We want to ensure over the coming year that all UoAs have concrete plans and activity relating to their proposed impact case studies, with relevant data being collected. We also need to see an increase in external grant income, at least twofold, both in absolute terms and per research member of staff compared with REF2014. You should also ensure that all research staff are making at least one quality application for external grant income every year;

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ensure that PhD completion rates continue to increase. Allied to this PRES and PTES scores should also see increases;

ensure that we continue to increase staff and student international mobility; ensure that our centres in Athens, Paris and Rome flourish; begin or continue to prepare for an application for an Athena SWAN Bronze award, which now

includes all colleagues (academic, administrative, technical).

The Dean also mentioned the importance of student experience and academic community, and reiterated the importance of keeping staff morale high. Schools were given individual targets also.

The Faculty has been and continues to be acutely aware of the workload pressures that all colleagues are under, the Dean having convened working groups on workload and WAMs in 2013-14 and 20-14-15. We repeat a sentiment from last year: “We think that the University should balance any ambition it has with a recognition that not all colleagues can deliver on all fronts. Further, it is vital to our long-term health and flourishing that we recognize that Kent has got to where it is by developing a friendly, hard-working atmosphere that respects academic endeavour and freedom. In the current HE sector the Faculty is clear that this will be something that both helps to set us apart and enables us to recruit the best people.”

(c) Notable Specific Points for current year and 2016-17For reports on last year’s ‘Notable Specific Points’, please see the Progress Report. Recruitment All Schools to work hard to maintain and increase UG numbers, and increase PG numbers All Schools to work hard to increase UG average entry tariff International recruitment growing, with plans underway to develop further All Schools to refresh recruitment and marketing strategies during 2016-2017, with attention paid

to all aspects (international, outreach, etc.). Refreshment of all strategies occurred during 2015-16.

UG Teaching• Various new programmes ready to launch and to be readied during 2016-17 Review engagement with PMAS in Summer 2016 Further progress of Schools’ e-learning strategies during 2015-16, with all ready to move to online

marking where appropriate for 2016-17. Continue to support cross-Faculty BA in Liberal Arts; SECL now ‘holds’ half the recruitment target Review NSS results in early Autumn 2016, as per normal Dean to convene University Curriculum and Programme Design and Delivery task and finish group

PG Teaching and Supervision Various new programmes ready to launch and to be readied during 2016-17 Review engagement with PMAS in Summer 2016 Schools continuing to roll-out online marking for PGT Review PRES & PTES results in Autumn 2016, as per normal New internal CHASE arrangements put in place; Dean on BGP3 working group Encourage new Sklodowska-Curie Action European Joint Programme application, building upon

TEEME Dean to convene University Curriculum and Programme Design and Delivery task and finish group

Student Experience Deputy Dean new lead for student experience; new Faculty committee to begin in Autumn 2016

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Various initiatives at Faculty and School level: 3MT continuation as University-wide event; renewed emphasis on employability with increased placement terms and years, and spread of various internship modules; growing number of events and trips; increased involvement of alumni.

European Centres Paris finances to be made transparent by end of 2015-16 Athens, Paris, Rome: increasing use as research centres Paris: new MAs to be launched. Five year-long programmes begun. New programmes under

development Paris: encourage relations with Columbia Rome: new MAs being discussed (Architecture, Religious Studies) Athens: new longer-term MOU arrangement likely soon; internal admin. and financial

arrangements sorted

Research, Impact, Innovation and Public Engagement• Individual REF UoA monitoring every January, with action plans for each REF co-ordinator• Faculty Research and PE Festival happened in Summer 2015 Questions of Space PE festival at Canterbury Cathedral June 2016; likely to be an annual event Beacon projects continue: Projections March 2016, Stand-up Archive thriving; Tensegritree

erected First three Faculty ‘Grant Weeks’ in 2015-16, plus similar events in English Faculty Practice-as Research network continues Increase in AHRC PRC members during 2015-16, building on an increase during 2014-15 Faculty Director of PE role firmly embedded, with three School DoPEs (Arts, English, History)

appointed in Summer 2015 and one more to come in 2016 (SECL).

Internationalisation• Internationalisation website launched in Summer 2015 Faculty strategy of groupings for various recruitment work embedded New student mobility opportunities in all Schools to be pursued Increase in School funds for internationalization work

Staffing, Human Resources and Working Environment• Deputy Dean and three Associate Dean posts all filled and begun on 1st August 2015. WAMs in all six Schools under annual review and signed off by the Dean History readying for Athena SWAN Bronze application in November 2016. All other Schools now

actively participating. ISPs – bedded down in Schools

Finances• Every School to break even or better by 2019-20.

B: Timeline and Milestones See separate Appendix A for the key milestones across the current year and next four years.

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C: Financial Sustainability The financial position of the Schools and the Faculty is thus

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Outturn 14-15 in terms of RAM position

Outturn 14-15 as a % of Total income

Performance against budget 14-15

Carry Forward position end of 14-15

Revised Budget for 15-16

Revised Budget for 15-16 as % of Total Income (FIN2 - Dec 2015)

Estimated Performance against YE Budget (after adjusting for Central Charges)

Strategic investment

Agreed CFWD spend

KSA (197,225) -4.47% (14,181) (69,427) 163,834 3.24% 5,476

Arts 33,400 0.41% 141,594 539,471 (29,254) -0.35% 741 23,384

English 283,953 3.51% (155,879) 38,024 246,735 3.01% (170,396)

SECL 305,003 2.35% 389,139 842,992 257,316 1.88% 585,146 30,000

History 1,044,023 13.17% 43,396 413,741 741,310 9.37% (82,959)

SMFA (1,062,257) -34.94% 8,255 107,853 (1,069,099) -34.82% 6,049

Faculty budget 12,353 (16,788) 146,228 (49,145) 27,275

This year’s FPA projections for each School – as presented in the FIN2 papers for Planning (+ive represents a surplus, -ive a deficit) - are as follows:

Projection 2016-17: year 1



KSA 431,098 510,917 471,167

Arts 461,181 585,822 641,406

English 298,746 434,386 495,206

SECL 551,238 726,204 720,725

History 692,388 689,525 792,028

SMFA -1,044,718 -1,146,574 -1,192,401

These are based on the SNPs from PBIO, agreed staff list position and roll forward budgets from 2015-16. The projected RAM surpluses and deficits quoted here and below do not include the capital charge, as per FIN2s presented at the 2015-16 Planning meetings.

Commentary5


Architecture: Having slipped into deficit in 2014-15, and with a projected deficit for 2015-16 last year, KSA has taken hold of its finances and has turned itself around markedly. The Planning meeting saw projected RAM surpluses for the next three years of: £430k / 8.2% [2016-17]; £510k / 9.3% [2017-18]; and £471k / 8.5% [2018-19]. KSA has also gone from strength to strength in its application figures, with large increases posted during the current cycle. However, due to the space constraints of the subject, KSA finds it hard to capitalise on these applications financially, although it can seek to increase average entry tariff and it is still moving to a position of 2/3 Home/EU, 1/3 OS. Savings have been identified for this year and beyond. Note: KSA has got itself back into a stronger financial position to make credible bids for two essential posts, one of which – an academic post in Digital Architecture - is left over from last year.

Arts: Arts has improved its projected position this current year from (projected) deficit of around £240k to near break-even. The Planning meeting saw projected RAM surpluses for the next three years of: £461k / 5.1% [2016-17]; £586k / 6.2% [2017-18]; and £641k / 6.5% [2018-19]. This is based on increasing student numbers, which is realistic given the rise in applications this year and the professionalization of the marketing and admissions office in the School. At time of writing Arts was in discussion with FPA about how to achieve its savings targets. Their budget is very tight with savings largely dependent on ad hoc events and activities (e.g. unexpected staff unpaid leave). Arts’ GR non-pay was set a number of years ago for a School that has grown by roughly 50% over the intervening period. They have cut back dramatically on their spend in this line, but they still overspend ever year because of the inadequate budget. (See also English below.) The Dean, Head, HoA, SAM and FPA will discuss in readiness for next year. Looking ahead expenditure will grow because of the costs of Arts’ staff base. English: Recruitment of students is good within English, with an increase of applications this year, and this helps to feed into a healthy financial situation. The Planning meeting saw projected RAM surpluses for the next three years of: £299k / 3.7% [2016-17]; £434k / 5.2% [2017-18]; and £495k / 5.7% [2018-19]. As with Arts, English’s GR non-pay was set a number of years ago for a School that has grown by roughly 50% over the intervening period. They have cut back dramatically on their spend in this line, but they still overspend ever year because of the inadequate budget. The Dean, Head, HoA, SAM and FPA will discuss in readiness for next year. Savings have been identified for this year and beyond.

SECL: SECL is in a healthy financial situation. We are predicting a large positive variance by end of 2015-16 mainly because of unfilled vacancies, underspends in part-time teaching, and non-pay. The Planning meeting saw projected RAM surpluses for the next three years of: £551k / 4.0% [2016-17]; £726k / 5.0% [2017-18]; and £721k / 4.9% [2018-19]. SECL has made great strides in recent years in cutting its part-time teaching expenditure and in meeting its UG admissions target. Its very large increase in QR following REF2014 has also helped. Below the headlines there are some imbalances, financial and other, across the various subjects that constitute SECL, and the School is working hard to smooth those. Savings have been identified for this year and beyond.

History: History is also looking very healthy. We are predicting a large outturn for 2015-16. The Planning meeting saw projected RAM surpluses for the next three years of: £692k / 8.7% [2016-17]; £690k / 8.5% [2017-18]; and £792k / 9.4% [2018-19]. UG recruitment is routinely healthy and applications are again good this year. Savings have been identified for this year and beyond.

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SMFA: SMFA’s projected position for 2015-16 is around £1m deficit. Throughout this year they have exercised great financial restraint and come in on budget (approx. £6k positive variance). The Planning meeting saw projected RAM deficits for the next three years of: -£1,045k / -32.5% [2016-17]; -£1,147k / -36.3% [2017-18]; and -£1,192k / -37.2% [2018-19]. They will meet this year’s savings target. They are working with FPA to identify what they can do to meet next year’s.

The overall financial situation is, needless to say, profoundly worrying. The key way in which the School can change its financial future is by increasing UG recruitment dramatically, which the whole School knows. (Student number projections and hence financial projections reflect current reality, not the required increase.) Plans have been in place for a while to increase student recruitment following a review of the School in Autumn 2015. The School plans to give up some space to central timetabling. Other plans are also in place. The Faculty is planning a co-ordinated series of interventions in the coming six months to help the School succeed, working with colleagues in EMS, HR, IS and Finance. We await this year’s NSS results, but we hope they will show improvement.

Faculty: this year, as last, the Faculty has exercised as tight a control as it can on its finances, although keeping control of the costs of our European Centres has been a concern as it was last year. (From next year Schools will pay for the travel and accommodation costs of teaching staff in Paris and Rome which will alter the picture dramatically.) We have little flexibility in our budget and so have met our 2015-16 savings target from our research and internationalisation budgets. We will do the same next year.

Overall: it is clear that the following years will be challenging, but that five of our six Schools are in a good state to meet that challenge. Four general themes have emerged from our discussions.

(i) The space charging system is a concern for three of our six Schools (KSA, Arts and SMFA). The entire Faculty welcomes FPA’s stated aim to review what goes into the space charge. We would also encourage FPA to consider different rates of charge depending on the amount Schools have to use given what they are expected to teach and how they research. (The Head of KSA is going to discuss this matter with FPA.)

(ii) Schools are keen to spend some of their REF rewards. (SECL has a particularly strong case given that its massive increase in QR has been shown to be largely due to an increase in quality rather than quantity.) Whilst the entire Faculty agrees that we must be financially prudent, we do think that consideration should be given to investment in readiness for the next REF, where in all likelihood UoAs will have to justify how they have spent their QR, especially if they have experienced large increases.

(iii) It is clear that no matter what the state of the bottom line is, all of our Schools have very tight budgets, with little slack to be found. We are confident that savings targets will be met, both for 2016-17 and beyond, but even so Heads and SAMs are aware that they will face some difficult decisions in the future about what to cut to achieve targets.

(iv) As mentioned, UG applications are very healthy in many of our Schools and subjects. However, as we point out in Part Two, Section A, EMS has been under great pressure this year in processing applications. We note that if Schools are to capitalise financially, and educationally, on increased student applications, then the University must put resources in place to achieve this.

Lastly, we are grateful that last year’s student number projection formula has been dropped. This year’s financial projections are far more credible.

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Part Two A – Operational Plan

A: Student Recruitment and Admissions

(a) 2015 UG AdmissionsThe following table shows adj. headcount. This is for Home/EU only. See (c) for International.

UG STUDENTS – HOME/EU NEW

FT UG ADMISSIONS as @ 1 December AVERAGE ENTRY TARIFF

SCHOOL Target 2014

Actual 2014

Target 2015

Actual 2015 SCHOOL 2013 2014 2015

Architecture 99 80 89 79 Architecture 403 401 411

Arts 225 188 208 231 Arts 364 350 341

English 210 203 196 198 English 365 360 337

History 186 211 163 188 History 379 364 348

SECL 346 346 341 339 SECL 339 332 317

American Studies 29 25 26 31 American

Studies 334 303 276

SMFA 97 87 94 90 SMFA 333 361 298

Hums Total 1192 1140 1117 1154Cant. 362 353 338

Medway 333 361 298

There are two important points to note about this table: There is some variation across our Schools regarding admissions numbers (and in some cases the

target was revised during the cycle). Overall there is good performance regarding admissions, with Arts doing very well. Current figures suggest that 2016 will be good for many of our subjects.

Tariff continues to fall and is a concern, although this is true in many Humanities subjects across many universities in all parts of the sector.

Two more general points are worth making: As last year, the climate continues to be challenging one, with continued high competition for UGs

in a declining demographic, and continued pressure from the Russell Group in some subject areas. That many of our subjects have seen an increase in applications during 2015-16 is testament to the hard work of many people within our Schools and the University.

EMS and our Schools have experienced significant difficulties and delays in the processing of applications in the present cycle, even if at time of writing EMS has managed to process more applications than it did last year. These delays have resulted in the withdrawal of some applicants, and have moreover caused other applicants to miss out on invitations to applicant days, which has meant a loss of conversion potential. Further, this has had a negative impact on international recruitment with some agents highlighting that decisions have not been received in the timeframe expected. We need to ensure that this does not affect us next year. We request that the University think about investment in application processing in EMS as a matter of high priority.

(b) 2015 PG Admissions8


FT PGT numbers have increased across the Faculty. PGR is more variable; with smaller numbers this is to be expected. All Schools wish to recruit more quality PGR students. The following shows adj. headcount.

PG ADMISSIONS - Home and Overseas – as at 1st DecemberSCHOOL 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

FT PGT

Arts 50 53 75English 45 53 50

SECL 66 80 69History 38 16 27

American St. 0 1 2MEMS 15 8 14

Architecture 10 10 31SMFA 9 6 19

FT PGT Total 233 227 287

PT PGT

Arts 5 9 6English 9 12 14

SECL 6 10 6History 4 2 2



PT PGT Total 32 42 37

FT PGR


SECL 10 20 9History 11 8 9



FT PGR Total 67 71 56

PT PGR


SECL 6 4 1History 1 2 4MEMS 0 0 0


PT PGR Total 16 18 12Humanities Grand

Total 348 358 380

(c) International Recruitment

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The following table shows adj. headcount. Again we have a varied picture, although PGT is by and large positive for the Faculty, albeit from a small base. During 2016-17 Schools and the Faculty will have plans in place, some refreshed, to help improve numbers across all areas.

ACADEMIC SCHOOL

OVERSEAS ADMISSION TRENDS (adjusted headcount as at 1st December)

FT UG New FT PGT New FT PGR New

2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015

Architecture 22 32 39 9 6 19 2 1 2

Arts 16 23 16 17 17 28 4 2 0

English 8 9 8 9 12 10 2 4 9

History 2 6 7 5 2 4 1 1 1

SECL 14 26 23 11 22 23 2 4 0

SMFA 20 16 6 4 2 6 0 0 0

American Studies 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

MEMS 0 0 0 2 2 1 6 5 0

Hums Total 84 112 99 57 63 92 18 17 12

(d) StrategyHome/EU UGSchools and the Faculty Recruitment and Outreach SIG continue to rethink Applicant days and other events to ensure that we put ourselves in the best possible light. A humanities@kent day was introduced in the Autumn term. This event enabled subject-focused activity (with provision for JH crossover). Invitees had not necessarily already applied to Kent (it was early in the cycle) but provisional evidence suggests a high conversion rate from the event. New liaison activities with schools and sixth forms are constantly coming forth. Many Schools have moved to a system whereby recruitment is conducted by a dedicated team, with appropriate reduction of workload in other areas. School plans for this year include for the first time a quantitative, goal-driven strategy with defined priorities.

We encourage the University to push ahead with three activities of major importance for UG and other recruitment.

Now that programme details have migrated away from School pages to the online prospectus, the University must prioritise the attractiveness of this resource. Pictures and student testimonials are needed.

The University must ensure that EMS is able to carry out its mission-critical functions, i.e. the processing of all applications in a timely fashion.

The University should establish a clear strategy, possibly in conjunction with other HEIs, to combat the Russell Group brand. This was highlighted in the previous plan.

International RecruitmentThe Faculty continues to build on its international recruitment work. Architecture and Arts continue to lead the way. Their steady investment in the past years has paid off with the steady growth of

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applications from international students. Asian markets have proven to be particularly successful for them, and visits this year have included Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India. SMFA has been trying to catch up and to continue to work with Arts to ensure they can capitalise from their success. This year the Faculty has supported SMFA with trips to Asia, Europe and the United States; this will set up partnerships aimed at providing a pipeline for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Schools of English, History and SECL have once again pooled their funds to focus on the markets that have been identified as most important: India, Norway, Hong Kong and the United States. They have begun to see return to their investment. This year each School has contributed £3k and this has so far covered trips to the United States, Oslo, India and will pay for trips to Hong Kong and Japan. The aim has been once again to work with IR attending recruitment fairs in the case of Oslo, Hong Kong and Washington. The trip to India was aimed to work with partners and to increase the brand recognition for Kent with talks by a colleague from History. Next year the aim will be to do a similar tour of India with English. This is a way to find focus in this large and diffuse market where the aim is to target postgraduate students. The trip to Japan is more exploratory to see what the potential might be for undergraduate students, but the work will also concentrate with partners in Tokyo and ISE with a view to recruit postgraduates at a moment when the climate for the Humanities is becoming more complicated and difficult in Japan. All Schools are developing a School-level international recruitment strategy that will complement the Faculty’s. The new Dean for Internationalisation has set up a working group to identify what is international in our curriculum. Members of several of our Schools have participated and this has continued to feed into reflection about how we can attract overseas students through our educational offerings. The possibility of studying for MAs at Paris, Rome and Athens continues to be an attractive feature for overseas students, especially for those who do not have another language outside of English. Schools have continued to increase their international funds which will allow colleagues to go on recruitment trips, with matching teaching cover back at home. The short-term strategy is to bring new students, but in the longer term the plan is to embed us in markets and to raise awareness of what our Faculty does.

B: Undergraduate Studies(a) UG Academic PortfolioThe Faculty is committed to maintaining a simple, relevant and vibrant UG portfolio. All Schools keep under review their UG provision to maintain their appeal, and we welcome the review of curriculum design and delivery being undertaken across 2016. New programmes were approved in this past year, such as Media Arts, French (Paris), Classical Studies, JH World Literature, JH Asian Studies and English Studies, and Ancient, Medieval and Modern History. We have a number of other programmes likely to be developed during 2016-17 for Sept. 2017 entry, such as Classics with a Year in Rome. We restate our commitment to BA in Liberal Arts, with the Dean now chairing its Steering Group and with many of our subjects contributing.

Both English and Arts had successful PPRs, with very heartening feedback on their activities. SECL has just had its PPR in Comp. Lit, Modern Languages and Linguistics and is awaiting formal confirmation, but had very positive oral feedback.

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(b) Enhancement of UG Learning and Teaching

(i) NSS and TEFThe following two tables show recent NSS trends for satisfaction rates and rankings.

NSS SATISFACTION RATES

Score for Q22 ("Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the

course")

Total number of Questions (out of 23) in top quarter

School Subject Area 2013 2014 2015 2015

ArtsCinematics and Photography 94 92 93 12

Drama 92 97 81 1

English English studies 88 94 91 4

SECL

Archaeology 89 93 100 6

Classics 89 90 100 9

Comp. Literary Studies 94 98 87 5

French studies 92 95 86 4

German& Scandinavian studies 79 96 - -

Iberian studies 91 98 85 2

Italian studies 72 - 82 6

Linguistics 83 93 85 2

Philosophy 88 99 95 7

Theology & Rel. Studies 100 96 88 1

History History 96 92 93 3

Am. Studies American & Australasian studies 100 72 92 5

KSA Architecture 84 95 92 8

SMFA

Fine Art 69 79 81 1

Music 38 28 53 0

Others in Creative Arts and Design 69 100 85 2

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NSS RANKINGS Rank for Q22Number of

institutions in subject area

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School Subject Area 2013 2014 2015 2015

ArtsCinematics and Photography 2 3 6 64

Drama 23 12 49 73

English English studies 58 17 50 100

Archaeology 15 10 1 25

Classics 16 14 1 21

Comparative Literary studies 4 1 4 6

SECL French studies 3 8 31 50

German and Scandinavian studies 1 14 -

Iberian studies 7 1 28 49

Italian studies 8 - 15 47

Linguistics 11 9 17 30

Philosophy 21 4 13 49

Theology and Religious studies 2 5 20 32

History History 26 26 31 90

Am.Studies American and Australasian studies 2 14 8 20

KSA Architecture 34 4 13 47

Fine Art 35 30 34 56

SMFA Music 57 58 68 68

Others in Creative Arts and Design 4 3 12 15

Some of our subjects retain fairly high rankings and scores in the NSS, and most programmes across the Faculty are achieving satisfactions on Q.22 between 85% and 100%. Following increases in the recent past, we are also aware that small changes can impact substantially on rankings and that the competition within the sector will continue to be high, especially now that the TEF is likely to take NSS results as one of its main indicators. While small changes in satisfaction resulted in disappointing drops in ranks in a number of our subjects, Archaeology and Classics notably improved. (Behind these headlines, there were some

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notable improvements for some of our subjects in various theme areas.) In response to the latest results, each subject has identified specific target areas to work on for the next year, particularly in Assessment and Feedback and in Personal Development, where there is most scope for improvement. Plans on blended learning and e-learning technologies, which started to be put in place in the last year, will now be implemented more widely in anticipation of the incoming new NSS questions in 2017. The September NSS meetings with Dean and Associate Dean (L&T) to digest the results and produce action plans for Faculty approval are now a firm fixture in the calendar.

The Faculty and its Schools are mindful that applicants are looking at a wide variety of league tables and statistics relating to our programmes, including contact hours and employability statistics. The Faculty’s new Student Experience and Employability Committee will work hard to place our students in the best possible position when compared with graduates from our competitor institutions and will develop an integrated plan for work placements (both home and abroad), sandwich years and internships. Together with the forthcoming information on the details of the TEF, the Faculty will support each School in their development of an action plan. These expanded plans will address NSS, KIS, subject league table performance, employability skills and any other performance indicators that are announced.

(ii) Proportion of Good DegreesOur subjects achieved a good number of 1st and 2.1 degrees once again this year. We are confident that our overall picture remains respectable compared with national trends, and that we are not an outlier with too many 1sts awarded. As last year’s Plan indicated, this is under constant review to ensure that the increasing performance of our students remains credible.

(iii) Assessment and FeedbackOur main Faculty L&T theme for 2015-16 has been to enhance assessment and feedback procedures, including the deployment of on-line submission, marking and feedback. This is driven by the need to address the current NSS questions with most scope for improvement, to prepare for the TEF, and also to help match the expectations of many students and teaching staff. The assessment and feedback strategy is envisaged to articulate closely with the topic of e-learning technologies and their impact on student education and experience, already highlighted last year. Monitoring of returned assignments has shown that the great majority of staff are on board with the system. A few issues regarding punctuality are being resolved this year, but we are confident that the Faculty and its Schools are preparing well for the next generation of students.

The Faculty is working towards the harmonisation of word counts and assessment patterns per credit value across subjects, whilst recognising the importance of disciplinary differences. As part of this we are standardizing the presentation of information given to students so as to avoid unjustified discrepancies. Along similar lines, the Faculty has participated actively in the formal description of in-course tests in order to provide students with clear guidelines on what they involve and how they are going to be performed.

In the 2016-17 year the Faculty will discuss once again the assessment of the Year Abroad (including the current Pass/Fail system and/or the possibility of including marks obtained abroad in final transcripts) and will re-evaluate the role of the Academic Advisory system in order to improve results in NSS results relating to student performance and self-confidence.

(iv) E-learning technologiesThe use of Kentplayer has increased modestly in the Faculty so far. The Faculty wishes to see it taken up and used routinely, and this will be one of our key aims during 2016-17. The first implementation phase

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has highlighted the fact that many colleagues are more comfortable using audio lecture capture than full video recordings. It is therefore likely that future use will favour the former without discarding the latter.

An enhanced use of Moodle is now in place and Schools have made great strides towards standardising the appearance of their School and module pages, ensuring that core information is made clear and accessible. This process will continue and will enable us to help shape student expectations throughout their courses and to help them make informed module choices.

(v) Programme and Module ApprovalThe Faculty has formed a PMAS task group in order to use the current process in a simpler and easier way. PMAS leads to much frustration: modules and programmes often take too long to gain approval with too much activity that goes back-and-forth between Faculty and Schools. The Faculty is aware that the forthcoming TEF is likely to put even more pressure on the amount of time that academic and administrative staff will have available.

(vi) EDIArchitecture, SECL, and SMFA have taken part in the EDI project as pilot Schools and have discovered a great deal of useful data, and have acted on it in ways that benefit all students and staff. They hope that the same level of funding they have received so far will be maintained, so that they can continue with their current initiatives. The Faculty and our other Schools will continue to monitor the results of the project.

(vii) LibraryDiscussions about the process of renewal of CLA permits have taken place during 2015-16 and new procedures have now been put in place in order to act upon the routine renewals earlier in the academic cycle. We have also reached an understanding that there needs to be a system in place to allow for last minute adjustments for individual cohorts and for incoming academic staff. We fully support these initiatives. There will also be a refreshed look at reading lists in many of our modules following a survey conducted by Library colleagues. Lastly, we will continue to support our students and assist colleagues in the Library throughout the latest phase of the Library’s development.

C: Graduate StudiesWe comment on the European Centres in a sub-section below.

(a) PG Academic PortfolioThe Faculty has been working with all our Schools through 2015-16 in reviewing their provision of programmes and in setting up the aims and priorities for the future. This was informed by guidance issued from the Graduate School through the academic year. We remain fully aware of the competitive nature of the various PGT and PGR markets in which we operate. We are also aware of the importance that PTES and PRES results have for us. The October meeting where the Dean, Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) and School and subject representatives meet to discuss a PG action plan is a firm fixture of the calendar.

New MA programmes continue to be created (e.g. MA in Imperial History) and refreshed (e.g. MA in Drama). We continue to create new MA for our European Centres. A year-long MA programme in International History in Paris is under preparation for launch in 2017-18. English’s Paris provision will expand next year to include the new MA in the Contemporary and a new module in contemporary literature, following the introduction in 2015-16 of year-long programmes in English and American Literature and Creative Writing.

(b) Enhancement of PG Supervision, Learning and Teaching16


(i) CHASEThe second intake of CHASE students (thirteen in total) arrived in September 2015 and their experience of Kent and of the consortium has been very positive. For example, regular meetings to gain views have been organised, expenditure for travels, training and equipment have been given, and encouragement to participate in CHASE- and Kent-based activities courses.

The third round of CHASE scholarships completed in April 2016 and Kent again did respectably, gaining 5 awards (out of a total of around 50 across CHASE) which at time of writing has been increased to 7 studentships through match-funding; this represents a slight decrease on the previous two years, in keeping with patterns within CHASE across the partners. We reorganized our internal Kent selection process to select our quota of 25 applicants to send to CHASE-central for consideration so that there were fewer demands on staff time. The Faculty is grateful to the Graduate School for their help in organising the selection process. We shall again review the process in May with a view to gaining more studentships for Sept. 2017: the key point that has emerged is earlier training for staff and students in writing applications.

Kent, led by English, has organized the third CHASE Encounters conference to take place in Canterbury in early May.

Kent is important for CHASE’s Internationalization strategy and we are at the centre of the overall management of the consortium activities and plans for a BGP3 bid. There have been successful funding applications between colleagues at Kent and other CHASE institutions, including the successful grant for the ‘Mapping Narratives’ in the category of Doctoral Training and Development programmes. In the category of Network Building Fund Kent has won two grants: one for ‘Sexiness and Sexual Objectification: Images, Words, Deeds’ and the other for ‘Mapping Narratives’. The related events and activities are starting this Spring at the British Library and at Somerset House involving both university and non-HEI partners. We expect these initiatives to continue and grow over the next few years embracing new projects nationally and internationally.

(ii) Collaborative Doctoral AwardsThe Faculty has enjoyed some success this year (SECL won a CDP with English Heritage). The Faculty will continue to support and encourage such applications. We anticipate that the ACH vision and strategy will facilitate this more.

(iii) 2015 PTES, PRES and Student ExperienceThe overall satisfaction for Humanities PGT students was 86% (up 1% from 2014). (Social Sciences scored 89% and Sciences 85%.)

The main positive aspects that have emerged across the Faculty are: the ways in which students have been encouraged to ask questions and make contributions to taught courses; contributions to decision-making about how courses are run; increase in confidence to be innovative and creative across the course. Humanities PGT students were less satisfied with the support they received for planning their dissertation / major project and for the advance communication concerning the criteria used in marking. We shall continue to work on these areas to maintain good scores and improve weaker ones.

The overall satisfaction for Humanities PGR was 86% for Humanities. (Sciences scored 87% and Social Sciences 82%.) Many subjects in 2015 saw their overall PGR satisfaction increase, although there were some instances of decrease in satisfaction. Areas to work on with Schools and across the Faculty include: suitable working space; chances to teach and demonstrate; formal training for teaching; training for research skills; adequate provision of library facilities.

As mentioned elsewhere, the Dean and AD (GS) met with Schools and subjects in October to consider School action plans in relation to their PTES and PRES scores, with the AD going back to

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them through the year.

(iv) Checks on Standards and QualityIn addition to a continuing emphasis on the timely recording of student supervision and progress that has now improved, the quality of the overall student experience has been selected as a priority theme this year linking it to the Institutional Plan. There is now an improved communication with administrators and the AD (GS) has been relaying the issues regarding SDS / E-Vision to those responsible for the system and its replacement.

(v) The Vice Chancellor’s Research ScholarshipsThe Faculty strongly supports the continuation of these recently renamed scholarships, so as to attract the best PGR applicants and to help with submissions for the next REF. There is a great interest for these scholarships and we consistently attract high-quality applicants. We use these scholarships to make good on our commitment to match-fund our CHASE scholarships.

(vi) TEEME: Sklodowska-Curie Action European Joint Programme The Text and Event in Early Modern Europe (TEEME) programme has been successful in attracting excellent students and providing work-placements and internships at different cultural institutions in all four consortium countries. While TEEME funding runs out in 2015-16, the partner institutions are committed to reapplying for EU funding in 2016 under the Sklodowska-Curie Action European Joint Programme, the successor to Erasmus Mundus.

There is interest from other schools (Architecture, SECL) to prepare a working partnership with selected European universities and apply under this scheme in 2017. The forthcoming EU referendum is of concern as Brexit could stop most of these options in the future.

(vii) MEMSThe Director of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies Director has been fully in post for the second year attracting new colleagues and providing stability. A new Deputy has been appointed for 2016-17. MEMS is currently developing a new MA in Paris and has plans for a permanent post in future to teach Latin and palaeography.

(viii) Other IssuesThe AD (GS) has been in post since August 2015 and will continue to observe and evaluate PG conditions to ensure there is quality and parity for all PG students across the Faculty in regards to contact hours, preparation for teaching and research, PhD top-up funding, and timely constructive feedback.

The Faculty scheme for free language-learning courses for PG students continues to be very successful and noted in student feedback. We are currently in discussions with CEWL about charging models.

The Faculty has been working with the Graduate School to improve the PG Research Festival following student feedback. The Festival will now be for both PGT and PGR students and it will have a number of new activities including an enlarged 3MT competition and a high profile keynote speaker.

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(c) European Centres

(i) General The following are recent PGT student registrations.

ACADEMIC SCHOOL

EUROPEAN CENTRES ADMISSION TRENDS - (PG-T STUDENTS - headcount)

ATHENS PARIS ROME

2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015

Architecture 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0

Arts 0 0 0 8 14 8 0 2 5

English 0 0 0 9 12 13 0 0 0

History 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0

SECL 20 22 20 11 12 5 2 10 7

Hums Total 20 22 20 30 46 27 2 12 12

Registrations for 2015-16 have seen consolidation in Athens and Rome, and an unexpected decrease in Paris. While at time of writing of the previous plan Paris had 160 applications (up from 109 the previous year), a number of adverse conditions have affected the Centre’s successful outcome in 2015-16. A review was undertaken in Autumn 2015, with new plans and pricing structures agreed. We believe Paris is now back on track, especially with the appointment of a new and energetic Director. The number of applications looks far more promising again with 265 applications at end of April. There is a new interim Director at Athens replacing the current Director who is on research leave. The quantity of applications for Rome and Athens are similarly improving. (Rome = 42, Athens = 31 at end of April.) Increasing recruitment remains a strong priority. The Faculty is both maintaining existing provision and expanding programmes carefully and sustainably in order to attract more students: we keep to the main motto of recent years that we need to ensure that existing activities are given time to establish before we rush to offer a plethora of new programmes. In conjunction with that, the Faculty is prioritizing the development of Paris, Athens and Rome as research centres for the University by encouraging staff to take full advantage of them when applying for network grants and other funding involving local HEIs or local cultural organizations.

The Centre Directors for Paris and Rome have been invited to take part in CHASE Encounters to promote Kent’s Centres, while the Director for Rome attended the CHASE network building event for ‘Mapping Narratives’ in April. (ii) ResourcesThe Centres are at different phases of their individual development and they have different needs in terms of resources. The Faculty has been working with FPA and European administration to gain transparency for the finances of all three Centres, and we are confident in this regard for the future: Schools and the University will be able to see more easily what they get out for their investment.

There is an anomaly. The Paris Director’s buy-out is paid for by the University centre. This is not the case with Rome and Athens, which have differing models. The Faculty is bidding for these two Centre

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Director roles to be paid in the same way as the Paris Director, to enable growth in the European Centres and to ensure that Schools are not unfairly penalized by having a colleague in these roles.

(iii) AthensThe Faculty is committed to the improvement of Athens: the Heritage Management programme offered in Athens is considered to be one of the best in the field, and the work of one colleague there supplied an impact case study for REF2014. However, student numbers need to grow. In addition, we are aware that the Centre may require some additional restructuring in order to comply fully with the practices within the rest of the University. SECL, European Administration and FPA have been working on this since Summer 2015. We have extended our agreement with AUEB by one year whilst these internal matters are sorted.

(iv) Paris Paris has welcomed the new Director and his plan for the Centre, to include: an increase in the number of MA students, an increase in research activities (lecture series, conferences and related publications), and a closer relationship with Columbia. There are now year-long students who have commenced their programmes in 2015-16 and we plan to introduce more programmes. Investigations are being pursued about gradually extending our PhD programmes. A key aspect to the Directors’ work over the next three years will be to bring existing and any new programmes under a clear rationale and vision. There will likely be a name change to our activities here because of this, most probably to the ‘Paris School for Arts and Culture’, mirroring what happens in Brussels.

(v) Rome The association with AUR continues to be academically profitable, with negotiations ongoing to improve our already positive relationship. The number of programmes offered is growing carefully, and it is expected that Architecture and, possibly, English and Religious Studies will offer programmes that are in part taught in Rome along with Arts and SECL in the next two years.

D: Student Experience

We have organised discussions of student experience matters though Faculty and School LTCs and GSCs, with the Deputy Dean taking the lead, and the Associate Deans (L&T) and (GS) involved. Having established the terms of reference for student experience both at University and at Faculty level, we now plan to establish a Faculty Student Experience and Employability Committee, chaired by the Deputy Dean and reporting to the University’s Student Experience Board. The first formal meeting will be in Autumn 2016.

As we said last year, student experience is at the heart of how we see ourselves as a Faculty. We have added more initiatives to our themes of recent years (library, academic community, blended learning) by making a concerted push on internationalisation and electronic assessment. Looking ahead, our next big pushes will be: employability and placements, more international opportunities, and integration for all students especially those who may have less academic and cultural ‘capital’. The student success project has been important to all of Schools, particularly our three pilots. It has brought forth very interesting data, and many interesting innovations and activities have been created as a result. Some of our Schools have bids in to continue and improve on the excellent work that has already happened. We ask that the University think hard about how the whole project can be sustained in the long-term.

Some of the many examples of current and foreseen initiatives at School level include: Architecture – work continues with students and staff on the long-term aim of Bring Your Own Device,

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many field trips at home and abroad continue, enhancement of annual mini career fair for all students; Arts – integrate the successful ‘What’s Next?’ programme into the curriculum, creation of GTA coordinator, develop and launch a suite of professional development workshops for PGs. English – the new SE officer is bedding in well, various field trips, activities and events continue although the plan is to have fewer but higher-profile events to help cement the sense of an entire School community, leading on a Faculty-wide PG festival in Paris and leading on the CHASE Encounters conference in May. SECL – expand its study abroad offerings in parts of Asia and N. and S. America, focus on the transition between stages and between UG and PG, ramp up use of lecture capture, ensure that all PGRs are fully part of the research culture of the Schools’ various centres. History – building on last year’s events and establishment of a School SE committee, attention has turned to explore transitional skills for first year students. SMFA – a whole host of activities and events, many student-led; the Delta project has cemented and created various partnership exchanges (our students going to the US, US students coming here), and the first summer school has been created to run in Summer 2016.

Internationalisation of current students remains of prime importance for the Faculty, and we work closely with IP. New exchanges and international placements come on stream all the time, with a desire from Faculty and students for more. Our Student International Mobility Fund is so successful that, as last year, funds were spent by the middle of the Spring Term, with a huge number of small and longer trips funded across all six Schools. Our new internationalisation website was launched in Summer 2015. This is designed to showcase all of the trips we run, with blogs and vlogs, photos, etc. We will seek to add content to the website in the coming years and use it as a marketing tool, both for potential students and for existing student to show them what they can do during their studies.

E: Research, Public Engagement and Enterprise

(a) Overview2015-16 has been dominated by digesting and reviewing the REF2014 results and putting into place actions arising from these, led by the Dean and our new Associate Dean (Research and Innovation). The Faculty’s own January UoA reviews are now an established part of the annual cycle, gelling with the University’s review. We will continue to meet every January, augmented by constant discussions throughout the year. We will use metrics responsibly, including altmetrics to help understand the impact and trajectories of research publications. We have every intention of maintaining our high REF results and improving on all others, and we have put clear plans in place to achieve this, at both Faculty and School level.

This reviewing has been set against a background of financial constraints across the University and in Schools. This clearly puts a brake on some ambitions. Humanities contributed some £1.7m to the increase in QR of £3m that the University gained following REF2014. Whilst people accept that much of this money has been spent on staff pre-REF2014, some of this QR was gained by an increase in quality and there has been some disappointment that there has been no significant QR return to Schools. The Faculty is working hard to avoid any negativity around this and has plans in place to develop what we already have. But some investment will be necessary in the build up to the next REF census date.

With that said, the Faculty’s research is in a very good state, with our UoAs and Schools well primed to meet some of the key targets and main challenges in the University’s Research Strategy. Schools and individuals are raising their game and ambition, and the key messages are beginning to get through: focus on quality not quantity, realise the importance of impact, develop capacity for 4* outputs, and submit larger funding applications. This increased ambition is reflected in some very dynamic School Plans. There is good communication among the DoRs in the Faculty, although there is still some uncertainty about support/networks for UoA REF coordinators across the University as they can fall

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through the gaps. A Faculty pre-REF review meeting in Humanities for UoA coordinators circumvented this mismatch.

We have also pushed forward during this year with various initiatives at Faculty level: the establishment of grant-writing weeks; various public engagement and impact events; changes to various funding schemes at Faculty and School level. This is alongside the huge variety of large and small academic conferences and other events and projects that occur throughout the year. Whilst it may be true that the Faculty does a great deal with comparatively smaller amounts of money, we have large ambitions. We want to ensure that we do not lose good staff or suffer from declining morale, and we are committed to building on our past achievements. The energy of our plans and the pride in what we do can hopefully be detected in the following aims and developments.

It should also be made clear that whilst we have focused on REF planning in this overview, and below, we take seriously the idea that our research environment and atmosphere is about far more than just the REF. The University Research Strategy talks about making research fun. We couldn’t agree more: we care about all research staff producing stimulating, ground-breaking work that they enjoy producing and in which they take pride.

(b) External FundingRaising our external grant funding is a key Faculty priority, as much as a University one. We are mindful of the Faculty of Social Sciences’ evaluation that it is not so much the number of awards that is a problem, with success rates similar to other comparator universities, but the amount being applied for. We believe that this applies equally to Humanities. We are therefore looking for concrete ways to address this shortfall. Schools have devised various plans and schemes in recent years in order to do this, and some of that work is bearing fruit this year. We are seeing refreshed schemes planned for next year. At Faculty level we have set up an ERC incentivisation scheme and will continue to assess current needs and how best to deploy our expertise in the coming year, focused on targets in the Institutional Plan. Our three grant-writing weeks during 2015-16 have already led to a number of submitted grants and our first awards. English also run their own weeks to supplement the Faculty’s. The Faculty is also represented well in the reformed University Peer Review College.

One way of submitted more large and quality applications is localised advice and support to mesh with that provided with Research Services. The benefit of having funding or research support officers in four of our six Schools has already become very apparent. We are therefore aiming for each School to have such a role in the longer term, even if this can’t be achieved in all schools in 2016-17. Four applications above or almost at £1m have been submitted by March 2016, including three to the ERC; at least two more such large scale applications are pending. Although the AHRC and Leverhulme are our main target bodies, we are diversifying our application streams and will continue to do so, with an emphasis on attracting large European funding, potentially submitting one or two Horizon 2020 Collaborative bids in 2017. We will thereby raise expectations about what a large grant is in the Humanities and make some headway against our competitors. We are delighted that from 11 outline applications a scholar from History was selected for the University to go forward to the Leverhulme Research Leadership Award, building on History’s success in 2012. Taken together, these factors all show a preparedness and eagerness to seek large ambitious grants, a capacity we will continue to support and develop.

As in the past, our innovation income is very low and located almost exclusively in Architecture. We anticipate that the new ACH vision and strategy will lead to innovation projects and income further down the line.

(c) 4* outputsWe are strongly committed to ensuring that all research staff understand what is required to create and publish 4* research and that the support mechanisms are in place. There has been a large amount of

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internal reading across our UoAs since REF2014, and some calibration exercises using external expertise. The Faculty will ensure that calibration has occurred in each UoA by December 2016 and is managed fairly and in accordance with any code of practice.

(d) EnvironmentMany of our UoAs did excellently in their environment in REF2014. We want to have all of our UoAs at this level. The Faculty and Schools have been considering the roles of research centres and how to get them to the next stage. Whilst it is recognised that some such centres in Humanities will never be entirely self-sustaining, we want to ensure that big questions are foregrounded, that more and more activities have external funding and profiles, and that an increase in ambition is tangible in each centre’s plans and activities. Arts has led the way in recent years by developing new models of centre governance, and in each School there are centres that are genuinely entrepreneurial and imaginative about what academic life and research might look like.

Schools are moving forward with Athena Swan applications as mentioned elsewhere in this Plan. They are also working closely with IS to spread the word about the importance of open access. Selected staff have been advised to explore ways of positioning themselves in respected national and international bodies in order to be eligible to be selected for REF sub-Panel and other research audits.

(e) Impact and Public EngagementThe Faculty continues to develop high quality impact and public engagement work, notable both for the range of approaches used to engage public audiences (including exhibitions, digital media, performances and practice-based events) and the calibre of external partners with whom staff are developing this work. We believe fundamentally in the importance of impact and PE work, not just as an end to get good REF scores. We believe that colleagues’ research can make a real difference beyond academia.

Schools and UoAs are under no illusion about the importance of impact. Each UoA is preparing a number of impact case studies, in all cases more than is likely to be required. Inevitably some studies are further on than others, but we are confident that work will continue apace in all parts of the Faculty. Schools have various schemes (money or WAM points) to enable colleagues to buy-out their teaching and administrative duties to enable them to focus on their case studies. Having research support officers in Schools has helped greatly with data collection. The ACH vision and strategy will not only gather some of our impact together, but will be designed to move many case studies onto the next stage.

The Faculty seeks to strike a balance between encouraging staff to develop their own PE initiatives and undertaking strategic oversight of this work led by the Faculty DoPE. An important means of enabling this has been the creation of three specialist School DoPEs (in Arts, English and History) with a fourth to be appointed soon (in SECL). In addition to providing mentoring, training and financial support to staff engaged in public engagement work, the Faculty has also developed a collaborative programme, 'Questions of Space', with Canterbury Cathedral that will lead to a series of events and activities at the Cathedral linked to research of staff within the Faculty. Working closely with the Gulbenkian, the Faculty is exploring the potential of extending these strategic collaborations more widely in the coming academic year through creating a contact group with key regional stakeholders such as Canterbury Cathedral, English Heritage, Turner Contemporary, Canterbury Museums and the Marlowe Theatre, who together have an annual audience reach in excess of 2m people. Holding its own budget to support PE activities by staff in the Faculty with these key stakeholders, it is intended that this contact group will become an important element of the University's regional public engagement profile. We have been pleased to welcome Maddy Bell as the University's Public Engagement Officer and a number of senior staff in the Faculty have already met with her to discuss future possible initiatives.

(f) Digital Humanities and EARC

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Progress has been made during 2015-16 to establish Digital Humanities within EARC in several ways. We have broadened the ambit of DH to include areas other than just digital heritage. From that we have appointed two EARC PhD studentships in History and Philosophy. Kent’s EARC fellow is now well established as evidenced by him receiving an AHRC network grant. The central appointment of an EARC administrator at Kent has meant the Fellow is now well supported, and the two of them have set up an audit of specialist digital equipment owned by the Faculty and a survey of staff expertise and interests in this area. (This will also be done across Essex and UEA in order to be better prepared for funding applications.) In June 2016 there will be a sandpit on the ‘The Past of the 21 st Century City’. The EARC main conference will be at Kent in November 2016 and we are planning to have good representation of our DH work. Around these larger events there have been smaller activities and meetings, and we plan for these to continue. The focus of engagement with EARC is intended to enable larger multi-institutional applications that Kent would not necessarily be able to apply for alone. Thus its role is seen as an enhancement of what we are already doing rather than a replication of it.

In Summer 2016 the Faculty Research Committee will discuss putting aside some of the Faculty’s research fund specifically for digital-based projects in 2016-17.

(g) KIASH and Faculty Research FundKIASH has for many years been considered integral to the Faculty’s identity. However, in recent years questions have been raised numerous times about its identity, role and external profile. The decision was taken in Autumn 2015 by the AD (R&I) and Research Committee that it was no longer fit for purpose, and that it would be better to disband it formally. The Faculty agreed it would maintain its interdisciplinary focus and interest and still be a part of the national consortium CIASH. This disbanding has not seemed to change anything in any shape or form, as the KIASH brand was no longer recognised as such. It has happened quite smoothly and almost imperceptibly and has proved that this was a good decision.

The Faculty Research fund has come under pressure this year as it has borne many of the savings targets given to the Faculty. This will continue next year. The Faculty Research Committee will therefore reevaluate its schemes during Summer 2016 ready for 2016-17 so as to get maximum value out of its funding. The guiding thought is how we can use small funds to leverage big effects in and for Schools and UoAs, with a particular eye on REF environment narratives.

(h) InternationalisationWe are keen to encourage more use of our European Centres for research activities. English has been using Paris for events this year; Rome continues to be important for History of Art and Classics. Many of our research staff are already very internationalised, and new partnership arrangements (for both staff and PGRs) have been added this year. But all staff and Schools are being encouraged to develop their international networks further, either by visiting overseas or by inviting colleagues to Kent. Co-authoring with international scholars is also being emphasized.

F: Staff and Workload

School WAMs were reviewed two years ago, and a working group developed principles, agreed by our Planning Group and Board, that were put into operation. All six Schools have refreshed or are refreshing their WAMs this year, with sign-off from the Dean. Colleagues’ workload remains a concern, at all levels and in all broad types of role (academic, administration, technical staff, and management roles). Some Schools have organized groups around Heads and Schools Directors (e.g. recruitment and admissions in

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English) to help share the burden and provide a ready supply of colleagues for work that arises on an ad hoc basis. (When one has a set of such groups it means that some colleagues who would routinely feel compelled to volunteer for everything feel relieved of some of their burdens.)

As mentioned last year, the Faculty is now fully engaged in Athena SWAN. All of our Schools have committees and all will be sending representatives to the University-wide committee. History are preparing to apply for Bronze in Autumn 2016, and a clear timetable is being organized with the help of HR for the rest of our Schools very soon.

We present, below, our current academic gender balance in the Faculty and its Schools. As we said last year, there is clearly work to do on this front, although some progress has occurred since last year. When making external appointments, Schools now routinely encourage female academics to apply, often with positive targeting. Internally, Heads and senior colleagues are working with female colleagues to encourage promotion applications and to ensure that they are well-prepared when they apply.

We would welcome a revisit of, and a possible renewal of, the School governance report to ensure that Schools and the Faculty fully understand what is expected of them.

HUMANITIES STAFF by GENDER (SHOWN AS HEADCOUNT AND PERCENTAGES) Table A

2015-16All Academic staff (inc HPLs) Professors only

Female Male Female MaleArchitecture 12 25% 36 75% 2 50% 2 50%Arts 44 60% 29 40% 1 11% 8 89%English 36 50% 36 50% 4 36% 7 64%History 23 40% 34 60% 1 25% 3 75%SECL 51 50% 51 50% 4 31% 9 69%SMFA 17 39% 27 61% 0 0% 2 100%

Hums Total 183 46% 213 54% 12 28% 31 72%

Gender balance at the leadership level has improved in the last year, although there is still some way to go. We appointed a Deputy Dean (female) and three Associate Deans (2 female, 1 male) all of whom started in August 2015. This means that the full Faculty team (Deputy, ADs, Faculty Directors, Heads of School, Head of Admin) is roughly 50%-50% female-male. However, only one of our six Heads of School is female. We are actively encouraging female colleagues within Schools to think about applying for Headships when they arise; we have one that we will have to recruit for in 2016-17 to start in August 2017. We are also in discussions with HR about the workload that Heads carry and whether this can be altered and rethought to make it more attractive to all colleagues, especially those who have heavy caring responsibilities. All six Schools now have a Deputy Head (four male, two female) and the Deputy Dean has convened a discussion group to reflect how these six Deputies can work best with their Heads. Across our School Directors of L&T, GS and R&I we have a rough 50%-50% gender split. Many School Director roles now also have deputies, which helps individuals’ career development and provides cover for the Schools.

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For support staff, the gender profile is currently as follows:

HUMANITIES STAFF by GENDER (SHOWN AS HEADCOUNT AND PERCENTAGES) Table B

2015-16All Academic staff (inc HPLs) Admin and Technical Staff

Female Male Female MaleArchitecture 12 25% 36 75% 4 36% 7 64%Arts 44 60% 29 40% 16 67% 8 33%English 36 50% 36 50% 13 100% 0 0%History 23 40% 34 60% 9 69% 4 31%SECL 51 50% 51 50% 16 64% 9 36%SMFA 17 39% 27 61% 11 58% 8 42%

Hums Total 183 46% 213 54% 69 66% 36 34%

As on the academic side, we are mindful of some of these figures. English in particular has been working with HR across the past two years in readiness for any posts that require filling.

G: Faculty Administration

(i) WorkloadThis year it has been particularly evident that demands on administrative staff in Schools have risen due to increasing staff and student numbers as well as additional external requirements (e.g. monitoring of Tier IV students) and the transfer of certain tasks from central services (e.g. HPL contract spreadsheets). To meet these needs, some Schools have identified that additional resources will be required and have submitted bids accordingly.

(ii) Special Interest GroupsThe Special Interest Groups (SIGs) continue to function well in the Faculty and are recognised by academic colleagues and by most central professional services as ideal devices for collaborative problem-solving and for developing innovative responses to strategic imperatives.

(iii) Professional Service DepartmentsStaff in some central services also seem to be experiencing a very high workload which has this year resulted in some delays and/or in a reduction in service levels and a noticeable delay in response times. The Faculty would be supportive of additional resource being allocated to these departments (EMS, PBIO, Timetabling) or for staff in other areas to be trained so that they could provide flexible support during peak times. The pressure being felt by these various groups of staff does not help to foster good working relationships across the institution.

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(iv) Priorities for 2016-17

ANNUAL PLANNING ROUND PROCESSThe Planning process will be reviewed by the Deans and HoAs in June after the Faculty Planning meetings in conjunction with colleagues from FPA.

KENTVISIONMembers of administration in the Faculty will continue to be fully engaged in the preparations for KentVision and to sit as representatives on the stakeholder groups wherever possible.

WAMThe search for a reliable software package to deliver a universal WAM for all Schools has been shelved in favour of piloting a model developed by EDA which is based on data pulled directly from existing systems in real time. Staff in KSA are also involved in this pilot.

ATHENA SWAN Athena SWAN now includes administrative staff in Schools and we look forward to working with central colleagues to develop the model so that it can truly benefit this group.

SECONDMENTS Secondments across Schools and Faculties have successfully been used to alleviate pressure in the short term (for example during long-term sickness or vacancies between appointments) and in the longer term, to cover maternity leave and other secondments. However, we would welcome a clear and transparent policy regarding notice periods when colleagues move internally, whether permanently or on a secondment basis.

EXCELLENCE INITIATIVEThe third theme in this initiative was due to be launched this year under the banner of ‘Process Excellence’. However, it was decided that the biennial conference should be postponed until after the outcome of the KSDD review (see below).

SHADOW MATCHINGAn initiative involving over 70 staff across the University has matched individuals who had expressed a wish to shadow colleagues in other departments. These exchanges will take place in May and June and it is hoped they will improve communication, practice and knowledge exchange. If successful, the project will be repeated every year.

KSDDThis year the University commissioned PWC Consultants to review key administrative processes, systems and resources and to deliver a series of recommendations to enable the University to operate more effectively and efficiently. The result was that EG agreed to undertake a co-ordinated programme of work under the headline banner 'Simplifying Kent'.

Work is now underway on a series of coordinated projects designed to streamline decision-making processes and committees, simplify administrative processes across a number of areas and ensure that they are supported with the right systems and technology. It is vital that senior administrative staff in the Faculties and Schools continue to be involved in these projects.

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H: Estates

One of the central Faculty themes of recent years – academic community – is still central to our thoughts. As we have often said, “we need to house our staff and students in a way that both enables meaningful interactions every day and creates loyalty to the School and subject. This will have important and positive effects on NSS results, research partnerships, and many other concerns. This attitude will shape our space requirements and requests in the coming five years.”

We welcome the progress that has been made in recent years. Arts had its reception area and administration offices reshaped in Spring 2015 and has added greatly to the welcoming feel of the Jarman. SECL is pleased with the George Allen Wing refurbishment and the creation of their new entrance to Cornwallis NW. The new reception area for History (adjacent to Rutherford main reception) has helped enormously for UG student-facing services. Discussions with Estates are ongoing for our other Schools. Architecture is currently discussing how it can create more space both within the Marlowe and, longer-term, through a possible extension. Along with KBS and other Medway Schools, SMFA looks forward to the renovation of the Galvanizing Workshop. They are also considering moving out of some spaces to give back to central timetabling. English’s main priority continues to be ownership of Rutherford Xi and XII and will welcome these rooms once the Library seminar rooms come into the ownership of central timetabling. Estates is working with MEMS and American Studies to provide dedicated PG space in Rutherford from Sept. 2017. Longer term we are aware that there is the possibility of a new building, combining one or more of English, History and Politics, and we repeat from previous years that History in particular is sorely in need of a brand new facility.

The Dean and Head of KSA are on the Estates’ working group developing new ways of configuring teaching space. We look forward to how this will improve our campuses over the next decade. As last year, we would like a formal University group reestablished to look at educational space improvement.

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I: Final Recommendations and Points to Note

We strongly urge the continuation of 50th Anniversary scholarships.

There will be a number of bids from PSDs. We ask that especial attention be given to bids from EMS for processing applications. We must ensure that they have the resources and structure they need to carry out this essential function.

The University should give serious consideration to establishing an office to both support and help attract high-profile visiting academics, and to how such visits can be funded.

There are clearly space issues for many Schools. Thought should continue about how we can help Schools create spaces that allow for meaningful academic communities. We look forward to the re-establishment of a University-level group to think about educational spaces.

We would welcome a University-wide discussion on what the Kent student experience is, and how it is distinctive and even unique.

We would welcome a revisit of the School Governance report to help clarify for Schools what is expected of them.

We also urge the University to think how the student success project can continue to be supported and evolve in the long term.

Lastly, we welcome the various task and finish groups that are at time of writing being enacted following the KSDD review. We think that now is the right time to reflect on how we do things and, where necessary, change and innovate.

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Part Two B – Action Plan 2016

Action Owner Timescale

Part One C. Financial Sustainability

All Schools to make financial progress towards surplus (or maintaining surplus) during 2016-17 Dean/Heads of School/SAMs July 2017

All Schools to break even (or better) by 2019-20 Dean/Heads of School/SAMs 2019-20

Part Two AA. Student Recruitment and Admissions

All Schools to work hard to maintain and increase UG numbers, and increase PG numbers Dean/Faculty DoRA/Heads/Schools

2016-17

All Schools to work hard to increase average UG entry tariff Dean/Faculty DoRA/Heads/Schools

2016-17

All Schools to review recruitment and marketing strategies during 2016-17 Heads/Schools 2016-17

All Schools to grow international recruitment Faculty co-DoIs/Heads/Schools

2016-17

B. Undergraduate Studies

Review current programmes in Autumn 2016 Faculty DoLT/School DoLTs Autumn 2016

Continue to support cross-Faculty BA in Liberal Arts Dean/Schools Ongoing

Review NSS results in early Autumn 2016, as per normal Dean/AD L&T/Schools Autumn 2016

Implement a Faculty review of programme and module approval system AD L&T / FSO Autumn 2016

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Review of credits and contact hours AD L&T and School DoLTs Autumn 2016

C. Graduate Studies

Review current programmes AD GS/School DoGS Autumn 2016

Review contact hours AD GS/School DoGS 2016-17

Schools to develop e-learning strategy for PG AD GS/School DoGS 2016-17

Review PRES & PTES results in early Autumn, as per normal Dean/AD GS/School DoGS Autumn 2016

Implement a Faculty review of programme and module approval system AD GS / FSO Autumn 2016


Introduce new Faculty committee structure, taking the lead from University level Dean /Deputy Dean/ School DoLTs and DoGSs

2016-17

Faculty to support and monitor various School initiatives via new Student Experience Committee and the Faculty Special Interest Groups

Dean, Deputy Dean/ HoA/ Chair of relevant SIGs

2016-17

E. Research, Public Engagement and Enterprise

Continue to monitor preparations for the next REF Dean / AD Researach / Faculty DoPE

Ongoing

Launch and implementation of University-wide Arts, Culture & Heritage strategy Dean and others Autumn 2016

Research & Public Engagement events to continue Dean / AD Research / Faculty DoPE

Ongoing

“Grant Week” to be organised following last year’s successful launch AD Research/Research Services

2016-17

Humanities Innovation Boards to begin in some form (see Progress report, section E) AD Research 2016-17

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F: Staff

Continue to monitor EDI profile of Faculty via application for Athena SWAN Bronze awards which will now include professional services staff in Schools

Dean and HoA Ongoing

G. Administration and Technical Services

Members of the administration in the Faculty will continue to be fully engaged in the preparations for the SDS replacement and to sit as representatives on the stakeholder groups wherever possible.

HoA 2016-17

SMFA and KSA will consider appointing a Research Support Administrator for academic year 2017-18 SAMs of KSA and SMFA 2016-17

H. Estates

Continue to work with Estates via the Partnership Group to encourage liaison and partnership at an operational level

HoA 2016-17

Continue to work with Estates to improve working environment and student experience Dean, Deputy Dean and HoA Ongoing

Work constructively on possibility of new building for English, History and Politics Dean / Heads of English and History

Ongoing

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Part Three - Progress Report on 2015-16 Action PlanAction Owner Timescale Update

Part One C. Financial Sustainability

All Schools to make financial progress towards surplus (or maintaining surplus) during 2015-16

Dean/Heads of School/SAMs

July 2016 See Part One C above

All Schools to break even (or better) by 2019-20 Dean/Heads of School/SAMs

2019-20 Ongoing

Part Two AA. Student Recruitment and Admissions

All Schools to work hard to maintain and increase UG numbers, and increase PG numbers

Dean/Faculty DoRA/Heads/Schools

2015-16 Ongoing – See Part Two of Plan

All Schools to work hard to increase average UG entry tariff Dean/Faculty DoRA/Heads/Schools

2015-16 See table in Part Two A

All Schools to refresh recruitment and marketing strategies during 2015-16

Heads/Schools 2015-16 Done

All Schools to grow international recruitment Faculty co-DoIs/Heads/Schools

2015-16 Ongoing. See page 9 above Overseas Admissions trends

B. Undergraduate Studies

Review current programmes in Autumn 2015 Faculty DoLT/School DoLTs

Autumn 2015 Done

Continue to support cross-Faculty BA in Liberal Arts Dean/Schools Ongoing Ongoing

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Review NSS results in early Autumn 2015, as per normal Dean/Fac. DoLT/Schools

Autumn 2015 Done

Urge University to review programme and module approval system Dean/Faculty DoLT Autumn 2015 University Portfolio Review under way. Faculty PMAS review begun April 2016

Review of credits and contact hours Faculty and School DoLTs

Autumn 2015 Ongoing

C. Graduate Studies

Review current programmes Faculty DoGS/School DoGS

Autumn 2015 Done

Review contact hours Faculty DoGS/School DoGS

2015-16 Delayed – now 2016-17

Schools to develop e-learning strategy for PG Faculty DoGS/Schools 2015-16 Delayed – now 2016-17

Review PRES & PTES results in early Autumn, as per normal Dean/Faculty DoGS/Schools

Autumn 2015 Done

Urge University to review programme and module approval system Dean/Faculty DoGS Autumn 2015 University Portfolio Review under way. Faculty PMAS review begun April 2016


Reform Faculty committee structure, taking the lead from University level

Dean 2015-16 Done. Student Experience Committee now formed.

Faculty to support and monitor various School initiatives via Planning Group and Special Interest Group

Dean and HoA 2015-16 In process

E. Research, Public Engagement and Enterprise

Continue to monitor preparations for next REF Dean / Faculty DoR Ongoing In process

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University-wide Arts, Culture & Heritage strategy to be developed Dean and others Launch in 2015-16

Will now be launched in Autumn 2016

Research & Public Engagement Festival to continue Dean / Faculty DoR / Facluty DoPE

Ongoing In 2016 this will be replaced by “Questions of Space” in liaison with Canterbury Cathedral, June 2016

First “Grant Week” to be launched Faculty DoR/Research Services

2015-16 Done. Three events held so far this year.

Humanities Innovation Boards to begin Faculty DoR 2015-16 An amended version of this initiative is still under review and will be finally decided in May 2016

F: Staff

Continue to monitor EDI profile of faculty, with particular attention paid to gender at all levels, especially leadership roles

Dean and HoA Ongoing Ongoing. Will now include Athena Swan Bronze applications for all Humanities Schools

G. Administration and Technical Services

Members of the administration in the Faculty will continue to be fully engaged in the preparations for the SDS replacement and to sit as representatives on the stakeholder groups wherever possible.

HoA 2015-16 Ongoing. The switch to Kent Vision has been postponed until 2017/18 academic year.

SMFA and Architecture will consider appointing a Research Support Administrator for academic year 2016-17

SAMs of KSA and SMFA 2015-16 Delayed for a year

A review of the efficiency of PMAS will be undertaken All three HoAs 2015-16 Now included in the “Simplifying Kent” programme to be led by PVC Education/Dean of Humanities

H. Estates

Establish new Partnership Group for Estates/Schools to encourage liaison and partnership at an operational level

HoA 2015 Done. Meets once per term

Continue to work with Estates to improve working environment and Dean and HoA Ongoing Ongoing

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Student Experience

Work constructively on possibility of new building for English, History and Politics

Dean / Heads of English and History

Ongoing Ongoing

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