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A strategic plan for the university's support services is well under way, following a two-day planning workshop involving 35 senior staff earlier this month.
According to deputy vice-chancellor (Resources) Ms Alison Crook, the new plan will guide the work of all support services to ensure the delivery of the university's long-term goals.
Monash staff have already developed a Learning and Teaching Plan, a Research Management Plan and a Global Development Framework to underpin Leading the Way: Monash 2020.
"Although there are also a number of plans in place for individual support services, the Vice-Chancellor's Group is keen to ensure that all such plans link with a set of overarching support services strategies focused on achieving the global vision," Ms Crook said.
"It is to ensure that staff are not working in 'silos' but know clearly how their work links with other services to support the total university effort in strategic areas, and that there is a sense of urgency in relation to key overarching strategies."
At the workshop, which included deputy vice-chancellors Professor Peter Darvall, Professor Alan Lindsay and Ms Crook, facilitator Mr Doug Stace worked with the group to identify the key strategic areas for support services after input from vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson.
Small groups of staff then drafted objectives and strategies for each of the five key areas - sustainable global reach, the student customer experience, staff, consistency of image, and reputation and self-reliance.
Ms Crook said that 10 of these staff are now tidying up the draft strategy before the work will be scrutinised by another 60 support service managers in a series of half-day workshops in early June.
The group of 10 will attend the final part of these workshops to get feedback first hand before producing a further draft to be put to the Deans Discussion Group.
All interested support services staff in central areas and faculties will have the opportunity through open forums in July to comment on the draft strategy before it is finalised and considered by the Vice-Chancellor's Group.
Left: Deputy vice-chancellor (Resources) Ms Alison Crook worked with Information Technology faculty manager Mr Ken Hobbs and others on the 'student customer experience'.
Right: Sustainable global reach was the key strategic area focused on by, from left, executive director of Public Affairs Mr Stephen Dee; executive director of Information Technology Services Mr Alan McMeekin; university librarian Professor Edward Lim; Business and Economics faculty manager Dr Stephen O'Kane; and CeLTS director Professor John Harris.
Excellence in publishing recognisedThe outstanding work of a range of Monash staff members in the area of education publishing materials has been recognised with three shortlistings in the 2000 Awards for Excellence in Education Publishing announced recently in The Australian. The awards, instituted in 1994 by the Australian Publishers Association and the University of Sydney Teaching Resources & Textbooks Research Unit with the support of The Australian, recognise and honour the best of educational materials published during the year. Monash's learning resources website 'LLS Online Student Resource Centre', created by the Language and Learning Services Unit, Centre for Learning and Teaching Support, has been shortlisted in the category 'Educational website, tertiary education'. The 'LLS Online Student Resource Centre' was developed in 1999 with the support of Monash's Strategic Innovations Fund. The project leader was Ms Rosemary Clerehan, head of Language and Learning Services Unit, and the project team included coordinator Ms Jill Turnbull and web developer Ms Alanna Brown. Ms Clerehan said she was particularly pleased that the website had been shortlisted as it highlighted the expertise and dedication of her staff in the development of this rich resource. "The tutorial section of the site, the core of the resource, consists of original material authored by LLS staff either specifically for the web, or adapted from existing LLS original print resources," Ms Clerehan added. Also shortlisted in the same category is the Monash Transition Program's website. Academic affairs director and transition steering group chair Professor Merran Evans said she was delighted that the work of the program had been recognised in this way. "The site has an extensive range of information on issues relating to transition for students, both prospective and current, as well as for academics, researchers, teachers, schools and parents," she said. Mr Dashan Gill, senior lecturer in the Accounting and Finance department, is the co-author of a tertiary text, Modern Auditing that has been shortlisted in the Tertiary Teaching and Learning section of the awards. The winners of the competition will be announced in Sydney during Book Week on 15 June. The websites can be accessed at www.monash.edu.au/lls/sif/sif.htm and at www.adm.monash.edu.au/transition/index.htm |
Following on from last week's article in Monash Memo on 'Your research and consultancies and the GST', the Financial Services GST Project Team are this week updating staff on the issue of private consultancies.
Monash prohibits members of staff providing services to the university as independent contractors. However, if academics or researchers carry out private consultancies in their own time for another company for which they receive payment, which does not result in the issue of a group certificate, then it is in their interest to apply for an ABN. In addition, if the income source from the private consultancy is in excess of $50,000, they must also register for GST. This will result in having to lodge a GST return every quarter and charging GST on each invoice that is rendered to the client.
If private consultants do not provide an ABN and a GST-compliant tax invoice for these services, then 48.5 per cent withholding tax has to be deducted from the invoice and paid to the ATO. Staff undertaking private consultancies in their own time should discuss the implications of this with their accountant.
When guest lecturers who are not employed by another institution or company that has registered for GST are employed by faculties to give a lecture in Australia are unable to provide a tax invoice and an ABN, then Monash will be obliged to withhold 48.5 per cent from their payment. It is therefore important to advise where possible all visiting academics of the GST implications of not providing an ABN number or complying tax invoice. The ATO is currently considering the status of overseas visiting lecturers.
Next week in Monash Memo, you will be able to find out "When is a dollar in your fund not equal to a dollar?".
The latest GST updates can be found at www.monash.edu.au/finserv/Taxation/GST/index.html
Going online with your subjectCHED has just launched its June/July workshop program, which is free to all Monash staff. According to CHED programs coordinator Dr Helen Edwards, a highlight of the new program will be 'Going online with your subject'. The new workshop will run over four days commencing on 13 June at the Clayton campus. Participants can choose to go to just one or all of the sessions, each of which is run over half a day. Sessions will focus on the issues teachers need to consider when thinking about going online with their subjects. These include:
The workshop will also include a light-hearted debate titled 'Online education: Good for learning or good for nothing?'. The June/July program will include several practical workshops which will focus on teaching and learning. One of these, 'Introduction to university teaching', is recognised as module one of the first subject in CHED's internationally accredited Graduate Certificate in Higher Education. It introduces the theory and practice of learning and teaching in higher education and provides basic skills to approach teaching confidently. Attendance at the program is compulsory for staff new to Monash, and heads and coordinators are encouraged to bring it to the attention of new staff. Postgraduate supervision is covered in two workshops, one for new supervisors and the other designed to help supervisors work with students from non-English-speaking backgrounds. 'Learning in teams' will be the subject of a workshop on 19 June, where participants will be able to develop their own groupwork strategy. A workshop titled 'Developing educational partnerships' will be on offer at the Malaysian campus on 5 June. The workshop will focus on developing and using teaching materials across campuses and across countries, and cross-faculty and cross-country education research and development projects. To register for the program and for more information, go to CHED's home page at www.adm.monash.edu.au/ched/ and click on 'workshops'. Monash's Security and Traffic department at the Clayton campus and the Victoria Police are working together to address the issue of theft from campus car parks. As part of the 'Look, Lock, Leave' program, campus car parks are being patrolled by security and traffic staff, and courtesy notices are issued on vehicles observed as being left in a vulnerable position. These notices act as a reminder to vehicle owners and/or drivers to secure their vehicles appropriately, in an effort to reduce the risk of theft of and from cars. Police and Neighbourhood Watch volunteers distributed 7000 pamphlets to vehicles parked at the Clayton campus recently, which urge drivers to be more security-conscious and to report any criminal activity or incident to Security and Traffic or the police. Further advice or information can be obtained from the Security and Traffic Office on extn 53059. |
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