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Committee of Deans

Meeting 3/2006 of the Committee of Deans was held between 2.15pm and 5pm on Tuesday, 30 May in the Dean’s (BusEco) Meeting Room, Level 9, Building S, Caulfield Campus.

MINUTES

1. Attendance and apologies

There were present:

Professor R Larkins AO, Vice-Chancellor
Professor S Parker, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Mr P Marshall, Vice-President (Administration)
Mr D Pitt, Vice-President (Finance)/Chief Financial Officer
Professor B Mackenzie, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Gippsland
Professor M King, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Research Training
Professor B Hoffert, Acting Dean, Faculty of Art and Design
Professor G Palmer, Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics
Professor S Willis, Dean, Faculty of Education
Professor T Sridhar, Dean, Faculty of Engineering
Professor R Weber, Dean, Faculty of Information Technology
Professor HP Lee, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Law
Professor E Byrne, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Professor R Norris, Dean, Faculty of Science

Apologies:

Professor S Fahey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International)
Mr R Fairchild, Vice-President (Advancement)
Professor E Cornish, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
Professor M Liddell, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Malaysia
Professor T Pretorius, Pro Vice-Chancellor, South Africa
Professor J Redmond, Dean, Faculty of Art and Design
Professor H Le Grand, Dean, Faculty of Arts
Professor A Freiberg, Dean, Faculty of Law
Professor C Chapman, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy

Secretary:

Mr T Calder, Director, Executive Services

2. Minutes

Minutes of meeting 2/2006 of the Committee of Deans held on Tuesday 21 March 2006 were confirmed.

3. Matters arising from the Minutes (not dealt with elsewhere in the Agenda)

3.1 Activity Based Costings (A.B.C.)

Mr Pitt advised members that ABC was still being implemented,albeit at a slower than optimal rate, however resourcing was being reviewed in order to both speed up implementation and facilitate a review of some cost drivers.

3.2 Budget Process 2007

Noting that the major forum for a discussion on the 2007 Budget process would be Monday 5 June, some preliminary matters raised by members included:

  • Discussion on options for faculty surpluses, or otherwise, would commence;

  • there maybe some utility in discussing possible changes to those cost drivers that introduced perverse incentives;

  • Monday’s discussion would focus on major issues however some discussion on drivers may be possible;

  • the point at which strategic initiatives becomes part of normal operations needs to be discussed;

  • there were still a perverse incentive in the way space charges were charged across faculties; and

  • noting that understanding costs did not determine how revenue was distributed, it was suggested that appropriate incentives needed to be built into the allocation model.

4. Vice Chancellor

4.1 Vice Chancellor’s Report

Berwick & Gippsland Campuses

The submitted proposal to develop the Berwick campus had been rejected by the Minister however PhillipsKPA had been contracted to provide a report on the provision of improved access programs at both campuses.

The involvement of Monash College was also being considered.

Meeting with the State Minister for Education

In addition to the above, matters discussed at a meeting between the Minister and Vice-Chancellor included membership of Council, the Sir John Monash Science School and the significant role of Monash South Africa in Monash’s International strategy.

Council Meeting outcomes

Members were provided with an update on the following:

  • Council approved the Caulfield development stage 2 subject to certain conditions.

  • Voluntary Student Unionism/Amenities fees and the proposal to guarantee funding to the Monash Postgraduate Association to ensure the continuation of the academic related services it supplies

Productivity Commission

Members were advised that the Treasurer, Peter Costello and the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop had announced that the Productivity Commission would undertake a research study into the economic, social and environmental returns on public support for science and innovation.

Members were encouraged to participate where appropriate and ensure that the sectors views were presented.

A member suggested that it was also important to emphasis the importance of research and research reputation in attracting international students.

5. Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Menzies Building Committee

Following an update on progress to-date, members were advised that the next step in the process was the development of an options paper that would be presented to the Committee of Deans.

T.M.C.

Noting that the Monash and T.M.C. agreement would not be renewed members discussed a range of matters including the length of the teach-out period and alternatives for Monash’s continuing presence in Singapore.

6. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International)

7. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

7.1 RQF and Code of Practice for the mock audit

Professor King informed Deans that he would circulate a document on the process and code as soon as practicable.

7.2 RQF

Professor King outlined recent developments noting that no firm framework was in place.

During discussion the following was noted:

  • The RQF Advisory Group had yet to meet;

  • process likely to be implemented in 2008 with funding allocations in 2009;

  • data collection point likely to be April 2007; and

  • research income will play a big part.

8. Vice-President (Administration)

8.1 Changes to Superannuation as a result of the 2006 Commonwealth Budget

Members discussed a range of issues including the importance of seeking appropriate financial advice prior to departure from Monash.

9. Vice-President (Finance)

9.1 Monash Property Management

Members were advised that the activities of Monash Property management were being wound up with the majority of its functions rolled back into the university with resultant savings.

10. Matters raised by members

10.1 Briefing of the new EBA and AWA.
(Sponsor Professor John Redmond)

During a presentation by Mr Marshall the following issues were discussed:

  • the possibility in the future of using AWA’s in the promotion process for ‘research only staff’;

  • AWA’s, as prescribed by the legislation, would be offered to current staff by August however as they offered few advantages over current arrangements it was expected that take-up of the offer would be negligible;

  • a possible use could be for existing Lecturers/Senior Lecturers who obtain an ARC grant and ‘give up’ their substantive position for that period to have an AWA to return at the end of the grant period;

  • Enterprise Bargaining – major changes

    • sessional staff – appointment limit of 12 months removed.

    • limit on sessional hours removed.

    • casual general staff – limit on appointment period removed.

    • fixed term employment – restrictions on categories of fixed-term employment removed.

    • fixed term staff can be made redundant.

    • fixed term research staff – can be offered continuing employment provided an AWA is used to cap redundancy entitlements.

    • academic probation can be extended by up to 24 months and the period of notice for termination is now one-sixth of the probation period ( to a maximum of 6 months).

    • performance management for academic staff simplified to a 3 step process being:

      1. Submission and review of portfolio
      2. Ongoing planning and annual review cycle
      3. Adjustments to engagement profile

    • consultation about change with the NTEU no longer mandatory however open and transparent dealings with staff should be maintained at all times.

    Members thanked Mr Marshall for his presentation.

10.2 The size of Monash University
(Sponsor Professor Ron Weber)

Following introductory comments that provided context for the discussion, members had a wide-ranging discussion on the matter. The following points were made:

  • Monash should not get larger but needed to increase its revenues;

  • simplification of coursework offerings was an important task;

  • Monash revenues were very reliant on international student fees however the future of this market is uncertain;

  • a ‘Head of Business Strategy’ would commence in July and could help develop business models that would inform the debate. Further, it was noted that the sources of profitability within Monash are narrowing;

  • growth needed to be carefully managed, not just driven by market forces;

  • flexibility was important so that change can be expeditiously introduced;

  • a consideration was that some departments had high research output but low teaching loads;

  • changing age profiles of commencing students will result in the need to flexibly respond to their needs;

  • changing student demand will result in the need to reassess staffing profiles;

  • duplication of services between the centre and faculties needs to be considered. What is the appropriate model – devolved versus centralised?; and

  • general and academic staff breakdown by campus needs to be considered.

Professor Larkins thanked members for their comments and agreed that the matter should continue to be discussed at the next meeting.

11. Other Business

11.1 Proposal to establish a sponsored Professorship

Members approved the proposal

11.2 Appointment of a new Chancellor

In response to a question, members were advised that Council approved on Monday a process for the appointment of a new Chancellor

11.3 PhillipsKPA – Gippsland and Berwick Campuses

Members were advised that terms of reference were still being developed.

12. Topics identified for discussion at future meetings

12.1 What processes and activities should cease at Monash?

The minutes of meeting 3/2006 note that the Vice-Chancellor advised members to submit suggestions on this topic to facilitate an initial discussion of the matter.

To date no suggestions have been submitted to further this discussion.

13. Next meeting

The next meeting of the Committee of Deans will be held at 4 pm on Tuesday, 20 June in the Monash City Office, Level 11, 30 Collins Street, Melbourne.