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Administrative Heads Group Meeting 3-2005

Meeting 3/2005 of the Administrative Heads Group commenced at 8.30am on Thursday,  26 May 2005 in the Council Room, 1st Floor, University Offices Building 3a, Clayton campus.

Rhonda Hinds, Executive Officer

MINUTES
1. Attendance and apologies
There were present
Mr Bernd Aberle, Ms Sue Brown, Dr Ian Cartwright, Mr Jack Chorowicz, Dr Barbara Clarke, Professor Val Clulow, Professor Edwina Cornish, Mr Robin Coventry, Ms Alison Crook, Mr Reynold Dias, Ms Helen Dunne, Ms Anne Fletcher, Associate Professor Graham Farr, Mr Chris Flynn, Mr Sam Funnell, Ms Kay Gardner, Mr Don Gregg, Ms Merilyn Harris, Mrs Pam Herman, Ms Jan Houge, Professor Owen Hughes, Ms Glenda Key, Professor Richard Larkins, Mr Peter Lawford, Mr Terry Masocco, Mr Geoffrey Murray, Ms Bhavani Naidoo, Mr Vladimir Prpich, Professor Martin Rhodes, Mr Ron Sawyer, Mr Steven Scroggie, Mr David Secomb, Ms Bronwyn Shields, Professor Julian Teicher, Professor Napier Thomson, Mr Nick Thorburn, Ms Jenny Vero, Ms Sue Wales, Ms Janet White, Mr Ian Wilson, Mr Peter Yates and Professor Bill Young.
Apologies were received from
Professor Gary Bouma, Professor Barbara Caine, Professor Grahame Coleman, Ms Peggy Daroesman, Associate Professor Arthur de Bono, Mr Jeremy Du Ve, Professor Merran Evans, Associate Professor Graham Farr, Ms Robyn Harris, Professor Bernard Hoffert, Professor Denise Kirkpatrick, Professor Alan Lindsay, Ms Marlene Mannays, Mr Robert Palin, Professor Stephen Parker, Associate Professor Alan Pryde.
In attendance
Ms Pru Sanderson, CEO Monash Property Management (for item 4.5.1)
Ms Kathy Buxton and Dr Andrea Lines
2. Minutes of Meeting 2/2005
  The Minutes of Meeting 2/2005, held on 7 April 2005, were confirmed as an accurate record subject to the following amendment:

In item 4.1.2 (third last bullet point):

Delete "courses run by Mr Paul Barton provided appropriate training" and insert "consideration is being given to developing some generic training in legal compliance risk management which may involve input from a few of the University's Legal Compliance Officers including Paul Barton."
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
3.1 Professorial Research Fellows (Minutes item 5.2)
    Professor Edwina Cornish reported that the Go8 DVCs (Research) had met with Mr Peter Hay who had indicated that, pending a review of all fellowship schemes, previous regulations would continue to apply to the appointment of Australian Professorial Fellows.
4. Vice-Chancellor’s Group
  4.1 Vice-Chancellor
  Professor Richard Larkins reported on a range of matters of current interest:
AUQA Audit

The Audit Panel would visit in September 2006, with a visit to the South African campus scheduled for August. Whether a visit was to be made to the Malaysian campus was yet to be confirmed, however, it had been made clear that AUQA would pay considerable attention to universities’ international operations. The Audit Panel visit would be an extensive exercise, with interviews expected to involve up to 600 people.

Preparation of the Portfolio was underway. This document would address a wide range of quality-related matters.

Professor Larkins emphasised that the audit was a good opportunity to ensure that Monash had clearly identifiable, appropriate and complete quality assurance and improvement processes in place. For example, Monash should aim to ensure that all of its policies were clearly articulated and easily accessible.

Commenting that diversity of student cohorts was one of Monash’s strengths, members suggested that differentiation of student circumstances would be useful, given that demographic profiles could be lost in presentation of comparative data to AUQA.

    VSU

Many meetings had been held with DEST officials and Members of Parliament, and it was expected that a group of Chancellors would also meet with the Prime Minister. The universities were attempting to achieve modification of the proposed legislation to permit the imposition of levies for services and amenities e.g. sporting organisations, clubs and societies, and a range of support services.

Meetings with leaders of several Monash student associations had been held, to identify from the range of services currently funded by student amenities fees:

  • Those services the university could fund directly.
  • Those services which could be made available at a discounted rate to voluntary members of a student association.
  • Those services which would be ‘user pays’ at point of service.
    •
        HEWRRs

    The Federal Government had proposed that qualification for CGS increases be linked to a range of workplace requirements, including:

  • The offering of AWAs to all new (post-29 April) employees and thereafter to all other employees by August 2006. This requirement would also apply to casual staff, and staff employed for a very few hours at a time e.g. examination invigilators.
  • Compliant Enterprise Bargains (although what was required to achieve compliance had not yet been made clear). It was noted that Monash did not have a certified EB, but would be required to have a compliant, certified EB in place by 30 September.
  • Employee choice of industrial representation etc.

    • Vice-Chancellors had recently met with Minister Andrews to express concern at the trialling of the Government’s new workplace relations requirements in the higher education sector. Professor Larkins indicated that he would be meeting with the NTEU local, State and Federal branches to work through the requirements with a view to exploring how Monash could achieve compliance.

        Indexation

    There had been no change to the rate of indexation since it was set in 1995. The average CGS increase since then had been 1.5-2%, however, costs had risen 6-8% annually.

    Members were reminded that the implementation of the Higher Education Support Act required a review of indexation arrangements. The Government response to the review had concluded that there was no need to vary the indexation formula. A change to the current arrangements was therefore not expected at least in the short term.
        Senior staff changes
  • Ms Alison Crook was due to retire on 1 August.
  • Professor Alan Lindsay would be taking a period of leave from 1 July with subsequent retirement from the University in March 2006.
  • The appointee to the Vice-President (Finance)/Chief Finance Officer position would, in conjunction with Mr Marshall (as Vice-President (Administration)) provide coverage of the university’s administrative functions. An outstanding applicant had been appointed to this position, and an official announcement would be made on 1 July.
  • Mr Ron Fairchild would commence as Vice-President (Advancement) in mid-August.
  • Mr Tony Pollock had been confirmed in the position of CEO of IDP. It was intended that the vacancy consequent on his departure from Monash would emphasise the academic basis of Monash’s international linkages and our overseas campuses, and would therefore be a DVC appointment.
  • Ms Lee-ann Norris had been appointed as Director, International Marketing. Monash International would become less involved in international marketing, recruitment etc. and would focus on educational service delivery e.g. Monash College.
    •

    With the exception of the DVC (International), the new senior management structure would be in place from mid-August.

        Budget

    Monash had experienced a significant downturn (17% in Semester 1/2005) in the number of commencing international students. A downturn in mid-year enrolments was also indicated, though it was anticipated that intensive follow-through of potential enrolments would minimise the impact of the downturn on final enrolment figures.

    Despite the budgetary impact of the drop in international student numbers, Monash was committed to undertaking strategic initiatives to position itself for the future, and this would require examination of a range of options e.g. the approach to filling staff vacancies.

    Members canvassed a range of issues in discussion, including:

  • Monash’s comparative performance in recruiting international students. Professor Larkins observed that Monash’s 2005 performance had been relatively poor in comparison to its performance in previous years, but that over the past 20 years, Monash had been the best-performed university in international recruitment. He also advised that the latest recruitment figures from other institutions would be available shortly, and that some other universities had experienced increases in international enrolments.
  • The in-depth research undertaken by Rob Lawrence dealt with the perception of Monash by key overseas markets.
  • The differential Faculty-based performance e.g. decline in Information Technology, and the consequent need to focus attention at the individual Faculty level.
  • Early indicators, which included data from Hobsons, and enrolments in feeder courses and the secondary school sector, did not paint a promising picture.
  • The need to reconsider how Monash attracted and supported international students, including the availability and standard of services and facilities.
    • 4.2 Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor
        Professor Parker was an apology.
      4.3 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
        Professor Lindsay was an apology.
      4.4 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
        Professor Cornish reported on the Research Quality Framework (RQF) exercise, in particular, that:
  • The framework would be trialled in 2006, with full implementation from 2007.
  • Given that international rankings played a crucial part in student perceptions, Monash needed to be research-competitive, at least nationally.
  • When the RQF guidelines were released, it would be necessary to analyse the implications for Monash.
  • The two (2) key issues in the exercise (which was likely to be time-consuming and complex) were:
  • Assessment of discipline quality.
  • Impact of our research on the community.
    •
  • There was likely to be a significant change in the way research was funded.
  • According to current rankings, some Departments/Schools would do very well, however all Faculties needed to examine ways by which the quality of research across all disciplines could be improved.
  • Release of a Discussion Paper was expected on 2 June.
    •

    The Chair noted that Learning and Teaching Performance Fund (L&TPF) Stage Two criteria were about to be released, and emphasised that the outcome of this process was also likely to be regarded very seriously overseas, and for marketing purposes. Consequently, it was important for Monash to perform well both in the RQF exercise and in its submission to the L&TPF. In this regard, members were reminded that a "research" vs. "teaching" debate set up a false dichotomy – rather than emphasise one over the other, it was imperative to get both right.

    In discussion, members noted that:

  • A key issue was variability – how would "discipline" be identified. (It was noted that the 2 June Discussion Paper would provide further information.)
  • The relevance of inclusion of a forward looking element was considered by Go8 universities not to be such a strong indicator of quality.
  • There appeared to be confusion between research impact and community engagement.
  • When examining research outputs, was high performance diluted by the large numbers of staff at Monash? What were the reasons for Monash’s relative under-performance? Professor Cornish indicated that at a simplistic level, there was relatively lower level of research engagement by Monash academics. It was, however, encouraging to note that all of the faculties were genuinely committed to raising the level of research activity.
  • Monash needed to be more-pro-active in attracting research ‘stars’ e.g. increased number of applications for Federation Fellowships. Members were advised that a large number of applications for Federation Fellowships had been submitted in 2004.

    • The Chair emphasised that:

  • With encouragement, grant submissions had increased, a situation that would continue to improve with further support and mentoring of younger researchers by senior staff.
  • The ability to perform at the highest level was exemplified by 10/80 departments’ achieving a number one research ranking.
  • Monash was a compound university, engaged in research in non traditionally research-intensive areas – as a consequence, raising the research profile would take some time.
    •
      4.5 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources)
        4.5.1 Urban Plans
          In presenting the Peninsula and Gippsland Urban Plans, Ms Pru Sanderson emphasised that the key strategy was to raise the profile and prestige of the campuses and their infrastructure, and to avoid an ad hoc approach to planning and development decision-making.

    In response to questions from members, Ms Sanderson confirmed that:

  • Improved signage for the Gippsland campus would be factored into finer-detail planning.
  • Monash Property Management had worked closely with Facilities and Services to ensure integration into planning of access for people with disabilities. To this end, Facilities and Services had carried out accessibility audits.
  • Environmentally friendly features had been incorporated into building design.
  • Safety and security features would be incorporated into further planning.

    • Ms Alison Crook explained that, after completing the plans for the individual campuses, the sequencing development would be submitted to the Senior Management Committee, for endorsement to move forward to Resources and Finance Committee. A presentation on the development sequencing would also be delivered to the next Administrative Heads Group meeting.
        4.5.2 Campus developments update
    Ms Crook provided members with a report on developments at all campuses:
  • Parkville - Monash was awaiting Ministerial approval for the sale of land to the developers prior to commencement of building.
  • Caulfield - Stage 1 was undergoing progressive fit-out and occupation would occur from late this year through to mid-2006. Negotiations were underway with the preferred developers for Stage 2 development, with recommendations expected to be submitted to Resources and Finance Committee in June.
  • STRIP 2/3 - development plans had been included in the Budget, with options open depending on funding sources. Commencement late 2005/early 2006 was expected.
  • John Monash Science School - work with the Department of Education’s Eastern Region on the concept of a senior secondary school was ongoing. The school would be a flagship for development of science/mathematics education. Whilst construction of the school was not funded by the recent State Budget, funds were allocated for further planning. It was hoped that full funding would be forthcoming in next year’s Budget.
  • Berwick - options for disposal of some land for University purposes were being explored and would be submitted to the Minister. Work on the student accommodation was due to commence next year.
  • Malaysia - pre-construction clearing was underway, with a ‘sod turning’ ceremony to be held in June.
  • South Africa – the preferred developer for the additional student accommodation had been identified; local council approval of the sale of land was required, and this was not expected to be forthcoming until September. The new accommodation was expected to be ready by mid-2006, therefore temporary alternate accommodation would be sourced for the commencement of the 2006 student year. In response to a member question, Ms Crook advised that Monash would be the manager, and therefore control the operations of, the new development.
    •
        4.5.3 Westpac Procurement MasterCard
          Members noted the report on the implementation of the Westpac Procurement MasterCard.
        4.5.4 Record Keeping Policy
          Members noted the Monash University Record Keeping Policy.
    5. Farewell to Ms Alison Crook
      Prior to closing the meeting, and on behalf of the Group, the Chair advised members that this was Ms Alison Crook’s last Administrative Heads Group meeting, and expressed his gratitude to Ms Crook for her considerable achievements in her short tenure at Monash, in particular to the bringing of a high level of professionalism to the university’s administrative and financial services.

    The Chair reminded members that it was Ms Crook’s vision and determination that had resulted in significant developments at Monash such as the STRIP.

    Other significant achievements included the establishment of the Senior Leadership Development Program, implementation of strategic cost management (regarded as the most advanced in Australian universities); establishment Monash Commercial, an essential step towards commercialising research; Monash Property Management; Monyx (which would prove its value should VSU be introduced); and considerable contribution to the success of the Malaysian and South African campuses. For these, and her contribution to Monash in many other areas, the University would always be grateful.

    Members endorsed the Chair’s vote of thanks by acclamation.

    6. Other business  
      6.1 Meeting Dates for 2005  
        11 August

    06 October

    24 November

    		  
    7. Next meeting  
      The next meeting of the Administrative Heads Group (Meeting 4/2005) is scheduled for 8.30a.m. Thursday 11 August 2005 in the Council Room (Clayton campus).