Meeting No 3/2002 of the Academic Board was held on Wednesday, 12^th June 2002, in the Council Room of the University, between 2.15pm and 4.30pm.

Professors A Lindsay, J Anderson, W Anderson, Mr J Arnold, Mr C Avram, Dr H Ballis, Dr D Bednall, Mr K Bensley, Professors J Bigelow, A Bishop, Dr K Blashki, Professors A Bond, G Bouma, Ms J Brown, Associate Professor C Browne, Mr R Burnet, Mr L Bull, Professors R Cas, Professor C Chapman, Ms A Crook, Professors J Crossley, P Darvall, Dr C Davies, Professors G Davison, R Dickson, Associate Professors T Dingle, T Dix, Professor R Doherty, Associate Professor R Edwards, Professor M Evans, Associate Professor A Farley, Professor G Glover, Mr P Handsworth, Ms C Harboe-Ree, Mr B Harding, Professor J Harris, Mr A Herzberg, Professor G Hodge, Associate Professor B Hoffert, Professor K Hourigan, Mr C Hurley, Associate Professor J Hurst, Dr M Iskander, Professors B Jacobs, J Jarvis, Dr G Johanson, Professors S Joy, M King, H LeGrand, B Mackenzie, Professor K McLaren, Mr A McMeekin, Associate Professor C Mingins, Professor P Nagley, Dr R Nelson, Professors R Norris, G Oppy, Ms J Oates, Associate Professor M Page, Professor G Palmer, Professor S Parker, Ms T Porritt, Professors D Robinson, N Saunders, T Seddon, J Sheridan, M Skully, Dr K Smith, Professors D Smyth, T Shridhar, K Stewart, Associate Professor M Story, Professor N Tapper, Associate Professor J Teicher, Dr A Tokita, Mr J White, Professor J Willis.

Dr H Abachi, Associate Professor R Alfredson, Professor M Ariff, Professor B Bignall, Associate Professor J Cashion, Professor C Cocklin, Associate Professor M Davison, Professor de Kretser, Associate Professor J Glover, Professor J Hamill, Dr H Irving, Professor M Kartomi, Dr M Lindorff, Dr C Porter, Profesor J Redmond, Associate Professor P Reed, Professor J Rosenberg, Professor G Smith, Professor P Stewart, Professor R Summers, Professor B Toh, Professor G Webb, Professor R Willis, Professor B Workman.

Mr R Dias, Professor M Gabbott, Mr J Levine, Ms K Tuck

Ms S Gleeson , Ms M Jackson, Ms K Lock, Ms S Narayasamy, Ms S Stafford, Professor P Steele, Ms L Thompson

Mr T Calder (Secretary)

The Chair, Professor A Lindsay, on behalf of the Academic Board thanked retiring members for their valuable contributions.

Items 7.3, 8.1, 9.2 and 24 (additional agenda item and tabled paper) were starred at the meeting.

The recommendations of the Steering Committee were adopted without discussion for all items other than those starred.

There were no confidential items on the agenda for this meeting.

Documentation was circulated. (p1-12)

The Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor D Robinson, informed the Board that at Council meeting 3/2002, held on 6 May 2002, Council approved the proposal that a Monash submission to the review should focus on Monash specific issues such as the value to the nation of Monash’s international activities, regional engagement and the role of regional campus/universities in regional development.

Members of the Board were informed that Monash would contribute to the submissions of the Go8, AVCC and Open Learning Australia. Further, members of the Board were requested to forward to the Vice-Chancellor copies of any submissions they or related professional bodies/organisations may be making.

In response to questions, the Vice-Chancellor advised the Board that a process of consultation would be developed with a draft submission due for consideration by Council at its September meeting.

The Academic Board received the documents on the Higher Education Review and noted the advice of the Vice-Chancellor.

Documentation was circulated. (p13-52)

Introducing the item, the Vice-Chancellor noted that the report Still Learning provided a range of recommendations for further improvement of aspects of the university’s governance, planning, structure and activities. Further, the Vice-Chancellor’s Group had prepared ‘Toward Monash 2020 a response to Still Learning, our institutional self-review’ which sets out a series of responses to Still Learning and would form the basis for identifying who would be responsible for progressing each recommendation.

The Board was advised that a report would be submitted in one year on progress of the issues identified.

In addition, the Chair, Professor A Lindsay, noted that some matters would progress through the Board as they are addressed.

During discussion members raised a range of issues including:

In response, members were informed that the Vice-Chancellor’s Group would identify responsibilities in relation to each recommendation in Still Learning, that the Associate Chair of Academic Board, Professor Chris Browne would undertake a range of tasks raised during the discussion and that Council maintained a constant focus on "governance" including dedicating at least one meeting each year to reviewing aspects of governance – meeting 5/2002 of Council will be dedicated to discussing the outcomes of the self review and governance issues.

Documentation was circulated. (p53-60)

Introducing the item Ms A Crook, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Resources informed members that Strategic Cost Management was the progressive implementation of a new approach to financial management that would support the university’s strategic directions and strengthen the overall planning process – not drive it.

Mr J Levine, Divisional Director and Mr R Dias, Deputy Director, Financial Resources Management Division, provided the Board with an outline and demonstration of the new process.

Major aspects of the new process highlighted included:

Using data from the recent Strategic Cost Management exercise undertaken in the Faculty of Business and Economics, Mr Dias demonstrated to the Board the flexibility of the process including the ability to cost programs, services and collect other non-financial indicators; the capacity to breakdown to activity levels both academic and support functions; the capacity to breakdown activities to full time equivalent staff (effort) per cost centre and the capacity to cost programs and activities – including both faculty and central support costs.

Professor Gabbott, Head, Department of Marketing was invited to address the Board. Professor Gabbott informed the Board that on being appointed Head of the Department he had implemented Strategic Costs Management in order to better identify and understand the costs involved with running the department. Among the benefits to a departmental head of implementing Strategic Cost Management is the ability to identify and then make decisions about cross-subsidising activities and managing the growth or decline of a particular activity. Strategic Cost Management had also enabled the introduction of a work-load system, provided data that identified how many students were needed for a program, the better allocation of costs, the capacity to identify and "protect" key revenue generating activities and had introduced greater transparency to the department planning process.

During discussion, the following issues were raised:

Concluding the discussion, Professor Lindsay thanked members for their contributions and noted that it was important that the academic staff were kept informed regarding implementation of this important new process.

Documentation was circulated. (p61-76)

Professor J Anderson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, South Africa informed the Board that there had been steady development of the campus along with improving relationships with the business and the political communities.

Members of the Board were invited to note that enrolments were progressing well complemented by an intensive marketing campaign during the first five months of 2002. Professor Anderson commented on the need to provide a wider range of courses, the increasing awareness of the campus both in Africa and internationally, the progress of research activities and their linkages with Australian based researchers and campus open days and other campus based activities that continue to increase awareness of Monash.

RMO2002/0376

Documentation was circulated. (p181-182)

Professor P Darvall informed the Board that the Federation Consortium, of which Monash was a partner, had been unsuccessful in its bid for the ICT Centre of Excellence and invited the Board to congratulate Professors Rosenberg and Steele for their efforts during the tender process.

Commenting on Monash’s successful bid for the Biotechnology Centre of Excellence, Professor Darvall informed the Board that the success of the bid was a tribute to the efforts of Professors de Kretser and Trounson.

Noting that teaching and research bring mutual benefits to each other, the Board congratulated both teams for their outstanding efforts.

Documentation was circulated. (p77-98)

At its Meeting 6/2001, the Education Committee endorsed a set of recommendations from the Working Party on Protection of Courseware on the Web. These were put to Academic Board Meeting 1/2002, where discussion occurred regarding the potential for conflict between enabling information to be widespread, accessible and accurate and the retention of control and copyright over the information.

On referral from the Chair, Professor A Lindsay, the Deputy University Solicitor provided further information that was considered by the original Working Party. Minor modification was made to the original recommendations to clarify copyright issues. The amended recommendations (below) were endorsed by the Education Committee.

1. Open public access. Must only be material which Monash owns or has a licence to use. Staff publishing such material must be aware of the need to observe copyright and privacy restrictions.

2. Monash staff and students only.

3. Students enrolled in and staff teaching specific units.

4. Nominated individuals or groups requiring access to the teaching and learning resources/sites or materials for the purposes of collaboration, research, or other joint activities.

Members made the following suggestions that could be incorporated into revised Guidelines for Course Reviews:

Concluding the discussion, Professor Lindsay agreed that families of courses should be accommodated and that a range of options along the lines suggested by members, be developed to supplement the guidelines.

Academic Board approved the ‘Guidelines for Course Review’ presented.

The Board was advised that the Chancellor had recently visited the Monash Research Graduate School.

Documentation was circulated. (p103-104)

Documentation was circulated. (p107-108)

Documentation was circulated. (p109-112)

Documentation was circulated. (p113-114)

Documentation was circulated. (p115-116)

Proceedings

Documentation was circulated. (p117-118)

Documentation was circulated. (p119-124)

Documentation was circulated. (p125-128)

From: In the case of a candidate proceeding under section 40 the board shall, upon submission of the major thesis, appoint at least two persons, not being the candidate’s supervisors, as examiners of the major thesis.

To: In the case of a candidate proceeding under section 40 the board shall, upon submission of the major thesis, appoint at least two persons, not being the candidate’s supervisors, as examiners of the major thesis. One of the examiners shall be external to the University.

Documentation was circulated. (p129-158)

Documentation was circulated. (p133-138)

In 2000, the Department of Psychological Medicine of the Faculty established the Centre for Rural Mental Health (CRMH) with the creation of the Chair in Rural Mental Health based in Bendigo. A second site was established shortly after in the Latrobe Valley, and plans are well advanced for a third site in Mildura. The three sites are linked together as a network for academic activities in research, teaching and advocacy in the area of rural mental health.

With the formation of the Faculty School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, an opportunity now exists for the activities of the Department of Psychology in rural psychology to be integrated within the School and the CRMH. It is proposed therefore that the Centre for Rural Mental Health become a Centre of the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine.

Documentation was circulated. (p139-146)

Documentation was circulated. (p147-150)

Documentation was circulated. (p151-154)

Academic Board approved the proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to fill the position of Professor of Health Services Research and Director, Monash Institute Of Health Services Research.

Documentation was circulated. (p155-158)

Documentation was circulated. (p159-160)

In accordance with the Examination regulations:

4.6 For those faculties which continue to require supplementary and special examinations to be held in the January-February period of each year, the Academic Board shall in each academic year specify a date or dates by which those supplementary and special examinations are required to be completed. The supplementary and special examinations shall be completed on or before the date or dates so specified.

Documentation was circulated. (p161-178)

(Secretarial note: Refer to Item14.2 – Representation from the Faculty of Law and Item 15.3, Amendment to Faculty Board Regulations)

Academic Board noted the nominations by Faculty Boards of members to fill casual vacancies.

The constitution of the selection panel for the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Exceptional Performance by General Staff is:

• The Vice-Chancellor or nominee

• An external person nominated by the Vice-Chancellor

• A member of the Academic Staff nominated by the Academic Board

• Divisional Director, Student and Staff Services

• A member of the general staff nominated by the NTEU/ALHMWU

• Manager, Staff Development Unit

Documentation was circulated. (p178-180)

Documentation was tabled at the meeting.