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Market research consistently finds that the quality of the educational experience and an institution's reputation are the most highly valued choice factors for prospective university students world-wide, according to Monash's executive director, International, Mr Tony Pollock.
"In global markets, we play by global standards which are very competitive on quality," he said.
Speaking at the three-day conference on 'Internationalisation, flexible learning and technology' at Monash last week, Mr Pollock was joined by Ms Helen Hayes, vice-principal (Information) at the University of Melbourne, and former Monash staff member Professor Lindsay Mackay, who is currently pro vice-chancellor at Deakin University.
While quality and competitiveness emerged as unifying themes, the panel outlined what they saw as their universities' distinctly different strategies towards a shared vision of becoming strongly international in character and focus.
According to Ms Hayes, the University of Melbourne believes that internationalisation must inform every aspect of university life.
"Melbourne is committed to being primarily a campus-based institution, but has developed strong links internationally as part of the 'Universitas 21' network. We see this as a way of leveraging resources across a range of institutions world-wide," she said.
"The leading universities of the future will enable high student and staff interaction transnationally. We need to pay attention to internationalising the curriculum and examining closely the quality and competitiveness of what we offer."
In contrast to the University of Melbourne, Deakin Australia has more students off-campus than are enrolled at Deakin University on campus. It sees one of its key challenges as being to free up place and time constraints in the educational experience.
"When we surveyed our distance education students recently, we found that many of them are located within reach of a university campus, but have work and life constraints which mean that the off-campus mode is much more feasible," Professor Mackay said.
"Flexible learning is now part of every academic's job description at Deakin and as we enter the corporate university market, we're finding a whole new culture. In the US they talk about 'granulating knowledge' which means that the learner cannot be engaged for more than seven minutes at a time, and 'just-too-late' learning, where students must first realise that they needed to know something before they are prepared to learn."
"In all of our developments, Deakin has needed to stick firmly by its set of operating principles and standards. At the end of the day, a student taking a Deakin subject in any mode in any country in the world must be assessed in the same way."
In thanking the speakers, session chair and director of the Centre for Higher Education Development Professor Graham Webb noted the tension between the university maintaining quality by standardisation and control, while at the same time endeavouring to make learning experiences more relevant to a highly diverse student population.
"This is a crucial area for each institution to consider," he said.
Session panel members are, from left: Monash executive director, International, Mr Tony Pollock; Deakin University pro vice-chancellor Professor Lindsay Mackay; University of Melbourne vice-principal (Information) Ms Helen Hayes; and Monash's Centre for Higher Education director Professor Graham Webb.
Internationalisation, Flexible Learning and Technology ConferenceAround 250 staff last week attended the three-day Internationalisation, Flexible Learning and Technology Conference at the Clayton campus. Jointly convened by Monash's Technical Working Party (TWP), Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) and Higher Education Partnerships in Communication and Information Technology (HEPCIT), the conference was opened by vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson and included keynote speakers Professor Michael Singh from the Faculty of Education, Language and Community Services at RMIT, and Professor Stuart Cunningham from the School of Media and Journalism at QUT. The conference brought together staff involved and interested in flexible learning and technology within the context of international education. In summing up implications of the conference for Monash staff, deputy vice-chancellor Professor Alan Lindsay said there were a lot of questions that needed to be worked through as part of the developments in internationalisation and flexible learning that Monash is undertaking. "This conference has allowed us to become deeply engaged in questioning and exploring, and deepening our understanding of what it is we are trying to do, how we are doing it and why we are doing it in a certain way," Professor Lindsay said. "This has truly been an exciting and dynamic engagement of staff from across the campus involved in the debate that can only lead to the strengthening of our processes and programs, and improved teaching and learning outcomes for all Monash students." Conference papers will be published online at the conference web site at www.monash.edu.au/groups/flt/ |
A highlight of Monash University Gallery's 1999 program, Robert Owen, Between Shadow and Light: London Works 1966-75 and New Works was opened at the gallery last week by the recently appointed director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Dr Gerard Vaughan.
Dr Vaughn said the exhibition reflected the work of a great Melbourne artist who had made a significant contribution to contemporary Australian art.
The exhibition includes a body of Owen's large aluminium constructions with brilliant metallic colour squares, which have been described as "windows onto an intergalactic sunset", as well as more than 60 precisely rendered drawings.
His wall reliefs, constructed out of contemporary materials such as perspex, aluminium, glass and acetate strips, depict "landscapes of remembered light" drawn from his memories of the hard, light-absorbing Grecian landscape as well as the Australian outback.
The exhibition is on at the Monash University Gallery from Tuesdays to Fridays between 10 am and 5 pm and on Saturdays between 2 pm and 5 pm.
Artist Mr Robert Owen at the Monash University Gallery.
Monash has commenced third-round enterprise bargaining discussions with the NTEU to lead to certification of a new EB agreement to replace the existing one, which expires on 30 October 1999.
The university's EB team has embarked on a consultative process in order to canvass the views of university staff and management. This consultation process will continue throughout the enterprise bargaining period.
The members of the Monash University Enterprise Bargaining Team are:
Staff can access information throughout the negotiations, including progress updates, via the Monash University Enterprise Bargaining website located at www.monash.edu.au/ entbarg/. Staff are also able to provide feedback to the EB team via the same site.
The Making Music Series will hold its final four concerts for 1999 during October.
Ms Nina Gilbert, choir conductor at the University of California, Irvine, joins Ms Vivien Hamilton to perform a lively program of folksongs from Latin-America and arrangements of Negro spirituals.
8 and 9 October - 8 pm
Music Auditorium, Clayton
Mr Mark Ostyn, conductor of the Penang State Symphony Orchestra, leads the New Monash Orchestra in a program of Strauss, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Ravel's arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
16 October - 8 pm
Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton
After highly acclaimed performances in Europe, Mr Joop Boerstoel from Holland visits Australia for the first time to conduct the Monash Wind Symphony. The program will include his interpretations of Dvorak's Serenade for Winds, and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
23 October - 8 pm
Music Auditorium, Clayton
Bookings for any of the concerts can be made on extn 51111.
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