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Sorry all, the previous message got sent incomplete - I've been having some bother with my PC today and didn't know that I'd sent it at all! The abrupt ending sounds rather provocative. I would have completed it to the following effect: Members of Boards in my experience know that they need to be fair and to show this. They also understand the importance of the decisions to the lives of students. However they may well lack confidence, support, training and time to do these things thoroughly on top of the load of academic judgments which is their core activity. There are presumably significant resource implications in conducting meetings so as to achieve more extensive and well-structured minutes and having the staff to take those minutes. For advisers, whether solicitors or student union advice workers, it will be necessary to go down this road because our duty to our clients demands it. If the DPA helps us to do this, we will use it. If it doesn't, we will try to use other parts of the law. Unless we are rebuffed by the courts, institutions will have to change their practice so that they have the evidence to show whether decisions have been taken properly. Perhaps institutions might best respond by trying to develop good practice before being forced into it by events outside their control. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%