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The first round offers from the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre indicate that the overall standard of entry for Monash undergraduate courses has risen slightly this year.
Double degrees and several new innovative courses have been particularly popular with school-leavers.
According to Professor Merran Evans, chair of the Admissions Committee, this year has seen few dramatic swings in student demand. "The traditional degree programs across all the faculties have maintained their demand over last year. The most exciting development is the increased interest in recently developed courses with innovative curriculum," she said.
As reported in Monash Memo last year, the new Science degree has been highly successful in attracting high-scoring applicants, with the 'clearly in' ENTER rising almost eight points from 1998. The ENTER for the Bachelor of Science (Environmental) leapt more than 10 points.
The double degree programs in Education, in only their third year at the Clayton campus, are attracting continuing interest. This is in contrast to several years of weak demand in education courses across Australia. The cut-off scores for the Education double degrees in Science and Arts continue to rise, with the Commerce program advancing almost four points to 89. The new Education and Sports and Recreation combination at Gippsland was also extremely popular.
"The attractiveness of the double-degree programs in Education is becoming more apparent each year," Professor Evans said. "Many students with very high ENTERs are seeing the value in combining their teacher education with a full degree in a discipline such as science, commerce or arts."
Engineering and IT courses also demonstrated increases in 'clearly in' ENTER scores. Courses to show significant improved demand included the Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and the Bachelor of Computer Science, as well as the Bachelor of Performing Arts in the Arts faculty.
Several niche courses attracted strong demand from students. The new Network
Computing degree on the Peninsula campus made an impressive debut with an ENTER
cut-off of 77. Likewise, the new Multimedia degree at Berwick had a cut-off
score of 82. The cut-off for the one-year-old Radiography and Medical Imaging
degree in the Faculty of Medicine rose by seven points.
Monash staff must continue to think strategically and innovatively in their
efforts to achieve greater efficiencies across all university activities if
they are to withstand "the tightest budgetary
conditions in years".
This was the message delivered by Monash's general manager, Mr Peter Wade, in his report to University Council at the end of last year, and one which he repeated at a meeting of the university's senior administrative heads.
"We must all become more inventive and better administrators in order to survive," Mr Wade said.
"The challenge for university staff, administrators and managers is to increasingly seek ways of operating more cost-effectively while streamlining operations, reducing duplication in functions and services, and making maximum use of all resources."
He said the tough times were being felt across the entire university and stressed that the current budget was the "tightest" he had seen in his time at Monash.
This was largely due to declining Commonwealth funding and compounded by the Asian economic crisis and its impact on international student markets.
He said that while budget funding for 1999 remained the same as for 1998, the university was committed to supporting a range of initiatives to meet its strategic priorities for teaching and learning. These included:
The net effect, Mr Wade said, was that there would be no increases in funding to any adminstrative area other than for LTOP, IT, the library and scholarships.
He said that while the $1 million allocation from the University Foundation to the Monash Research Fund was only half the amount estimated in the Monash Plan, the foundation's income had been affected by the broader economic downturn.
"Investment income is down because of the operations of the money market. As well, up to $7 million in funds, which typically would have earned interest for the university through the foundation, have been loaned to the Arts, Education, Art & Design and Science faculties to support their strategic plans."
Further budgetary changes introduced in response to the tough climate included:
Mr Wade emphasised that the budget also made no provision for the next round of enterprise bargaining. "This means that any remuneration increases will have to be funded by the government or by additional income and savings," he said.
The university had forecast in the Monash Plan that its biggest income stream for the next five years would be generated through international student enrolments - at a time when these markets would be the toughest.
Mr Wade indicated that at this stage the budget was set to remain static for the next three years, and he reiterated the challenge to staff to find smarter ways of working.
Monash University has merged three key units in a move aimed at improving the delivery of flexible teaching and learning services.
The Centre for Learning and Teaching Support (CeLTS) brings together the Distance Education Centre (DEC), the Language and Learning Services Unit and the Educational Services Branch into one coordinated group.
Established on 1 January, CeLTS will operate on all campuses and is headed by Professor John Harris, formerly director of the DEC. Associate Professor Daryl Nation has assumed the role of CeLTS deputy director.
Monash deputy vice-chancellor (Academic & Planning) Professor Alan Lindsay said the move would strengthen the university's capacity to support flexible teaching and learning.
"The establishment of the centre recognises the growing convergence of modes of delivery and the need for more integrated support to faculties, staff and students," Professor Lindsay said.
"CeLTS will form part of a strong network of academic support units within Monash, particularly the library, the Centre for Higher Education Development and the Information Technology Services division. It will also work closely with the Student Services division and relevant administrative units."
The centre will support the full range of flexible learning situations, from the enhancement of on-campus sessions to the delivery of programs to students worldwide.
Professor Lindsay said the three units which form CeLTS would remain for now as branches within the centre.
An interim CeLTS development team has been established to help with implementation and planning. It comprises Professor Harris, Associate Professor Nation, Ms Rosemary Clerehan and Mr Ian Thomas.
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Monash
University has signed an agreement with film and imaging company Agfa-Gevaert
which will see the Department of Radiography and Medical Imaging become an international
training centre for radiography.
Under the deal signed on 12 January, the company will provide state-of-the-art equipment to the department, including Sun Workstations, compatible PC units and Agfa's Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) software, IMPAX.
This will enable the creation of a clinical equivalent, mini-radiology PACS environment for training and evaluation. The area where the equipment will be located will be called the Agfa Centre for Radiography and Digital Imaging.
The agreement also involves the joint creation of a training course for clinical users of the IMPAX system, with Monash delivering the course on a cost-recovery basis.
As well, Agfa will offer scholarships and undertake joint marketing activities to promote the Monash programs in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Monash students will also gain access to industry-standard equipment application software and training.
Monash launched its successful Bachelor of Radiography and Medical Imaging degree last year, the only four-year program of its type in Australia.
Monash vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson hailed the agreement with Agfa as "an excellent educational partnership".
"No institution can manage in a vacuum, and the partnership with Agfa is a splendid example of how the educational sector can work effectively with industry for the benefit of both students and professionals," Professor Robinson said.
Agfa Australia's managing director, Mr Freddy Duffeler, described the partnership as "a very good combination between two leaders in their fields".
The Belgium-based Agfa-Gevaert Group is a major manufacturer of imaging products and systems, with annual sales of $5 billion. It is part of the Bayer Corporation, a research-based company with major businesses in health care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies.
Monash administrative staff will soon be able to raise purchase orders electronically as part of the Integrated Administrative Systems (IAS) project.
The planned introduction of SAP R/3 will greatly reduce the generally labour-intensive processes currently used. Project finance team leader Mr Phil Wheatland said, when implemented, purchase requisitions would be electronically forwarded for approval.
"Orders can be generated from information within purchase requisitions without staff further data entry," he said. "Commitments resulting from purchase orders will be reflected in the general ledger in real time. Account codes are validated and financial authorities checked when the transaction is created."
As well, he said, the expanded use of electronic funds transfers in paying suppliers would help reduce costs.
According to Mr Wheatland, the purchasing information will provide real ongoing cost savings to the university through better prices and conditions negotiated with suppliers, which take advantage of Monash University's spending power.
SAP end-user training sessions in purchasing will be held from March to May or June.
For further information, contact Ms Annabel Carle on extn 56084 or Ms Lisa King on extn 56006, or see http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/ias/
The next 'Monash Highlights' advertisement will appear in The Age, Saturday Extra section, on 27 February and will promote community-based events at Monash during March.
Due to 1999 budget cuts, the cost will no longer be covered by University Marketing & Development. However, UM&D staff will continue to coordinate the design and placement of the advertisement should faculties and departments wish to cover the costs themselves. The minimum cost per entry will be $395.
To have an event included in 'Monash Highlights', send a brief synopsis on the topic and its interest to the wider community to Ms Adrianne Dooley. You will need to include the date and time of the event, its title, speaker, venue, cost (if applicable) and an inquiries number, as well as the 14-digit account code for invoicing purposes.
Email the details to adrianne.dooley@adm.monash.edu.au or fax extn 52582. The copy deadline is Tuesday 16 February at 5 pm
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