UCL Academic Manual

Responsibilities of Vice-Provosts and Senior Reporting Lines

contact: Tim Perry, Registrar, Student and Registry Services

Policy

1 UCL Statute 11(5) provides that:

The Council shall have power to appoint a Vice-Provost or Vice-Provosts, on the recommendation of the Provost or of the Academic Board. A Vice‑Provost or Vice‑Provosts shall assist the Provost in such matters as the Provost may from time to time entrust to him or her. A Vice-Provost shall hold appointment for the period and upon such conditions as shall from time to time be prescribed by decision of the Council.

2 There are currently six Vice-Provosts directly responsible to the Provost: five Academic Vice-Provosts and one Vice-Provost, who covers Professional Services (the Vice-Provost (Operations)). The period of appointment of the Academic Vice-Provosts will normally be five years which will be renewable by agreement.

3 Each Vice-Provost agrees with the Provost a list of her/his current duties which are reviewed each year with the Provost. In the case of the Academic Vice‑Provosts these comprise primarily specific cross-UCL responsibilities but may also include responsibilities, as appropriate, in specific academic sectors.

4 All the Vice-Provosts attend the following Committees:

• Academic Board (Member)
• Estates Management Committee (Member)
• Finance Committee (In attendance)
• Human Resources Policy Committee (Member)
• Information Services Governance Committee (Member)

5 The Vice-Provost (Operations) attends all meetings of the UCL Council. The Academic Vice-Provosts may attend a meeting of the Council by invitation.

6 The Vice-Provost (Education) is responsible to the Provost for: leading the development and delivery of education at UCL. This includes: the development of educational strategy; curriculum development; the promotion of the student experience; quality assurance and enhancement in the area of education; the introduction and use of new educational and pedagogical technologies; and the career development of academic staff in support of UCL’s educational mission.

7 The Vice-Provost (Enterprise) is responsible to the Provost for: leading UCL’s enterprise and knowledge transfer agenda, including developing an enterprise culture within UCL, promoting academic/industry liaison and maximising revenue from the commercialisation of research technology, exploitation of intellectual property and establishment and development of spin-out companies and clinical trial activities.

8 The Vice-Provost (Health) is responsible to the Provost for: external relationships in biomedicine both with NHS partners, including UCL Partners, other health care trusts and NHS London, and with a range of medical research organisations; UCL’s participation in the establishment of the Francis Crick Institute (the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation; overseeing the School of Life and Medical Sciences, including the UCL Medical School; and facilitating cross-cutting initiatives in biomedicine, in consultation with the Deans of the Faculties of Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Population Health Sciences).

9 The Vice-Provost (International) is responsible to the Provost for: developing and promoting UCL’s international strategy.

10 The Vice-Provost (Research) is responsible to the Provost for: promoting, supporting and facilitating UCL’s research performance; leading the development and implementation of UCL’s research strategy, including the Grand Challenges; leading UCL's preparation for future research assessment exercises (Research Excellence Framework); impact (with Vice-Provost (Enterprise)); public policy; Institutional Research Information Service (IRIS); research metrics and publications.

11 The Vice-Provost (Operations) is responsible to the Provost for the provision and effective co-ordination of Professional Services across UCL.

12 The following sets out the various reporting lines between the Provost, the Academic Vice-Provosts, Deans of Faculties, and Heads of Academic Departments (the term ‘Head of Department’ includes Directors of Divisions, Institutes and Schools which have the status of Academic Departments).

12.1 Heads of Academic Departments are responsible to the Provost for the operation of their Department but report on a day-to-day basis to the following:

12.1.1 The appropriate Dean of Faculty: for academic and resource matters. (This does not apply in the case of the Director of SSEES, for whom the day-to-day reporting line is to the Vice-Provost (International).)

12.1.2 Heads of Departments also liaise with the following: Vice-Provost (Education) for initiatives in teaching and learning; Head of the Graduate School for matters involving graduate education coming under the remit of the Graduate School; Vice-Provost (Education), via Deans of Faculties, and for quality management and enhancement matters.

12.2 The Deans of Faculties are responsible to the Provost (or, in the case of Deans of Faculties within the School of Life and Medical Sciences, to the Vice-Provost (Health)) for academic and resource matters in their Faculty, as specified in the List of Duties of Deans of Faculties*, but report on a day-to-day basis to the following: Vice-Provost (Education) for quality management and enhancement matters; Head of the Graduate School for matters involving graduate education coming under the remit of the Graduate School.

13 The following reporting lines also apply:

13.1 President and Provost:

Vice-Provosts

Deans of Faculties (Arts and Humanities, Built Environment, Engineering Sciences, Laws, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Social and Historical Sciences) (see also Vice-Provost (Health) below)

13.2 Vice-Provost (Education):

Dean of Students (Academic) Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching

Volunteering Services Unit

13.3 Vice-Provost (Enterprise):

Director, Business Partnerships

Director, Enterprise Operations

UCL Advances

UCL Business

UCL Consultants

13.4 Vice-Provost (Health)

Deans of Faculties (Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences)

(These Deans report direct to the Vice-Provost (Health) and ultimately to the Provost.)

School of Life and Medical Sciences Administration

13.5 Vice-Provost (International):

Pro-Provosts

International campuses (UCL SERAus, UCL-Q, Kazakhstan)

Language Centre

School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)

13.6 Vice-Provost (Research):

Office of the Vice-Provost (Research)

School Research Facilitators

13.7 Vice-Provost (Operations):

Heads of Professional Services, namely the Directors of: Communications and Marketing; Development and Alumni Relations; Estates; Finance; Human Resources; Information Services; Student and Registry Services.

(Each of these Directors also has a direct reporting line to the Provost, as necessary.)

Dean of Students (Welfare)

Bloomsbury Theatre

Careers Service

Graduate School

Library Services

Museums and Collections

August 2012

* List of Duties of Deans of Faculties are at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/part-8/faculty-deans and https://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/part-8/faculty-deans-slms

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