Committee of Deans Meeting 4-1991

Meeting No. 4/91 of the Committee of Deans was held on Tuesday, 23 April 1991, in the James McNeill Room, University Offices, at the Clayton campus, between 2.15 and 4.50 pm.

There were present:

Professor J.A. Hay, Acting Vice-Chancellor, in the Chair

Professor T. Kennedy, Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Professor R.J. Pargetter, Dean, Faculty of Arts

Professor P.C. Chandler, Dean, David Syme Faculty of Business

Professor C.J. Bellamy, Dean, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology

Professor W.A. Sinclair, Dean, Faculty of Economics Commerce and Management

Professor D.N. Aspin, Dean, Faculty of Education

Professor P.LeP. Darvall, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, until he left following item 30.1, with the Associate Dean, Professor W.A. Brown, attending for the rest of the meeting

Professor C.R. Williams, Dean, Faculty of Law

Professor R. Porter, Dean, Faculty of Medicine

Professor R.J. Snedden, Dean, Faculty of Professional Studies

Professor I.D. Rae, Dean, Faculty of Science

Apologies were received from Professor M.I. Logan, Vice-Chancellor, and Professor G.N. Vaughan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor

In attendance were:

Mr J.R. Leicester, Acting Registrar

Mr P.B. Wade, Comptroller

Mr G.F. Neat, Director of Communications

Mr M.D. Watson, Secretary

M I N U T E S

26. Minutes

The minutes of Meeting No. 3/91 held on 3 April 1991, copies of which had been circulated, were confirmed and signed.

27. Matters Arising From the Minutes

No matters were raised from the Minutes.

28. Report of the Acting Vice-Chancellor

Professor Hay had no matters to report to the meeting.

29. Capital Funding for the 1991-93 Triennium

The Comptroller briefed Deans on recommendations for capital funding for the 1991-93 triennium and foreshadowed commitments extending into 1994 recently released by Ministers Baldwin and Pullen. He gave details of funding commitments of some $62M for Victoria, to be allocated to The University of Melbourne, Deakin University/Victoria College, Swinburne Institute of Technology, and Monash University.

Monash had been allocated $5M for completion of the new building at its Caulfield campus and $5M for the proposed TAFE articulation project to be located at Berwick, he said, and promised $2M in 1994 for refurbishment of the Rusden campus of Victoria College, which was proposed for transfer to Monash with vacant possession as of the beginning of 1995 and nominally valued at $30M on the understanding that the University would forego $8M in 1993 for the top building priority at its Clayton campus, such funding to be used instead to provide accommodation for the Rusden students and staff on the site of the Allambie Reception Centre, close to Victoria College's Burwood campus.

Deans were of the general view that the acquisition of Rusden would be good for the University, and the best option to pursue.

30. Urgent Matters

30.1 Information Overload

Professor Darvall drew attention to the heavy workload involved in responding to an increasing number of requests for information emanating from the central administration, instancing yet another call for data on research profiles.

GNV

30.2 Training Levy Proposal

Professor Kennedy gave notice of an approach from the BHP Company Ltd for Monash University College Gippsland to offer packaged training courses at Associate Diploma level for company employees, funded by training levy fees and which would carry credit, it was hoped, for mainstream College courses. He undertook to bring a paper to a later meeting addressing the critical issues involved.

TK

30.3 Payroll Tax

In response to a question from Professor Bellamy, the Comptroller undertook to confirm, as soon as he was in a position to do so, what commitments, if any, faculties might have to carry in respect of payroll tax increases to be levied in the current year.

PBW

31. Research Matters

31.1 The Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Research

The meeting concurred with a comment from Professor Aspin that, on the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Research and other bodies, the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Academic) should not be, and should not be seen to be, representing those areas of their academic specialisation but rather the research endeavours of the institution as a whole.

31.2 Research Initiative Funding

Professor Hay undertook to hurry up the Office for Research in making known to Deans the recommended allocation of research initiative funding for 1991.

JAH

32. Teaching Research Protest Group

In discussion of the attached memorandum of 18 April from Professor Williams to the Vice-Chancellor, D12/91, the Committee affirmed its firm view that any attempts to distance Deans, either individually or collectively, from the senior management team located in the University Offices, should be assiduously resisted and, where appropriate, publicly renounced. The Acting Vice- Chancellor confirmed his view that Deans were an integral part of the University's overall management structure, and were not the captives of their respective faculties.

33. Retirement Age of Professors

In response to moves in Western Australia, New South Wales, and South Australia to abolish the statutory retirement age for academic staff, the Committee concurred with the view of Professor Porter that the University should issue a clear statement that the retirement age for staff at Monash University was 65 unless, in exceptional circumstances, a successful case was argued to the Vice- Chancellor by a Dean and was subsequently approved by Council. The Registrar was asked to prepare such a statement for consideration at a later meeting.

ALP

34. Chair of Pharmacology

After consideration of the attached paper, D13/91, the Committee approved for transmission to the Academic Board a recommendation that the Chair of Pharmacology, recently vacated by Professor A.L.A. Boura, be filled. Professor Porter undertook to submit a revised version of his faculty's submission in a form better suited for consideration by the Board.

RP

35. Reorganisation of the University Calendar

After consideration of the attached paper, D14/91, the Committee agreed as follows in response to the recommendations therein: . that the Calendar proper be published in a loose-leaf format as proposed; . that individual Handbooks be published for each of the ten faculties as proposed, but including full faculty staffing lists, all relevant course regulations, and all information on postgraduate course offerings; and . that a general Student Information Handbook be published as proposed. As a consequence of these decisions, the Committee ruled out the need for a Graduate Studies Handbook, separate faculty degree regulation books, or campus-based handbooks. Given the increasing access to and use by students of computers, it was suggested that a limited number of handbooks might be offered for sale at the Bookshop in floppy disc format to gauge what level of demand might exist. Members also expressed their wish to be able to submit and receive back for proof-reading copy for such publications on computer disc for ease of handling and in the belief that deadlines might be put back as a consequence. The meeting also reaffirmed its view that business for the Committee of Deans should only be submitted by its members or by the Registrar and Comptroller.

JSW

36. Emergency Evacuation Procedures

The Committee received and noted the attached emergency evacuation procedures position paper and action plan prepared on the direction of the Occupational Health and Safety Policy Committee. Before adopting any firm position on the paper as a whole, the Committee asked that it be provided by the OH&S Policy Committee with a clear statement on what, if any, responsibility individual officers of the University had for ensuring compliance with provisions of occupational health and safety legislation applicable to the University. Pending the receipt of this statement, the Committee endorsed in general terms the timetable for the determination and testing of emergency evacuation procedures set out in Attachment 3 of the paper.

CJT

37. Planning for Overseas Student Load

The Committee received the attached paper tabled at the meeting by Professor Hay and endorsed the course of action propounded therein for the development of iterative planning mechanisms to govern the University's future overseas student marketing programme. On a peripheral matter, the Comptroller undertook to look into and report on the matter raised by Professor Bellamy at the previous meeting (item 24.4) on the disbursement of full-fee paying student monies.

JAH PBW

Next Meeting

It was noted that the next ordinary meeting of the Committee of Deans was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 14 May, commencing at 2.15 pm.