Committee of Deans Meeting 6-1993

Meeting No. 6/93 of the Committee of Deans was held on Tuesday, 1 June 1993, in the Clayfield Room, Boykett Building, at the Caulfield campus, between 2.30 and 4.25 pm.

There were present:

Professor M.I. Logan, Vice-Chancellor, in the Chair

Professor I.W. Chubb, Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Professor R. Porter, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Dean, Faculty of Medicine

Professor R.J. Pargetter, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Projects)

Professor P.LeP. Darvall, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Engineering

Professor B. Dunstan, Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Gippsland)

Professor G.C. Clark, Acting 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 J.W. Freebairn, Acting Dean, Faculty of Economics Commerce and Management

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

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

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

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

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

An apology was received from Professor L.H.T. West

In attendance were:

Mr P.B. Wade, General Manager

Professor R.McD. Anderson, Campus Director, Frankston

Mr M.D. Watson, Acting Academic Registrar

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

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

M I N U T E S

In opening the meeting, the Vice-Chancellor informed Deans that he had MDW invited the Director of the Frankston campus, Professor Ray Anderson, to attend meetings of the Committee as a means of facilitating better lines of communication to and from that campus. He said this practice would be adopted on a trial basis for three months, after which its effectiveness would be reviewed.

40. Minutes

The minutes of Meeting No. 5/93 held on 11 May, copies of which had been circulated, were confirmed and signed.

41. Matters Arising from the Minutes

No matters were raised from the minutes.

42. Report of the Vice-Chancellor

42.1 DEET Profile Visit

Professor Logan reported that Monash had now been informed about the nature and extent of material required by DEET for the institutional profile visit later in the year. The information being sought was far in excess of that required in previous years, he said, and amounted to an unjustifiable intrusion into the University's affairs. He said Monash was considering its options in this regard.

42.2 Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies

Professor Logan informed Deans that he had recently attended a meeting of the Board of the Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies associated with the University of London which Monash was supporting with a grant of $100,000 per annum for three years until the end of 1994. Despite some concern about the narrowness of its focus of studies, he said he was impressed with the work of the Centre and was convinced about the worth of the University's investment.

43. Urgent Matters

43.1 Development Plan

Professor Chubb tabled the appended draft proposal for the Deans preparation of a development plan to chart the preferred course for Monash over the next 15 to 20 years. He sought the views of Deans before circulating a revised proposal for wider comment within the University, particularly in regard to the series of questions posed under the heading `The Framework' on pages 2 to 5. He said the plan would form the basis for future student and staff profiles and the capital development program. It would be reviewed every five years and modified as required, he said. After an initial discussion, Deans undertook to forward comments to Professor Chubb at their earliest convenience.

43.2 Mission Statement and Objectives

Related to the above exercise, Professor Chubb tabled the appended Deans paper representing his attempt at revising the University's mission statement and objectives. He asked for the comments of Deans to be forwarded to him, if possible by the end of the week.

43.3 Undergraduate Education Committee

As foreshadowed at the previous meeting, Professor Chubb tabled MDW the appended proposal for the establishment of an Undergraduate Education Committee as a standing committee of the Academic Board. Deans endorsed this proposal and agreed to commend it to the Academic Board, subject to the inclusion of the Director of Financial Services in its membership and the addition of a reference to resource implications in its first term of reference. In so doing, it was agreed that the Committee of Deans should foreshadow to the Board the submission in due course of a recommendation for the establishment of a parallel Committee of Postgraduate Education that would incorporate the existing PhD and Scholarships Committee most probably as a specialist sub-committee.

43.4 Review of Language and Learning Assistance Programs

Professor Chubb tabled the appended proposal for a review, as Deans foreshadowed, of the University's language and learning assistance programs and asked Deans to forward any comments to him, if possible by the end of the week.

43.5 Student Profiles

Professor Pargetter advised Deans that, after seeking comment from RJP faculties and the advice of selected schools, Monash would be announcing that, from henceforth, student profile assessments would not be taken into account for University selection purposes.

43.6 Industrial Matters

Professor Chubb briefed Deans on the current status of negotiations with general and academic staff unions in regard to award restructuring and related matters.

43.7 Van Cleef Foundation

Professor Porter informed the Committee and gained its general RP endorsement of action in train to amend the trust deed of the Van Cleef Foundation that would give the University oversight of considerable funds towards the establishment of a Van Cleef Centre of neurological sciences with a permanently endorsed chair.

44. Research Matters

44.1 Report on Meeting of Pro-Vice-Chancellors (Research)

The Committee received and noted the appended paper (D16/93) from Professor Porter on a meeting of Pro-Vice-Chancellors (Research) he had attended in Canberra on 22 and 23 April.

45. 1994 Graduation Ceremonies

The Committee received but deferred consideration of the appended RJP paper (D17/93) from the Acting Academic Registrar pending the submission by Professor Pargetter to the next meeting of a discussion paper addressing a number of general issues concerning graduation ceremonies that had arisen of late.

46. Other Business

No other business was raised.

Next Meeting

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee was scheduled to be held at 2.30 pm on Tuesday, 22 June 1993, in the Council Room at the Clayton campus.