Senior Management Committee Meeting 3-2004
Meeting 3/2004 of the Senior Management Committee
was held at 3pm on Wednesday, 14 April, 2004 in the Council Room,
1st Floor, University Offices Building 3a, Clayton campus.MINUTES
1 There were present:
Professor Richard Larkins - Vice-Chancellor, Presiding Ms Alison Crook AO - Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Resources) Professor Brian Mackenzie – Pro Vice-Chancellor,
Gippsland Associate Professor Bernard Hoffert – Acting Dean, Faculty of Art
and Design Associate Professor Denise Cuthbert – Acting Dean,
Faculty of Arts Professor Gill Palmer - Dean, Faculty of Business
and Economics Professor Sue Willis - Dean, Faculty of Education Professor John Sheridan – Acting Dean, Faculty of
Engineering Professor Ron Weber - Dean, Faculty of Information
Technology Professor Arie Freiberg - Dean, Faculty of Law Professor Edward Byrne - Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and
Health Sciences Professor Colin Chapman - Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy Professor Rob Norris - Dean, Faculty of Science
Mr Tony Pollock - Vice-President, International Professor Chris Browne – President of the Academic Board Mr Greg Connell – Director, Audit and Risk Management Professor Max King - Director, Research Graduate
School Mr John Matthews - Divisional Director, Corporate Finance Mr Chris Flynn – Associate Director, Facilities and Services Mr Alan McMeekin - Executive Director, Information Technology
Services Mr Peter Marshall - Divisional Director, Student
and Staff Services Mr Renn Wortley - University Solicitor Professor Merran Evans - Director, University Planning and
Research and Director, Monash University Centre in London Professor John Harris - Director, CeLTS Ms Cathrine Harboe-Ree - University Librarian Professor Rob Willis - Academic Director, Caulfield Professor Phillip Steele - Academic Director,
Peninsula Apologies Professor Stephen Parker, Professor Alan Lindsay,
Professor Edwina Cornish, Professor Merilyn Liddell, Professor John
Anderson, Professor John Redmond, Professor Homer Le Grand, Professor
Tam Sridhar, Ms Meredith Jackson, Mr Stephen Davey, Mr John Levine,
Professor Graham Webb, and Ms Janet Gaffey. In attendance Dr Sid Nair, Ms Di James, Mr Gerard Toohey, Mr
Reynold Diaz and Mr Neil Pope 2 Minutes
The Minutes of Meeting 2/2004 of the Senior
Management Committee held on 10 March, 2004 were confirmed. 3 Matters arising from the Minutes 4 Vice-Chancellor’s Group
4.1 Vice-Chancellor Issues
4.1.1 Higher Education Support Act and Monash's
response Professor Larkins provided members with a
summary of the recommendations approved at Council meeting
2/2004 (22 March 2004). Members were informed that Council
approved the following:
The Student Contribution Amount (SCA) fee
was set at 25% above the base rate however lower SCA fee
levels may be set for courses at outer urban and regional
campuses and possibly for research honours programs. No
change will occur for education and nursing programs.
Council reaffirmed its policy that
domestic fee paying places could be offered to students
within 5 percentile points of the lowest students accepted
via the normal pathways. The number of places available was
raised to 35% of the course load with the exception of
Medicine which will have a prescribed limit of 10%.
20% of the increased revenue would be
targeted towards increasing the number of current equity and
merit scholarships and a new pathway targeted towards
students from low socio-economic or educationally
disadvantaged backgrounds.
Monash would bid for additional new
places made available by DEST.
Professor Larkins outlined to members the
events stemming from recent student protests including the need
to move the Council meeting to an alternative location, the need
to close the meeting on advice from Victoria Police, the
subsequent resignation of one Council member and that Council
members had since met to discuss the events surrounding their
decision.
During discussion the following matters were
raised:
The appropriateness of decreasing the 5%
gap between fee paying and "HECS" students. During
discussion, it was noted that while fee-paying students do
not decrease the number of available HECS places, a
reduction in the gap would make the policy somewhat
artificial and no course has yet reached the previous level
of 25%, much less 35%.
In response to a query relating to the
expenditure of the remaining 80% of increased revenue;
members were advised that the funds would be directed
towards improved services to students and/or initiatives
that improved educational outcomes. Members noted the
importance of acting quickly and communicating to staff and
students the next phase of the process.
Members were informed that a Staff and
Student Forum would be held on 28 April.
Members noted the advice that the issue
of partial exemption scholarships and Centrelink benefits
had yet to be resolved by the Federal Government 4.1.2 Monash South Africa Professor Larkins informed members that the
consultant, Mr David Gilmour, had drafted the penultimate
version of the review report, however aspects of it still
required some further development.
A preliminary report on the matter would be
provided to Council on 3 May 2004. 4.1.3 Occupational Health and Safety and the
Environment Mr Paul Barton was in attendance for this
item.
Mr Barton provided members with an overview
of occupational health and safety matters at Monash including
the number of reported incidents and Workcover claims, the
legislative requirement for employers to provide a safe
workplace for employees, the high frequency of sprain and strain
injuries at Monash, the increasing occurrence of stress related
claims, the compliance framework, and the need to imbed sound
environmental practices in everyday activities.
Mr Barton tabled a document titled
Occupational Health, Safety and Environment at Monash: A
Strategic Approach 2004-2006 and informed members that the
six primary recommendations detailed in the strategic approach
were:
-
the need to align OHS structures with the
management structure of the university,
-
that Monash commit to reducing its injury
rate by 50% over the period 2004-2007,
-
the development and implementation of an
OHS compliance tool,
-
Monash seek to obtain Safety MAP
accreditation,
-
a range of environmental performance
measures and targets to be established, and
-
that a network of Environmental Officers
be established.
Inviting discussion, Professor Larkins noted
that Occupation Health & Safety issues were very much line
management responsibilities and the topic would be discussed
with Deans during their performance appraisal process.
During the discussion, members raised a
number of issues including:
-
The OH&S zone structure was currently
misaligned with the management structure i.e. the zones are
area/building specific and a range of departments from
different faculties may utilised the space;
-
safety MAP accreditation was process
orientated and demanding however it also delivered
significant benefits;
-
the issue of ‘self insurance’ may need
further discussion;
-
the appropriateness of linking the
‘environment’ with Occupational Health & Safety; and
-
the importance of including OHS and
environment responsibilities into position descriptions.
Professor Larkins thanked Mr Barton for his
presentation and members for their contribution to the
discussion. 4.2 Deputy Vice-Chancellor
4.2.1 Proposal to change the name of the
Quality Development Committee to Vice-Chancellor's Group
(Quality) The proposal to amend the name, membership
and terms of reference of the Quality Development Committee to
Vice-Chancellor’s Group (Quality) was approved. 4.3 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
4.4 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
4.5 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources)
4.5.1 Berwick Campus Development This item was removed from the agenda at the
request of Ms Crook. 5 Other business
5.1 Language and Learning needs Noting that this was an issue of importance
raised at the planning conference, Professor Larkins suggested that
the focus of discussion be on resolving the immediate issue –
services provided in 2004 – and that the method of funding for 2005
be resolved during the budget discussions.
Following discussion, it was agreed that two
on-going positions be established with the Office of the Deputy
Vice-Chancellor (Academic) to provide the funding (as previously
advised to the Vice-Chancellor’s Group). 5.2 Managing Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
Complaints at Monash University
Ms A Lazar, Ms K Gardner and Ms L Zaks were in
attendance for this item.
Mr Marshall invited members to note that it was
incumbent on all employers to take all reasonable steps to provide a
clearly articulated policy framework, however, a further challenge
was to ensure that all staff and students were informed of, and
follow, policy and procedures.
Ms Lazar noted the importance of adhering to the
process detailed in the Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
Grievance Procedures and emphasised the following aspects of the
process:
-
Whenever a manager/supervisor is approached
by a staff member or student in relation to an alleged incident
of discrimination, harassment or vilification, they should refer
the person to one of the Discrimination and Harassment Grievance
Advisors;
-
strict confidentiality must be maintained
during all phases of the grievance process;
-
if an anonymous complaint is received, these
should be treated with caution and advice immediately sought
from the Equal Opportunity Unit; and
-
that managers/supervisors should at all times
be cautious, fair to both parties and always observe strict
confidentiality. Further, the need for strict confidentiality
may result in managers/supervisors not being informed of
instances of harassment in the workplace.
Ms Zaks explained to members the background and
three stage resolution process contained in the procedures.
During discussion a number of issues were raised
including:-
-
In response to an issue relating to
confidentiality and bullying, members were advised that while
many of the issues overlapped, bullying was also inter-related
with industrial relation matters. Further, a draft bullying
policy was being developed including issues to do with the
privacy aspects of all parties;
-
noting the importance of maintaining
confidentiality when handling sensitive issues such as
harassment and bullying claims, members were advised that in
addition to the ‘feedback loop’ at the formal complaint level,
Deans and divisional heads were supplied with a numerical report
of complaints relating to their portfolio (no names) that would
indicate whether there was a culture of harassment (developing);
-
Mr Marshall advised members that if a member
required initial advice relating to any equity issues
then Ms Leah Zaks was the first point of contact;
-
more Discrimination and Harassment Grievance
Advisors were being sought particularly for the Caulfield
campus; and
-
the ‘procedures’ had been used at the
Malaysia campus, however, it was a challenging exercise.
Further, it was intended to develop a team of advisors in
Malaysia to assist in this area.
Professor Larkins thanked Ms Lazar, Ms Gardner
and Ms Zaks for their informative presentation and encouraged
members to follow the ‘procedures’ and/or contact the Equity and
Diversity Centre if they needed guidance in this area. 5.3 ‘Coolcampus’ initiative The item was added to the agenda prior to the
meeting.
Professor Steele outlined to members the
background and benefits of the initiative to teaching, research and
administrative staff.
Members, both academic and administrative, were
encouraged to attend the next ‘Coolcampus’ Workshop scheduled for 23
April 2004. The major topic at the workshop to be "Mobile and
Pervasive Computing in the University of the Future." 6 Next meeting The next meeting of the Senior Management Committee
will be held at 2.15 pm on Tuesday 1 June 2004 in
the Council Room.
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