Committee of Deans Meeting 11/97

Meeting 11/97 of the Committee of Deans was held at 2.15 pm on Tuesday, 9 September 1997 in the Sir George Lush Room, Ground Floor, University Offices Building 3a, Clayton Campus.

Tony Calder
Secretary
97/0025

MINUTES

1. Attendance and apologies

An apology was received from Professor D A Robinson, Vice Chancellor.

Professor A Russell attended for Professor J Rickard and Professor A Bishop attended for Professor R White.

Members of the Corporate Planning Group were in attendance.

2. Minutes

The minutes of meeting 10/97 were confirmed.

3. Matters arising from the minutes not dealt with elsewhere in the agenda

4. Vice-Chancellor's business

4.1 Vice Chancellor

4.1.1 Faculty Plans - Progress Reports

Faculty plans received and discussed at the meeting included:

Distributed with the Agenda

• Faculty of Law (D47/97)
• Faculty of Business and Economics (D48/97)
• Faculty of Arts (D49/97)

Distributed prior to the meeting

• Victorian College of Pharmacy (D51/97)
• Faculty of Education (D52/97)

Tabled at the meeting

• Faculty of Medicine (D53/97)

Professors Darvall and Lindsay introduced the item by noting that it was important to coordinate the overall planning process. This would ensure that individual and consolidated faculty plans were in agreement with and contributing to the goals and objectives detailed in Leading the Way - The Monash Plan 1998 - 2002.

Professor Darvall invited Deans to provide an overview of their planning document.

Faculty of Arts

Professor Quartly advised the Committee that the faculty would need to restructure in order to accommodate a reduced undergraduate load.

Major issues/highlights contained within the document included:

• the faculty will continue to strengthen its research profile;
• staffing profiles for the faculty have been projected over a five year span;
• the lengthy process and costs associated with redundancy provisions will severely impact on the planning process for the faculty; and
• consideration should be given to creating a University Fund to reduce the impact of costs associated with redundancies over the next few years.

Faculty of Business and Economics

Items of significance included in Professor Russell's outline included:

• teaching and learning related issues were under review in both the Undergraduate and Graduate areas;
• an emphasis on improving the faculty's research profile;
• in attempting to meet its planned growth targets, the faculty would remain cognisant of the requirement that no faculty should dominate the profile of a campus;
• investment in information technology will be maintained in order to support the faculty's planned targets;
• the review of tourism education is still progressing; and
• continuation of the development of intra and inter faculty undergraduate double degrees.

Faculty of Education

Items of significance included in Professor Bishop's outline included:

• review of the option of four-year degrees in conjunction with the development of an increased number of double degrees;
• the delivery of some EdD subjects via flexible delivery mode;
• the faculty now operates as a single unit and is structured around a number of Academic Teams that cross three campuses;
• the faculty will undertake a curriculum review in 1998;
• it was noted that some subjects offered at Masters level were not yet attracting suitable support;
• Research - the faculty will continue to focus on diversifying its research program into new areas and attempt to attract grants from areas other than ARC and NH&MRC. Emphasis will also be focused on increasing the enrolment of international students into postgraduate degrees with a research component;
• it was suggested that consideration be given to providing central support to facilitate the institutionalising of individual contacts between Universities; and
• the faculty recognised the important and innovative contribution made by the administrative and support staff of the faculty.

Faculty of Law

Items of significance included in Professor Williams outline included:

• the importance of attracting fee paying undergraduate students to the faculty but this would be made more difficult by Deakin and La Trobe Universities offering HECS funded Law places at lower TER levels;
• the professional and legal education provided by the faculty must be of an extremely high standard in order to attract undergraduate fee paying students; and
• that the University's entity wide planning cycle, as outlined on page 3 of Leading the Way - The Monash Plan 1998 - 2002, must be sufficiently flexible to allow for appropriate inputs/initiatives from the operational units (ie. that it allow also for a bottom up approach).

Faculty of Medicine

Items of significance included in Professor Porter's outline included:

• the Faculty of Medicine Operational Plan 1998 - 2000 contains specific teaching and learning targets which will ensure that the faculty's programs continue to provide world class graduates;
• the plan includes specific research objectives, strategies and targets;
• the implementation of the revised Bachelor of Nursing will be completed by 1999 and that the quality of the Nursing intake had increased due to the introduction of a higher minimum entry requirement; and
• the faculty will continue to expand its partnerships with other faculties as evidenced by the introduction of the Bachelor of Biomedical Science course.

Victorian College of Pharmacy

Items of significance included in Professor Chapman's outline included:

• the introduction of the four-year undergraduate pharmacy course;
• increased interaction with the hospital system;
• the development of coursework within PhD programs;
• increasing the awareness of the Parkville Campus as a University wide resource; and to
• pursue the development of double degrees with other faculties.

4.1.2 Load Planning - Open Learning & Distance Education

Providing an update on Load Planning, Ms Lampard advised the Committee that:

• HDR, OPG and International estimates were still being finalised;
• International Load via Distance Education was still being finalised;
• Postgraduate fee paying forecasts will be distributed shortly;
• Open Learning non-award load still to be finalised;
• the picture for Peninsula will be finalised soon. Items of note included Psychology being offered as a major via double degrees and that the BA (Behavioural Studies) may be offered at Peninsula in 1998; and
• noting that timing was an important consideration, the Committee was advised that preparation for offering Multi Media at Berwick in 1998 was on schedule but that Professor Rosenberg would verify the planning/implementation timetable.

4.1.3 Medical Student Numbers

Professor Porter tabled correspondence relating to a government initiated reduction in medical student numbers (D54/97).

Professor Darvall advised the Committee that the proposed reduction had not been raised at the recent profile discussions in Canberra.

Professor Porter outlined the history of the issue noting that it was not a new issue but had been the subject of discussions with the previous Labor government. Further, Professor Porter advised the Committee that Victorian and New South Wales institutions had been targeted to absorb the reductions even though Victoria's intake of students was reduced compared to 1975. In addition, all other states excluding NSW had increased their intake of medical students.

Following further discussion of the matter, Professor Porter was invited to attend the next meeting of the Vice-Chancellor's Group to consider an appropriate response to the government imposed reduction.

4.1.4 Docklands

Professor Darvall advised the Committee that the Tech2000 Consortium, which includes Monash, VUT, RMIT and Deakin Universities was the only shortlisted preferred bidder for the development of Melbourne's Dockland Technology Park.

4.2 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development)

4.2.1 Enterprise Bargaining

Mr P Marshall, Assistant General Manager - Personnel Services, outlined to the Committee various options the University was attempting to discuss with the NTEU in relation to the current round of Enterprise Bargaining.

Professor Darvall tabled copies of recent correspondence (D55/97) between the Vice-Chancellor and officials of the Monash branch of the NTEU.

Noting that the University was willing to look at all options and eager to resolve the deadlock, Professor Darvall expressed his disappointment that officials of the NTEU had reneged on an agreement with the Vice-Chancellor to recommend that all bans be lifted, that meetings of the Central Bargaining Unit be held over the next two weeks and that both parties be flexible and creative in attempting to resolve the dispute.

Further, the Committee was advised that the NTEU was unwilling to enter into negotiations except on the basis of its own tabled demands. As a result of this provision, the NTEU is unwilling to meet with University representatives to discuss other constructive and/or lateral options that might result in a mutually acceptable offer being made to University employees.

4.3 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International and Public Affairs)

4.3.1 Update on international matters

Professor Maloney provided the Committee with an update on the following matters:

• South Africa - The Vice-Chancellor is to meet the South African Minister of Education to further explore Monash's involvement in the region;
• Korea - negotiations are still underway. A Foundation Year Program is under consideration with a possible enrolment of 300 students by 1999; and
• a model for bringing Monash International and MUFY closer together is being sought.

4.4 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Planning)

4.4.1 Reorientating annual decanal presentations to Council

Deans were advised that the sequence and content of 1998 Council meetings was under consideration and that any recommended changes may affect how the Deans interact with Council.

Given the possibility of change as outlined above and considering Deans also submit faculty reports to Council via Academic Board, Deans were invited to provide the next meeting of the Committee with their views on the subject.

4.4.2 Strategic Innovation Fund

Referencing the 'Strategic Innovations Fund' document (Deans Special Meeting 1/97, Item 4, Attachment D), Professor Lindsay informed the Deans that:

• 1997 funding for proposals under the scheme was set at $2M;
• each application for support should be in excess of $100,000, with a minimum faculty contribution of $50,000, and
• applications should be lodged by 31 October 1997.

In addition, Professor Lindsay advised Deans that he would write to them regarding the Fund over the next few weeks.

4.4.3 Melbourne - Monash Cooperation Pact

Professor Lindsay advised the Committee that he had met with Professor Iain Morrison (University of Melbourne) regarding joint cooperation in courseware development. Preliminary issues from the meetings included:

• criteria for courseware development were evolving and may be available for comment in a few months;
• proposals for cooperation may one of take two forms, one being for those projects that have already been started by one party and the other being for initiatives starting from scratch;

Professor Lindsay advised that any input from Deans relating to the development of cooperative arrangements and criteria would be welcome.

4.5 General Manager

Mr Wade provided an update on the following items:

Budget process - information relating to the budget parameters, timetable and preparation should be available at the next meeting; and

- modifications to the budget process as detailed in Leading the Way will be underway by the next budget round.

Seamless Administration - the 1998 budget process will be remodelled to enable the identification of all funds expended on administration functions.

5. Matters raised by Deans

5.1 Advertise, establish and fill a Chair in Electronic Commerce

A proposal from the Deans of Business & Economics and Computing and Information Technology (D50/97), together with a summary of the major outcomes of the recent review of Electronic Commerce activity at Monash was enclosed with the Agenda.

Following agreement by Deans, the Acting Vice-Chancellor approved the proposal to advertise the position as soon as practicable.

In addition, the Committee endorsed the proposal to establish and fill a Chair in Electronic Commerce for submission to Academic Board and Council subject to approval by the faculty boards of Business and Economics and Computing and Information Technology.

6. Other business

6.1 Major initiatives involving the University

Noting that several major strategic undertakings involving the University were underway, Deans requested that an appropriately detailed briefing be given to the Committee. Such a briefing would then enable Deans to begin preliminary planning at faculty level on how best to capitalise on these new initiatives.

7. Items for information

8. Next meeting

The next scheduled Committee of Deans meeting will be held on 30 September 1997 at 2.15pm in the Sir George Lush Room.

Distribution

(Hard copy):

Vice-Chancellor
Deputy Vice-Chancellors
Deans
General Manager
Executive Assistant to Vice-Chancellor