Council Meeting  5-2004

Meeting 5/2004 of the Monash University Council was held between 5.00 pm and 7.20 pm on Monday, 9 August 2004, in the Sir George Lush Room, Administration Building 3a, Clayton Campus

Mr J K Ellis, Chancellor, presiding

Mr P H Ramler AM, Deputy Chancellor

Dr J M Hearn, Deputy Chancellor

Professor R G Larkins AO, Vice-Chancellor

Professor C Browne, President of Academic Board

Professor S Parker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Professor A Lindsay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)

Professor E Cornish, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

Ms A Crook AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources)

Mr T Calder, Director, Executive Services

Apologies were received from Ms Penny Hutchinson and Professor Colin Bourke MBE.

Council approved requests for special leave for meeting 6/2004 (27 September) for Ms Wendy Peter and Ms Dale Halstead.

Items 1.1 Apologies, 1.2 Special Leave, 1.3 Starring of Items, 1.4 Approval of Non-Starred Items, 2 Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meetings, 3 Chancellor’s Business, 4 Vice-Chancellor’s Business and 5 Discussion of governance issues were starred and discussed at the meeting.

Council resolved on the motion of the Chairman:

‘that all items on the agenda not starred be adopted without discussion, and the action recommended be taken or the information therein noted’.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/135

Council conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa upon the person named in the document presented.

The Minutes of meeting 4/2004 held on 19 July 2004 were approved subject to the following amendments:

Under item 4.2 Report to Council concerning the future operations of Monash University in South Africa, Monitoring the progress and milestones of the campus that paragraph three be amended to read as follows:

Under item 4.2 Report to Council concerning the future operations of Monash University in South Africa, Projects such as this needed improved financial information and Monash should develop an exit strategy as part of its contingency planning that the following notation be added:

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/136

Council confirmed the Minutes of meeting 4/2004 held on 19 July 2004 subject to the amendments as detailed above.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/137

Council approved changes of venue for the following meetings:

The Vice-Chancellor thanked Council for the opportunity to address it on the state of the University and informed Council that he would provide such an address on an annual basis.

A handout of the PowerPoint presentation, noting that the printed slides were the penultimate version of the address, was tabled at the meeting.

By way of an introduction, the Vice-Chancellor informed Council that the state of the University could be viewed as "The Glass Half Full". Aspects of Monash’s achievements over the past 43 years included:

• largest university in Australia;

• talented and committed staff;

• well-disposed alumni in Australia and overseas in positions of prominence;

• entrenched as a member of the Go8 research-intensive universities;

• a reputation for innovation, social justice and high quality education;

• areas of internationally first rate research activity

• six diverse Victorian campuses;

• strong international focus;

• well known and respected in Asia;

• gaining a foothold in Africa and Europe; and

• financially sound.

Taking "The Glass Half Empty" approach, the Vice-Chancellor noted that Monash could be viewed as an institution of unrealised potential. Matters raised included:

• ambivalence towards multicampus structure;

• ambivalence towards international emphasis;

• stagnant relative research performance;

• failure to completely recognise potential and opportunities;

• incomplete adoption of opportunities afforded by ICT for efficient teaching;

• middle-aged physical infrastructure;

• insufficient reserves for new initiatives;

• no shared vision for the future;

• preoccupation with The University of Melbourne as a competitor; and

• probably correctly ranked in the 150-200 category of world universities.

Following an overview of a range of benchmarks and comparators (as detailed in Attachment 1), the Vice-Chancellor outlined a range of issues that would enable Monash to become more self-reliant and highlighted some imperatives for the future of Monash including the need for it to recognise and develop its potential and improve its capacity to manage a complex and dispersed organisation, to respond to a rapidly changing external environment, the need to remember and emphasise fundamentals and to seize new opportunities.

During discussion, members raised the following:

• in response to a question as to how Monash intended to improve student outcomes, the Vice-Chancellor informed Council that a mix of initiatives including the recent appointment of Professor Denise Kirkpatrick, Director, Learning and Teaching, the objectives contained in the Learning and Teaching Plan, the review of the Centre for Learning and Teaching Support and the continued implementation of the quality improvement cycle would all contribute towards ensuring that students achieved positive outcomes;

• in response to a question relating to the ratio between casual, contract and tenured staff, Council was informed that the medical and business disciplines employed a large number of practicing professionals as casual and contract staff. Further, noting the importance of contract and casual staff receiving suitable professional development opportunities, Professor Alan Lindsay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Professor Chris Browne, President of Academic Board, informed Council that additional formal training programs were being considered by Professor Kirkpatrick and the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences; and

• during discussion of reviews and evaluations, Professor Stephen Parker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, advised Council that while there had been some slippage over time, both reviews and course evaluations were getting back on track. Other discussion points included the importance of making information available to students on the outcomes of evaluations and that the data supporting the outcomes of the Monash Experience Questionnaire was being made widely available.

Concluding the discussion, the Chancellor thanked the Vice-Chancellor for his presentation and noted that while all universities faced a range of challenges, Monash University was well placed to respond to future conditions.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/138

Council noted the advice of the Vice-Chancellor.

(File RMO1998/2347)

Professor Edwina Cornish, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), thanked Council for the opportunity to provide an address and informed members that the presentation would focus on high-level research issues and include some comparative data.

Following an outline of the sources of research income and Monash’s 2004 level of research funding, Professor Cornish informed members that research was not only becoming more expensive to undertake but there were signs that research activity was becoming more concentrated among fewer universities. A quality framework, similar to the UK system, may be developed and this would increase competition for both research funding and researchers.

Following an outline of the 2002 research rankings, and noting that there were some worrying indicators in some areas, Professor Cornish advised that Monash had great potential for growth.

Professor Cornish presented to Council a range of benchmarking charts detailing Monash’s research performance compared to other Group of Eight universities. Indicators brought to the attention of members included Monash’s improving performance, from a low base, in category 1 income (National Competitive Grants), improved performance in industry and other income, however, the rate of increase was not as fast as Sydney or Melbourne Universities, second to University of Queensland in CRC income, low HDR enrolments, given the size of Monash, and a tapering off of HDR completions.

In relation to Federation Fellows, the most prestigious fellowships in Australia, Council was advised that this was an area where Monash needed to dramatically improve its performance.

In summary, Professor Cornish informed Council that while Monash had an international reputation in some disciplines, its overall research performance was below some comparators and Monash’s future standing in research would depend on its ability to improve research performance across all disciplines and campuses and this would require significant investment in research infrastructure and facilities.

The Chancellor thanked Professor Cornish for her informative presentation and invited comment from members, as detailed below:

• responding to a question on when Council would receive a report on the way forward for research at Monash, Professor Cornish advised Council that a review of research services was already underway along with a review of the fundamentals of the Research and Research Training Management Plan;

• in relation to Federation Fellows, members were advised that this process had not been well managed at Monash, however, the matter was identified as a priority area for improvement; and

• a member requested a breakdown of research performance by faculty/department. Professor Cornish advised Council that performance data and KPIs would be presented to a later meeting of Council.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/139

Council received the report and noted the advice of Professor Edwina Cornish, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).

(File RMO1997/1152)

Professor Stephen Parker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor provided Council with an update on recent progress with the development of a professional development program for Council members.

Recent activities included compiling the outcomes of the questionnaire sent to all Council members and discussion on the most appropriate format for the program.

Referring to the format, Professor Parker recommended to Council that a Council Retreat be held commencing the afternoon of February 11 and concluding on 12 February 2005. While the program for 12 February was still being developed, it was proposed that the afternoon session on 11 February overlap with the Senior Management Conference and a joint session on topics, yet to be finalised, be scheduled for the two groups.

Further, members were advised that topics not covered at the Retreat would be scheduled as evening sessions over the year enabling Council members to opt-in/out depending on the specific development needs of members.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/140

Council noted the advice of Professor Stephen Parker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and approved the proposal to schedule a Council Retreat commencing in the afternoon of 11 February and concluding 12 February at a venue yet to be decided.

(File RMO1999/0062)

The Chancellor introduced the item and noted that Council had previously discussed and commented on the draft National Governance Protocols for Higher Education Institutions at meeting 1/2004 (16 February 2004).

During discussion, members suggested the following:

• in relation to the primary responsibilities and functions of Council, that the wording used in Protocol 2 be adopted; and

• that approval of the "Annual Report to Parliament" and "to positively contribute to the growth and development of the University through fostering excellent external relations" be included as primary responsibilities.

Other issues raised by members during discussion included the role of Council in contributing to the reputation of Monash, the requirement to "establish policy and procedural principles, consistent with legal requirements and community expectations" and changes to the Guidelines for Members of Monash University Council including the inclusion of a chart detailing the structure of controlled entities.

Concluding the discussion, the Chancellor thanked members for their contributions and noted the view of members that the Guidelines for Members of Monash University Council including the statement of primary responsibilities and functions of Council be amended as detailed during the discussion.

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/141

Council received and noted the National Governance Protocols and approved amendments to the Guidelines for Members of University Council including the statement of Council’s primary responsibilities as follows:

The primary responsibilities and functions of Council are:

1. appointing the vice-chancellor as the chief executive officer and monitoring his/her performance;

2. approving the mission and strategic direction of the University as well as the annual budget and business plan;

3. overseeing and reviewing the management of the University and its performance;

4. establishing policy and procedural principles, consistent with legal requirements and community expectations;

5. approving and monitoring systems of control and accountability, including general overview of any controlled entities. A controlled entity is one that satisfies the test of control in s.50AA of the Corporations Act;

6. overseeing and monitoring the assessment and management of risk across the University including commercial undertakings;

7. overseeing and monitoring the academic activities of the University;

8. approving significant commercial activities of the University;

9. approve the Annual Report to Parliament; and

10. to positively contribute to the growth and development of the University through fostering excellent external relations.

(Files RMO2002/0221, RMO2003/0856, RMO2004/0897)

7.1 Proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Business and Economics to establish and fill the position of Professor of Marketing (refer minute 8.1.1)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/142

Council approved the proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Business and Economics to establish and fill the position of Professor of Marketing.

(File RMO2001/1346)

7.2 Proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to fill the position of Professor of Surgery, and Head, Department of Surgery, Central and Eastern Clinical School (refer minute 8.1.4)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/143

Council approved the proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to fill the position of Professor of Surgery, and Head, Department of Surgery, Central and Eastern Clinical School.

(File RMO2002/0435)

7.3 Proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to establish and fill the position of Professor (or Associate Professor) of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary Health Care, and Head, Occupational Therapy, Peninsula Health (refer minute 8.1.2)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/144

Council approved the proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to establish and fill the position of Professor (or Associate Professor) of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary Health Care, and Head, Occupational Therapy, Peninsula Health.

(File RMO2002/0435)

7.4 Proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to establish and fill the position of Professor (or Associate Professor) of Physiotherapy, School of Primary Health Care, and Head, Physiotherapy, Peninsula Health (refer minute 8.1.3)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/145

Council approved the proposal of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to establish and fill the position of Professor (or Associate Professor) of Physiotherapy, School of Primary Health Care, and Head, Physiotherapy, Peninsula Health.

(File RMO2002/0435)

8.1.1 Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics (refer minute 7.1)

8.1.2 Professor (or Associate Professor) of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Head, Occupational Therapy, Peninsula Health (refer minute 7.3)

8.1.3 Professor (or Associate Professor) of Physiotherapy, School of Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Head, Physiotherapy, Peninsula Health (refer minute 7.4)

8.1.4 Professor of Surgery, and Head, Department of Surgery, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (refer minute 7.2)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/146

Council approved the establishment of the selection committees for appointments to the following positions – Professor of Marketing, Professor (or Associate Professor) of Occupational Therapy, Professor (or Associate Professor) of Physiotherapy and a Professor of Surgery, and Head, Department of Surgery – as detailed in the document presented.

(File RMO1997/1623)

RESOLUTION CL5/2004/147

Council approved the nomination of Council members as Council’s nominees to the selection committees as detailed in the document presented.

(File RMO1997/1623)

The next meeting of Council is scheduled to be held at 5.00 pm on Monday, 27 September 2004 at Peninsula Campus.