The Minutes of Meeting No. 12/96 were confirmed and signed subject to the following amendments:

• Deletion of the last paragraph, commencing with the words "The Acting Dean...", under item 6.1 on page 6;
• Amendment of the words "population of less than 1000" to read "population of less than 2,000" under item 3.1 on page 3.

The Dean of Medicine, Professor R Porter, queried the need for the Secretary to circulate extracts in addition to the full Minutes, particularly in view of the additional paper involved. The Academic Registrar, Ms O Cornelius, explained that such advisings had proved useful as a prompt, especially when the action officer for a particular decision of the Committee was not a member and had not been present at the Meeting.

The Secretary agreed to reduce the paper usage by sending advisings only to non member action officers, and using email where appropriate.

The Manager, Budget and Statistical Services, Mr J Levine, was present for this item.

A document titled "1997 Budget Planning" dated 15 October 1996 was tabled by the General Manager, Mr P B Wade. (D130/96)

In relation to the tables in the budget paper, the General Manager mentioned in particular:

• The expected small growth in operating budget income was made possible by a significant increase in student fees, as shown in Table 1;
• The faculties experiencing growth (illustrated in Table 7) were those with strength in fee paying courses and/or with courses operating at Berwick campus;
• The budget for the "Academic Services/Support" item in Table 7 represented a growth of 1.2% over 1996, but a reduction in the ratio of academic support from 31.5% to between 30.0 and 30.5% of the overall operating budget allocation;
• The expenditure allocations did not include funding for wage increases, which were still the subject of negotiation;
• The impact on staffing of the expected deterioration in enrolment at Gippsland campus (Table 3 - 156 EFTSU) would be minimised (Table 6.3 - 77.6 teaching load).

The Committee noted that funding for the Language Study Abroad Program and the Language & Learning Services Unit was to be reduced but that the University's overall allocation of $6,000 per student was much higher than the student allocation at other universities. It was suggested that new student support initiatives (such as undergraduate scholarships) be shown in Table 3.

Professor R Porter, Dean of Medicine, drew members' attention to the planned reduction in student load in Nursing: 90 EFTSU in total, with Gippsland campus bearing the major cut (55 EFTSU). Although the load split between Gippsland and Peninsula was based on academic factors - the quality of applicants - Professor Porter indicated that regional implications needed further consideration.

With respect to the development of Gippsland campus in general it was noted that the identification of new initiatives was crucial. The Dean of Arts, Professor M Quartly, suggested that some initiatives valuable for country relations, such as the Centre for Gippsland Studies, might require specific assistance. The Vice- Chancellor informed the Committee that the role of regional universities was of major interest at the recent OECD forum and that opportunities for new funding sources were emerging for regional universities in the United Kingdom.

Professor C B Chapman, Dean of the Victorian College of Pharmacy reminded the Committee that an allocation was needed for the central staff development fund, proposed in the report of the review of the Professional Development Centre which had been endorsed by the Committee of Deans for submission to Academic Board Meeting 7/96. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor P LeP Darvall agreed to set aside funds for this purpose.

Professor P LeP Darvall also agreed to Professor R T White's suggestion that a procedure be set up to allocate the "new developments" monies identified in Table 3.

The Vice-Chancellor thanked colleagues for their efforts in achieving the budget paper for 1997 and there was general agreement that the process used this year was timely, informative and consultative.

The Dean of Medicine was asked to speak. Professor R Porter informed members that later that week the Minister was to meet with the Vice-Chancellors and Deans of Medicine from Monash and Melbourne Universities to advise them of changes to the hospital system approved by Cabinet.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor R J Pargetter spoke to this item. He referred to the Academic Board's resolution earlier in the year that all courses to run in 1997 should have regulations in place by the end of 1996. He asked Deans to check the progress in relation to their own courses and where necessary, expedite the preparation of instructions for the Solicitor and the faculty's consideration of the Solicitor's drafts.

It was noted that action by the Faculty of Arts was particularly urgent.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor M I Logan AC, referred to the report of the Working Party listed under item 5.5 on the Agenda for Meeting 7/96 of the Academic Board the following day. He explained that the Steering Committee's recommendations to the Board concerning the report were general because the document had not been finalised in time for the Steering Committee meeting on 8 October 1996.

A number of queries were raised about Working Party's recommendations contained in the report. After discussion it was agreed that the Academic Board, and members of the academic staff generally, needed time to consider the report. In addition, the Committee of Deans was seen as needing to have an input and the Vice-Chancellor nominated Professor P LeP Darvall to chair a sub-group of the Committee which would meet to develop recommendations for the Meeting 14/96 of the Committee on 5 November 1996.

The Vice-Chancellor indicated that, depending on the views expressed by members of the Academic Board at the 16 October meeting, he would suggest that the Board defer approval of the current Working Party report until its Meeting 8/96 to be held on 27 November 1996.

The Dean of Arts, Professor M Quartly, informed members that she was to involve the Faculty in a co-operative venture with the University of Melbourne to teach Latin and Greek. Deans hailed this initiative as a promising example of effective sharing of resources.

The Dean of Medicine, Professor R Porter, described the process of consultation which had taken place with Nursing staff in relation to the reduction in student load and the development of a proposal for the restructure of the Sub-Faculty. He indicated that the proposal, to be forwarded to Professor P LeP Darvall, had the support of staff and would recommend the formation of a unified "School of Nursing" from the two current campus based schools.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor M I Logan AC drew the Committee's attention to a recommendation from the Board of the Faculty of Business and Economics under item 8.1 in the Agenda of the Academic Board for Meeting 7/96 to be held on 16 October 1996.

As Professor C R Williams, Dean of Law, indicated that he wished to discuss the proposed title of the Department, Professor J A Rickard, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, agreed to meet with him. The Vice-Chancellor said therefore that he intended to move to defer decision on the matter at the Board Meeting on 16 October.

Professor P LeP Darvall referred to the 1997 ARC Special Investigator Award to Professor A Bond of the Department of Chemistry. He said he would invite both Professor Bond and Professor Jarvis, another award recipient, to give a brief presentation on their work at the Academic Board Meeting on the following day.

Members of the Committee noted the award to Professor Bond and asked that their congratulations to him be recorded.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor M I Logan AC, mentioned two conferences he had attended during the previous month - the IMHE-OECD Conference on Internationalisation of Higher Education in the Asia Pacific Region, and the 59th Anniversary of the Fullbright Scholarship Scheme, which Monash had sponsored. Professor Logan also referred to his participation in the first meeting of the Australian Asian Business Alumni to be held in Kuala Lumpur on 19 October 1996, and in a trade mission to Dubai later that month.

The excellent work by Professor West and others in organising the Fullbright conference was noted.

A memorandum dated 10 October 1996 from Ms B Meredith, Personnel Manager Senior Appointments, was received. (D125/96)

The Committee nominated Professor C R Williams, Dean of Law, to serve on the Fixed-Term Professorial Committee for a period of two years and endorsed the proposal to rename the Committee as the Special Professorial Appointments Committee.

A report from the Board of the Faculty of Medicine dated 25 September 1996 proposing the establishment of a Chair of Molecular Pharmacology, was received. (D126/96) The proposal was also to be considered by the Academic Board on 16 October 1996.

The Committee noted Professor R Porter's advice that the Department of Pharmacology was experiencing growth in research income and that the Chair would not be a cost to the University. The Dean's proposal to establish and fill the Chair was endorsed.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Darvall pointed out that the Faculty of Medicine had a higher ratio of professors to non-professorial academic staff than any other faculty. In the absence of a policy identifying an appropriate ratio members affirmed the view that chairs could be established where funds existed, and particularly where research output was high.

The matter of a policy was deferred for discussion at a future meeting.

This item was taken after item 2.1.

A report prepared by the University Librarian, Professor E Lim, dated 2 October 1996, was received. (D127/96) Professor Lim had been invited to attend the meeting to speak to his report.

Professor E Lim covered in particular the various issues relating to electronic access, including escalating demand and associated costs, the time consuming nature of obtaining copyright clearances, desktop access for students at home, and restructure of document delivery services.

Professor P LeP Darvall, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, undertook to address in consultation with Professor E Lim the problem of the outdated main frame computer.

The Committee thanked Professor E Lim for his report and commended him on the many initiatives and ongoing projects being carried out by Library staff.

A submission regarding the proposed new role of the Standing Committee on Ethics in Animal Experimentation prepared by Dr Noel Johnston, Executive Officer to the SCEAE, dated 10 October 1996, was received. (D128/96)

The Committee endorsed the proposal for submission to Academic Board Meeting 8/96.

A report of the Associate Deans (Teaching) meeting of 11 September 1996, was received. (D129/96)

The Committee received and noted the report.

The next meeting of the Committee of Deans will be held at 2.15 pm on Tuesday, 5 November 1996 in The Sir George Lush Room, Ground Floor, University Offices 3a, Clayton Campus.