Committee of Deans Meeting 16-1992

Meeting No. 16/92 of the Committee of Deans was held on Tuesday, 27 October 1992, in the Council Room, University Offices, at the Clayton campus, between 2.15 and 5.40 pm.

There were present:

Professor R. Porter, Acting Vice-Chancellor, in the Chair

Professor R.J. Pargetter, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts

Professor L.H.T. West, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Internat'l Programs and Development)

Professor B. Dunstan, Monash University College Gippsland

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

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

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

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

Professor C.B. Chapman, Dean, Victorian College of Pharmacy

An apology was received from Professor M.I. Logan

In attendance were:

Mr A.L. Pritchard, Registrar

Mr J.S. White, Acting Comptroller

Mr G.F. Neat, Executive Director, University Development

Ms C.E. Anderson, Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor

Mr M.D. Watson, Secretary

M I N U T E S

Capital Developments Briefing

Prior to proceeding with the business at hand, the Committee was briefed by the Director of Building and Development, Mr John Trembath, on building projects currently in train at the Clayton, Caulfield, Frankston, and Gippsland campuses, and the Pharmacy College. In addition, Professor Pargetter informed Deans that there was now a good expectation that development of a new campus at Berwick would proceed over the next two years on the basis of additional capital funds and additional student load being provided by government.

Questions were raised about the 0.5 per cent of project capital taken PBW off the top for the `embellishment of buildings'. Deans were of the view that such embellishment - the purchase of art works or the like - should be applied to the buildings concerned, and some concern was expressed that this may not be happening. Accordingly, it was agreed to ask the Vice-Chancellor and Comptroller to consider this matter and report to the next meeting on the University's policy and preferred procedures in this regard.

115. Minutes

The minutes of Meeting No. 15/92 held on 6 October, copies of which had been circulated, were confirmed and signed.

116. Matters Arising From the Minutes

116.1 Allocation of 1992 International Student Income

Mr White tabled the appended paper showing adjustments made JSW in the allocation to faculties of 1992 international student income on the basis of first semester enrolment data. He said further adjustments might be made when second semester data became available in about a fortnight. A view was expressed that faculties should be funded for the international students actually being taught from the time of their enrolment notwithstanding difficulties experienced by central administration in fee collection. Professor West and Mr White agreed to consider and report on this matter at the next meeting.

116.2 Funding of Academic Support Activities

Mr White tabled the appended paper on the development of indicative JSW budgets for academic support activities in response to a call for such information at an earlier meeting. Deans found the paper useful but asked for additional information, specifically a breakdown of the costs attributable to the major functions of the Vice-Chancellor's, Comptroller's, and Registrar's Divisions. Mr White undertook to try and provide this information at the next meeting. In response to a question about devolution costs, Mr White said he JSW had not yet fully analysed the returns submitted by faculties but said, even when this was done, he doubted whether a clear picture would emerge. It was agreed nonetheless that funds would need to be set aside, probably from the restructuring account, to redress any budgetary inequities that may become apparent when the full facts were known.

116.3 1993 Operating Budget

Professors Rae and Aspin informed the Committee of the difficulties PBW their faculties faced in the wake of the indicative budgets discussed at the previous meeting and subsequent action taken by the Central Budgets Committee that would substitute support from a restructuring fund for the four per cent buffer originally proposed to cushion the effects of the foreshadowed significant shortfalls in funding. It was agreed to convey the Deans' concerns to the Vice-Chancellor and Comptroller. The meeting discussed several issues and problem areas related to RJP management in times of financial stringency, in particular the conflict inherent in wishing to maintain flexibility by retaining a reasonable proportion of staff on contract appointments while under instruction to move towards higher levels of tenured positions within the junior academic grades. There was some confusion about just what fund sources were involved in compliance with such academic staff appointment ratios, which Professor Pargetter undertook to clarify at the next meeting. The meeting also noted the effects on overall budget outcome that PBW could accrue from certain decisions taken in isolation - and often for very good reasons - that were not revisited again en bloc as part of budget discussions. Examples mentioned were the possibility of faculties shifting student load towards higher weighted areas, and decisions to take funds `off the top' for specific uses such as increasing Monash Graduate Scholarships. Several Deans also mentioned the desirability of developing the formula funding model to a stage where it could project beyond the following year so as to bring more of a forward-looking perspective to financial planning. It was agreed to convey these observations to the Vice-Chancellor and Comptroller.

116.4 1993 Selection

Mr White tabled the appended paper on 1993 planned load - The Planning Figures as he referred to them - containing all the student load data underpinning the 1993 operating budget. In order to try and ensure enrolment as close to target as possible and contain the unfunded overenrolment already in the system, the Committee agreed to Mr White's proposal that there be no upward adjustment to the commencing load figures listed therein. To assist the selection process, Mr White informed Deans that JSW enrolment management reports in a similar format - but showing both target and actual enrolment - would be provided on line by the Planning and Analysis Branch on a daily basis between, say, mid-November and mid-May. He took note of suggestions that Deans and selection officers would also find it useful to have emerging data on head counts as well as EFTSU and, where applicable, enrolment levels at individual campuses by degree faculty. In addition, Professor Pargetter tabled the appended draft paper RJP proposing a formal authority and lines of responsibility to underpin and facilitate the selection process. After seeking clarification of several points, Deans generally endorsed the paper, noting that a revised and elaborated version would be submitted to a later meeting after consultation with others involved in the selection process, notably Faculty Assistant Registrars. On a related matter, Professor Bellamy sought clarification on what real or notional cut-off scores should be applied for international students given the foreshadowed fall in demand for places and the impact this would have on faculty budgets. It was agreed that intake levels for international students should be comparable with local cut-off levels, a matter that was left to individual faculties to determine and implement.

117. Acting Vice-Chancellor's Report

117.1 Budget Statement

Deans considered the appended paper submitted by the RP Vice-Chancellor, D65/92, and were of the general view that, while it might be appropriate for inclusion in a promotional externally-oriented planning publication, it may not be in the context as an introduction to an essentially internally-oriented stringent budget document. Professor Porter undertook to convey this view to Professor Logan on his return from overseas. Picking up the last sentence in Professor Logan's covering Deans memorandum, Professor Porter asked each Dean to submit to Mr Watson within the next few days a brief statement - one page or less - of goals for their faculties in 1993 and strategies for achieving them against a backdrop of budgetary realities. He said he would ask Mr Watson to edit these statements into a consistent format for inclusion in the budget document. He acknowledged that this was at variance with Professor Logan's earlier request for longer `Wollongong-style' planning/mission statements which some Deans had complied with. It was agreed, however, that such statements might still prove useful in another context.

117.2 Executive Proceedings

The Committee discussed the following items on the appended listing of topics discussed at meetings of the Executive on 7 and 12 October.

Victorian College of Pharmacy

MDW

It was agreed to schedule a meeting of the Committee of Deans at the Pharmacy College at a convenient date early in 1993.

Open Learning Initiative

In response to a request from Professor Darvall, Mr ALP Pritchard and Professor Pargetter briefed the meeting on the current status of Monash's bid to manage the Commonwealth Government's open learning initiative. Mr Pritchard said that, prior to the expected signing of a contract in mid-November, interim management structures had been set in place and initial work was under way in regard to administrative, academic, and marketing arrangements. Professor Pargetter said the initiative would involve three distinct components; the establishment and operation of a company to manage the project, the design and provision of courses to be selected by a tendering process, and the setting in place of procedures for the enrolment of students and the conferral of Monash degrees. They undertook to include this and other relevant information in a detailed briefing paper for submission to the next meeting.

118. Urgent Matters

118.1 Monash in the City Lecture Series

The Committee took note of a comment from Professor Darvall GFN that the potentially successful but poorly attended Monash in the City lecture series might be better managed by Mr Neat's Communications Department.

118.2 Schools Liaison

The Committee noted the series of schools liaison activities listed in the appended paper tabled by Professor Pargetter.

118.3 Misplaced Promotion Application

The Committee agreed to proceed with the higher promotion RJP application mentioned in the appended paper tabled by Professor Pargetter.

118.4 1993 Graduation Ceremonies

The Registrar was reminded that the Committee was awaiting a ALP revised proposal on graduation ceremonies for 1993 following the action initiated at Meeting No. 14/92, Minute 101.

118.5 Chair of Psychology

The Committee considered the appended proposal from IDR Professor Rae for filling the vacancy for a Chair of Psychology that will arise upon the retirement of Professor Day at the end of the year. After quite some discussion, Professor Rae agreed to defer his motion to proceed with filling the chair pending the emergence of a clearer picture of the Department's and the Faculty's overall financial situation that would enable the Committee of Deans to be assured that the Faculty could operate within its 1993 budgetary constraints.

119. Academic Staff Award Restructuring

The Committee noted the appended paper submitted by Professor Pargetter, D66/92.

120. General Staff Award Restructuring

The Committee noted the appended paper submitted by Mr Pritchard, D67/92.

Next Meeting

It was noted that the next ordinary meeting of the Committee was scheduled to be held at 2.15 pm on Tuesday, 17 November, in the Clayfield Room at the Caulfield campus.