Murdoch University Senate

The next meeting of Senate will be held on Monday 16 August at 4.30pm, at the Rockingham Campus.
The meeting will be held in the main conference room ACL318, on level 2 of the Common Teaching Building.

Andrew Bain
University Secretary
10 August 2004

1.       MEMBERSHIP

Attached is the list of current members of Senate.

Assoc Prof Ken Harrison’s term as an elected academic staff member expired on 1 August. Ordinarily an election would have been held prior to the position falling vacant. This election has been held over pending Senate’s decision on its desirable future size and composition, which will be determined at agenda item 5 of this meeting. Given these unusual circumstances, the Chancellor has invited Prof Harrison to attend this meeting and to sit at the Senate table with speaking (though not voting) rights.

2.       APOLOGIES

Mr Terry Budge, Mr Malcolm Macpherson, Dr Michael McCall, Mr Bob Pett and Dr Melanie Strawbridge have recorded their apologies for this meeting.

Any apologies received after circulation of the agenda will be reported to the meeting.

3.       DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 

The Chancellor will ask whether any Senators have an interest to declare concerning any items on this agenda.

Senate has adopted the following statement on conflict of interest:

Senators have a duty to place the interests of the University before their own personal advantage (financial or otherwise) and the advantage of any other person or organisation (including the group that elected or appointed the Senator). Possible conflicts of interest include:

v       employment by, shareholding in or directorship of a company dealing with the University

v       membership of a body that is in competition or conflict with Murdoch University

v       for Murdoch staff members, out-sourcing or restructuring of their work sections

v       any matter under discussion that would result in personal financial advantage

v       government officials who are responsible for an aspect of policy or operations which affects a matter
         under consideration by the University

A matter which arises from membership of the group qualifying the Senator for election to Senate, and which is not otherwise special or personal to the Senator, is not a conflict of interest. (Examples could include students voting on assessment policy, or staff voting on a salary increase for all staff.)

At the start of each meeting of Senate and its committees, Senators must declare the nature, character and extent of any conflict of interest. In case of doubt, it is best to acknowledge possible conflict of interest. When conflict of interest is identified the Chair (subject to the views of the meeting) may ask the Senator to leave while the item of business is discussed; to participate in the discussion but withdraw from the meeting before the vote; to stay but not participate in the debate; or to stay with full rights to debate and vote. Where there is a significant conflict of interest, future papers on this matter might not be made available to the Senator concerned.

All declarations of interest shall be minuted, along with any ensuing action.

In addition, if any member of staff presenting a proposal to Senate or one of its committees has a conflict of interest, the person must declare that interest at the meeting.

4.       IDENTIFICATION OF CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS AND PART D MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION

Senators are asked to identify:

v       any matters they wish to have considered in committee, and

v       any matters in Part D which they wish to reserve for discussion

This will assist the Chancellor in managing the meeting so that agenda items receive sufficient time for discussion.

PART A - MAJOR ISSUES

5.       SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF SENATE

The National Governance Protocols require that the membership of Senate be reduced from 25 to no more than 22 members. The July meeting of Senate held an extensive discussion on the desirable size of Senate. A straw vote established that a majority (9-8) favoured a smaller Senate (16-18 members) than one of 21-22. As six Senators were unable to attend this meeting, a decision was deferred until collation of responses to a questionnaire on Senate size. The meeting

Resolved: S/69/2004	(a)	in compliance with the National Governance Protocols, to support a reduction in the number of Senate members to no more than 22;
	(b)	a decision on the desired size of Senate and its composition be made at the 16 August meeting of Senate;
	(c)	to request the Chancellor to send a confidential questionnaire to all Senators inviting their views on the number of Senators there should be for each category of membership, with these views to be collated and reported to the August meeting of Senate.

The questionnaire was completed by 23 of the then 24 Senators. Attached is a paper from the Chancellor, that includes a report summarising the responses and a foreshadowed motion to focus the debate.

In order to satisfy the requirements for additional Commonwealth funding, the University’s proposed legislative amendments about the size and composition of Senate must be received by the Minister by no later than Friday 20 August. This is the deadline for them to be considered by State Cabinet by 31 August. Senate therefore needs to decide at this meeting what should be the total size of Senate, and how that number should be comprised (what categories of membership, and how many positions per category).

The Chancellor will introduce this item.

PART B - OTHER ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

6.       VICE CHANCELLOR'S REPORT

7.       STRATEGIES FOR NEXT YEAR’S OPERATING BUDGET

Each year at about this time the Vice Chancellor provides Academic Council and Senate with a paper on proposed strategies for the University’s Operating Budget for the following year. Attached is the report on strategies for the 2005 Budget. Senate is invited to discuss the proposed strategies, which will then be used as a basis for formulating the budget. The draft budget will be presented to the November meeting of Senate for approval.

8.       AMENDMENT OF STATUTE NO. 11 - ADMISSIONS

The Admissions Statute was amended earlier this year to transfer from the Deputy Vice Chancellor to the Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) responsibility for setting admissions quotas and targets. A subsequent rearrangement of executive portfolios has resulted in responsibility for admissions being transferred to the Pro Vice Chancellor (Strategy). The Statute therefore needs amending again. The approach suggested is that the designation of which Pro Vice Chancellor has this authority be left to the Regulations. This makes it easier to amend if in the future there is any change in which executive portfolio includes admissions.

Legislation Committee has recommended that Senate approve the following amendment to Statute No. 11 – Admissions:

2.

The Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) will be responsible Responsibility for determining the levels of admission quotas and targets - for the entire University, for levels of study and for parts of the University – rests with the appropriate Pro Vice Chancellor designated by the Bachelor Degree Regulations. The designated Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) will exercise this power only after consultation with the Executive Deans.

Senate is asked to approve the above amendment to this Statute. In accordance with s.25 of the Murdoch University Act, this resolution requires an absolute majority (12 members).

PART C - CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS

Senate will move in camera for these items.

9.       MARKETING AND BRANDING OF THE UNIVERSITY

The University has recognised the need for a shared brand strategy and vision as part of an integrated approach to strengthen and grow Murdoch’s position in the tertiary sector.

Mr Rob Lawrence will present details of market research and recommend on the development of a clearly differentiated and sustainable market position for Murdoch University.

Senators should treat all material presented by Mr Lawrence as commercial-in-confidence.

10.     CHANCELLOR’S COMMITTEE

The meeting will move into committee for this item. The Vice Chancellor will also withdraw from the meeting.

The Vice Chancellor Statute states that:

6.	The remuneration and conditions of service of the Vice Chancellor shall be determined by the Chancellor’s Committee. The Committee shall –
	(a)	comprise the Chancellor, the Pro Chancellor, the Chair of the Senate Committee concerned with resources, and at least two other members appointed by the Chancellor from among the members of the Senate who are not staff or students of the University;
	(b)	act in accordance with any guidelines which may be set by the Senate;
	(c)	report to the Senate on its decisions and on the procedures followed in arriving at these decisions.

In March 2004, Senate resolved to establish a Remuneration Subcommittee, comprising the Chancellor, Pro Chancellor and Chair of Resources Committee, to advise the Chancellor’s Committee on the remuneration and conditions of service of the Vice Chancellor. The Chancellor’s Committee is meeting on 16 August to consider the recommendation of the Remuneration Subcommittee. The Chancellor will provide an oral report to Senate on the outcome of these deliberations.

PART D - OTHER ITEMS

The Chancellor will put these as a single item for noting and for the acceptance of any recommendations contained in them. Any Senator may request that any of these items be reserved for discussion.

11.     NATIONAL GOVERNANCE PROTOCOLS

The Higher Education Support Act 2003 includes a requirement that all universities adhere to new National Governance Protocols for Higher Education Providers if they are to receive an increase in their basic grant from the Commonwealth. Universities have to show compliance with the Protocols by 31 August 2004 if they are to qualify for the 2.5% Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding increase in 2005. The amount at stake for the University next year is $1.95 million. The amounts are larger in subsequent years: 5% of the basic grant in 2006 and 7.5% in 2007.

The Chancellor is required to certify under Seal that the University has taken all reasonable steps to comply fully with the Protocols. DEST is interpreting this to mean that the University has taken all steps within its powers, i.e. full compliance except for legislative amendments which have been submitted to State Cabinet by 31 August 2004 and await approval by Parliament.

The Governance Working Party reported last year that most of the Protocols reflect current Murdoch University practice.

Attached are:

• A checklist containing the Governance Protocols and setting out how the University complies with each of them.

• The proposed joint submission by WA universities on changes to their Acts.

• Extracts from the minutes of the Governance Working Party, containing its recommendations in June on additional amendments to be made to the Murdoch University Act. These recommendations were not considered at the July Senate meeting, but are included in the attached joint submission.

• The recommendations of the Governance Working Party on duties of Senators, plus relevant extracts from the Australian National University Act and a paper from the General Counsel.

Senate is invited to:

1. note the attached table on the University’s compliance with the National Governance Protocols;

2. recommend to the State Government that the Murdoch University Act be amended as set out in the attached document Joint Request for Legislative Amendments.

12.     STATEMENT OF GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES

The Governance Working Party has considered a draft Statement of Governance Principles for Senate. This encompasses a Charter of Senate’s role and powers, details of all Standing Committees, a Code of Conduct for Senators, and the Standing Orders.

The Working Party recommends the document to Senate as a useful governance tool that will be provided to all Senators. In terms of the individual components of the document:

• The Charter is based on existing Senate policies and resolutions, with some amplification on independence of Senators, evaluation of Senate, continuing professional development of Senators, and the role of the University Secretary and General Counsel. The Governance Working Party supports all the substantive changes.

• The Code of Conduct is a new document, but to a large extent merely incorporates and adopts the changes required by the National Governance Protocols in terms of duties for Senators (see agenda item 11).

• Apart from marked up changes, the Standing Orders reflect the Senate’s existing Standing Orders. The removal of the conflict of interest clauses is due to the amendments required by the Protocols in terms of Senator’s duties and the inclusion of these within the Code of Conduct. The Working Party has foreshadowed that later this year it will undertake a closer review of the Standing Orders. Any questions or suggested changes should be directed to the University Secretary.

The Working Party has recommended that Senate:

1. approve the attached Statement of Governance Principles, including the Standing Orders contained in the document in place of the existing ones;

2. rescind resolutions S/66-68/2001, S/70/2001(a)-(i), S/71/2001, S/73/2001, S/69-70/2002 and S/83/2002(a)-(c), which are consolidated and replaced by the Statement.

13.     MINUTES

13.1     Confirmation of Minutes

Senate is asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting held 5 July 2004.

13.2     Action on Resolutions of the Last Meeting

The attached action sheet records the resolutions of the previous meeting and action that had been taken to implement them. It also updates Senate on outstanding action items from previous meetings.

14.     ACADEMIC COUNCIL

Attached are the minutes of the meetings of Academic Council held on 21 July 2004. The following items contain recommendations to Senate:

          AC/115/2004             Certificate and Diploma Regulations - New Courses
          AC/116/2004             Bachelor Degree Regulation 1(1) – New Degree
          AC/122/2004             Bachelor Degree Regulation 39 - Withdrawal From Units
          AC/123/2004             Bachelor Degree Regulations – Double and Joint Degrees
          AC/124/2004             Bachelor Degree Regulations – Transfers
          AC/128/2004             Masters and Diploma Regulations – Intermediate Awards
          AC/129/2004             Master by Coursework Degree Regulation 10
          AC/130/2004             Master by Coursework Degree Regulations – Discontinued Degree

Legislation Committee has endorsed the form of most of the legislative changes proposed, but in two cases has recommended alternative wording in place of the amendments recommended by Academic Council (see agenda item 16 below - resolutions LC/29/2004 and LC/33/2004). The President of Council has accepted these modifications on behalf of Council. Senate is asked to approve the recommendations, as modified.

15.     RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Attached are the minutes of the meetings of Resources Committee held on 3 August 2004. There are no recommendations to Senate.

16.     LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Attached are the minutes of the meeting of Legislation Committee held on 29 July 2004. The following items contain recommendation to Senate:

          LC/27/2004               Statute No. 11 – Admissions
          LC/28/2004               Bachelor Degree Regulation 1 - New Degree
          LC/29/2004               Bachelor Degree Regulations - Double and Joint Degrees
          LC/30/2004               Bachelor Degree - Withdrawal from Units
          LC/31/2004               Bachelor Degree Regulations - Transfers by Students
          LC/32/2004               Certificate Regulation 1
          LC/33/2004               Diploma Regulation 1 - New Awards
          LC/34/2004               Diploma Regulation 29(2) - Intermediate Awards
          LC/35/2004               Master by Coursework Degree Regulations 1 & 2 - Discontinued Degree
          LC/36/2004               Master by Coursework Degree Regulation 10 - Points Value of Dissertations
          LC/37/2004               Master by Coursework Degree Regulation 38(2) - Intermediate Awards

The first recommendation will be considered at agenda item 8 above. The other recommendations will all be considered as part of the Academic Council report, at item 14.

17.     ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE

Attached are the minutes of the meeting of the Environmental Committee held on 7 July 2004. There are no recommendations to Senate.

18.     GOVERNANCE WORKING PARTY

Attached are the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Working Party held on 9 August 2004. The following items contain recommendations to Senate:

          GWP/19/2004           Statement of Governance Principles
          GWP/20/2004           Senate Retreat

The first of these items is listed for discussion under agenda item 12 above.

19.     2005 SENATE MEETING DATES

The following draft schedule of Senate meeting dates for next year has been prepared in consultation with the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor:

                    Tuesday 22 February
                    Tuesday 5 April
                    Tuesday 24 May
                    Tuesday 28 June - at Rockingham
                    Tuesday 16 August
                    Tuesday 11 October - at Mandurah
                    Tuesday 22 November

[Note: Easter will be 25-28 March. School holidays will be 9-25 April, 2-17 July and 24 September - 9 October. The June and October meetings differ from this year’s schedule of meeting dates, to avoid school holidays.]

The dates include a proposed move of meeting day to Tuesday. This is to allow an extra working day after the weekend for Senators to follow up on any issues or information they wish to obtain prior to the meeting.

All meetings will start at the usual time of 4.30pm.

Senate is invited to approve these dates.

20.     ANNUAL SENATE DINNER

At the end of each year there is an annual Senate dinner to acknowledge the service of all Senators, especially those who retired during the year. Senators are invited to bring their partner on this occasion. It is proposed that this year’s dinner be held on Monday 29 November.

If this date is acceptable, details about the dinner will be forwarded to members shortly.

21.     OFFICIAL SEAL

In accordance with resolution 90/85, the Official Seal of the University has been applied to the following documents since the last meeting of Senate –

• Settlement Deed with Murdoch Lakeview Apartments Ltd, Professional Funds Management Pty Ltd, Gary Asher Barnard, John Charles Whitehead and the LEBUN investors

• Lease of Law Building coffee shop, with Imogen Corporation Pty Ltd, Aljato Pty Ltd, Andrew Gaby and Athan Mirmikidis

• Letter of transmittal of requests for amendments to Statutes No.1 and No.4

• Collaborative Award Program Agreement with University of WA, Curtin University and Edith Cowan University, for introduction of the joint Master of Transport Studies course.

• Australian Building Industry Contract with Merym Constructions, for construction of the Learning Centre at the Peel Campus.

22.     MATTERS FOR NOTING

This section of the agenda is to assist Senators with background information. From time to time, this may contain reports from the Chancellor, relevant newspaper articles, information on conferences, important diary dates, etc. Senators are welcome to forward to the University Secretary any suggestions of material they would like included.

There are two national conferences on University Governance later this year that will be attended by some members of Senate and the senior executive:

☼    The 2004 University Governance Forum, in Sydney on 27 August. Topics include the National Governance Protocols, Should Universities follow Public or Private Sector Governance Models, the US Approach to University Governance, and Quality Assurance. The Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof Jan Thomas, is giving a paper on “The Tension Between the Principles of Academic Freedom and Good Governance”. Two Senators and several senior executives will be attending.

☼    The 2004 National Conference on University Governance, in Sydney on 22-23 October. This will be held in conjunction with national meetings of Chancellors and Council Secretaries. Topics include Governance Challenges in the Corporate and University Sectors, Governance Performance Evaluation in Australian Universities, and Risk Management in Universities. The University will be represented by the Chancellor, Pro Chancellor and University Secretary.

Attached is a press statement on university finances from the federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, with the overview section of the related publication, Finance, 2003.

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Senate meetings will be held at 4.30 pm on the following dates: