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Murdoch University Senate |
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Senate Agenda 28 May 2001
The report of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZAAU) of Murdoch's quality assurance processes has been released to the Murdoch community. The auditors praised the University on our quality assurance processes and our performance in teaching and learning, research, community links, and support for staff and students. They commended management’s "fetish" for transparency in decision making. The report also provides us with a clear idea of processes and areas that can be improved. It makes 22 recommendations for consideration by the University, some of which we have already begun to address. Specifically, I have provided staff, students, and the community with a clear explanation of Murdoch’s current position and our proposed future directions. I have begun a poll of all staff, which will allow give management feedback from the entire community while at the same time allowing us to build closer links between staff development and strategic priorities. I also have asked the CFO to brief all university divisions (in a simple way) about how resources are received and allocated. We will also re-examine our objectives in internationalisation. Murdoch welcomes the recommendations and will act on them. To that end, I have appointed Associate Professor Steve Thurgate, the President of Academic Council, as Director of Quality Assurance Audits and School Reviews, to ensure that all recommendations in the Report are addressed systematically. This voluntary review was useful preparation for future compulsory Australian quality audits, because the NZ approach is expected to be similar to the auditing model to be used by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA).
The University commissioned Mainsheet Corporate Consultants to undertake a review and provide strategic advice to improve the focus for the delivery of Information Technology and Knowledge Management (KMIT) at Murdoch. The Final Report has been received and details key findings on the systems in place at Murdoch and at other Universities. The authors then present a vision for change to the management of KMIT based on key strategies at the University and divisional level. An implementation plan is recommended and alternative organisational models are proposed. The Final Report has been made available to staff and I have invited comment on the report and the directions it recommends for the University, particularly the proposed organisational models and position of Executive Director of Information Services/Chief Information Officer. Staff feedback will be used to assist the University in determining an implementation plan for KMIT services at Murdoch.
Preliminary results of the national academic staff stress survey conducted by University of Adelaide academics surveyed staff at 17 universities in Australia. A number of concerns were voiced by the 25% percent who responded (overcrowding, poor resources, pressure to raise marks). However, the number one complaint across all campuses was poor university management. According to this subset of staff, every single university surveyed is poorly managed.
1. Tender Success for School of Education The School of Education and its Centre for Learning, Change and Development have attracted approximately $1.85 million in research consultancies so far this year. This is an excellent combined effort by all members of the School, under the leadership of the School Dean, Simone Volet, and Centre Director, Gary Martin. Importantly, such research consultancies generate DETYA returns. Examples of the tenders awarded include:
2. Premier’s Science Council The Premier, Dr Geoff Gallop MLA, has instituted a Science Council with Professor Ian Constable to chair. Murdoch recently awarded Professor Constable an Honorary Doctorate. Professors Ian Ritchie and Peter Newman have also been made members of the Council. This representation should ensure Murdoch’s voice is heard in plans for the future development of science and technology in Western Australia. 3. Research Funding Model Development of a new research funding model for the University is underway. The Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) is currently consulting with Executive Deans and an academic advisory group regarding the elements and structure of the model. 4. ARC Discipline Panels After substantial lobbying, the ARC has appointed three Murdoch staff members to its discipline panels, now formally designated Expert Advisory Committees. There are six panels each with 10 members, a total of 60 members, which means Murdoch has 5% representation. This is an excellent result given that Murdoch is only 1.5% by size, operating grant and most other measures. We have more representatives than UWA, Curtin and ECU put together. The members are Professor David Andrich (Behavioural and Economic Sciences Committee); Professor Richard Hobbs (Engineering and Environmental Sciences Committee); and Professor Richard Oliver (Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Committee). We congratulate them and recognise that their knowledge of the internal workings of the system will bring benefit to Murdoch. 5. Clunies Ross National Science and Technology Awards Adjunct Professor Trevor Bridle, the Technical Director of Environmental Solutions International, was one of six scientists presented with the Clunies Ross National Science and Technology Awards for 2001. The Awards honour commitment to the application of science and technology to the benefit of Australia. An adjunct title holder in the School of Environmental Science, Professor Bridle’s award recognises his work in finding safe and useful outcomes for waste water and sewage. 6. Grant Applications The University has submitted a total of 65 applications to the ARC, as follows:
A comparison with previous years is difficult, as the schemes have changed. Discovery-Projects are the amalgamation of last year's Large Grants and Research Fellowships schemes. Last year's SPIRT scheme has been split into Linkage-Projects and Linkage-Projects (APAI-only). However, applications in both broad areas are down on last year. A total of nine NHMRC applications were submitted, up on the seven submitted last year.
The Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences opened its expanded and refurbished Veterinary and Human Anatomy Museum on 26 March 2001. The Museum was opened by former Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, Dr Sheila White. The Museum features an extensive specimen collection developed by the Division over the last 25 years, with separate Veterinary and Human anatomy rooms as well as a tutorial room featuring a comparative radiographic anatomy resource. The $200,000 project was supported by a $100,000 donation from the Murdoch University Veterinary Trust.
Professor Ian Constable, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the Division of Science and Engineering Graduation on 16th March, has been appointed President of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. The AVCC Board of Directors approved my nomination to the Board of education.au limited. education.au limited fosters collaboration in the use of the Internet in education and training in Australia. Owned by all Ministers of Education and Training in Australia, the company undertakes, on behalf of the Australian education and training community, tasks that arise from this brief. As well as managing visible products of the collaboration, like EdNA Online, education.au works for standards and agreements that enable online collaboration in education, such as the EdNA Metadata Standard.
Professor Keith Norris from the School of Economics will retire from the University, effective from 30th June 2001. Lecturer Promotions Committee Associate Professor Nick Costa has accepted appointment as Chair of the Lecturer Promotions Committee to replace Professor Norris. Dr Pia Broderick has also accepted appointment to this Committee. I am pleased to announce that the Committee has a female majority for the first time. This is particularly relevant as this Committee considers a significant number of promotion applications from female academics.
(see press clippings attached) 1. Offshore MBA Graduation Students graduating from business courses offered by Murdoch in China through the HR Education Group (HREG) attended a week-long programme of activities on campus culminating in a Graduation Ceremony. 2. Student Protests at Melbourne University Violent student protests at Melbourne University may lead to criminal charges being laid against those students involved, in addition to disciplinary action that may include expulsion. Students used axes to break down fire doors to gain entry to the university's administrative offices. Damage was estimated at more than $100,000. 3. Internship Programmes in US Institutions Institutions in the United States face demands to integrate academics and students into the "real" economy. One significant mechanism is corporate internships in which undergraduate and graduate students alternate between six-month classes and six-month with their host company. Employers see internships as an effective recruiting tool, ranked third in a 2000 survey. Internships are equivalent to the Structured Workplace Learning opportunities to be offered to students on the Rockingham campus from 2002. 4. Cutting Corners Taking Added Pace Submissions to the Senate Inquiry into the capacity of public universities to meet Australia’s higher education needs have claimed that the reduction in public investment combined with increasing incentives and pressures on universities to seek external funding sources is pushing the sector into crisis. The NTEU's submission to the inquiry details the effects of a decade of funding cuts They highlight:
5. UK Universities Facing Redundancies Universities in the UK were preparing to make more than 1,200 lecturers and researchers redundant following their failure to attract sufficient students to their courses. The Government had been prepared to fund 11,000 new places in 2001/2002 but the number of students applying to universities had risen fewer than 3,000 (0.8 %). It has been suggested that the decline in applications reflects the introduction of tuition fees averaging £10,000 for a degree. Universities who fail to fill places risk losing funding, which for many universities will compound deficits incurred during the last year. 6. Effect of Australia's Aging Population on University Enrolments Australia's aging population, steadily declining birthrate and increasing longevity will reduce the 15-to-24-year-old pool that has traditionally provided the student base for tertiary institutions. Differential effects will be felt in individual states with South Australia likely to be hardest hit. Universities will need to develop a deliberate and concerted strategy to manage these population effects.
As I advised Senate at its last meeting, some of the understory bush along South Street will be cleared in response to a number of assaults on women at Murdoch University and subsequent police recommendations to improve campus security. The attached Bulletin, Clearing for Better Security, was circulated to advise staff and students of the clearing and re-vegetation programme and to invite participation. Response to this initiative has generally been positive, with the attached article from The West Australian indicative of reaction.
1. Directors and Officers Insurance I can advise that Directors and Officers cover for Senate Members is provided under a policy with Gerling Australia Insurance Limited. This cover will be unaffected by the HIH Insurance collapse. 2. Academic Collaborations Last July Senate endorsed the resolutions of Academic Council on the academic profile. These included the requirement that Executive Deans report to the Vice Chancellor by 30 April 2001 on progress in negotiations with other universities on academic collaborations, in order that I can report to the May 2001 meeting of Senate. A summary report is attached.
Chair Selection Committee – Chair in New Media Approval is sought for the proposed selection committee, constituted in-line with Resolution 21/2000, for the Chair in New Media as follows:
I recommend that Senate approve the composition of the proposed Selection Committee for the position of Chair in New Media. To All Staff and Students CLEARING FOR BETTER SECURITY In response to a number of assaults on women at Murdoch University and subsequent police recommendations to improve campus security we have agreed on behalf of students, staff and management to clear some of the understory bush along South Street. This will considerably reduce the area in which potential offenders can hide and will give a much better view of their surroundings to students and staff. Importantly, trees will not be removed - just the dense bush, which obscures vision. The Office of Facilities Management has instituted a re-vegetation programme for the South Street verge area which will replace the thick bush with native low-level ground covers, small plants and grasses that are environmentally sound and compatible with the local vegetation. The bushes which are being removed although indigenous to Australia, were short term fast growing species planted 25 years ago to shield the new bare buildings from South Street and stabilise the soil during construction of the University. The re-planting of suitable indigenous vegetation will continue to maintain this stability. The Office of Facilities Management (OFM) is keen to liaise with the broad University community in choosing the best local plants to use in the re-vegetation programme and for Staff and students to become involved with the replanting. People interested in participating in the re-vegetation programme are invited to contact the Guild President, Alisha Ryans-Taylor (guildpre@central), to register their interest and expertise. A meeting of interested people will be held in the near future to plan for the process of re-vegetation. The clearing operation, which will run from the surrounds of Car Park 5 to the corner of Murdoch Drive, will begin on Thursday, 17th May 2001. The area will be maintained with woodchips and mulch generated from the cleared undergrowth until the replanting operation has been completed. A sketch of the area to be cleared may be inspected in the Office of Facilities Management. Please contact Bob Lewtas, the Associate Director Facilities Operations, to inspect the plans. Steven Schwartz, Vice Chancellor Alisha Ryans-Taylor, President, Guild of Students Associate Professor Mick Campion, Branch President, NTEU Alan McGregor, Director Office of Facilities Management
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