Meeting 6/2009 : 8 October 2009 : South Africa Campus
It’s hard to believe that in 2009 it is still difficult to set up effective teleconferencing between Melbourne and South Africa.
Chancellor’s business
- IITB Mumbai seems set for successful collaborations
- Estates Committee has had its first meeting. This is a new subcommittee of Council and after a period of some years replaces a similar subcommittee which operated as a sub sub committee of Resources and Finances. In the interim the physical nature of the University has been the responsibility of VCG.
- Discussion about UWA loss of $120 million associated with intellectual property and concerns expressed about how Monash is positioned.
Vice Chancellor’s business
- Notification about Elizabeth Blackburn new Nobel Laureate in Medicine and her connection to Monash
- Progress on student mobility satisfactory
- Update on the 20 – 40 agenda
- Consideration of the “Compact”
- Monash must establish a research agenda focus, as well as demonstrating runs in
- Sustainability
- Health
- Innovation
- Social inclusion
- Culture, history, global engagement
- Education
- Passport
- How big do we want to be? Metropolitan campuses seem to be about the right size but what about the “branch” campuses – Berwick, Peninsula, Gippsland? Perhaps these can service the 20 – 40 issues? [“Discussions centred on the regional campuses and it was felt that we should use those campuses to support the Government’s 20/40 agenda.” “...a branch campus may be allowed to have more teaching active staff and to have a wider range of entry routes to university.”]
- The process of reform of academic standards is proceeding well [“It is anticipated that a very small number of staff within the University may reach a full professorial level on teaching only criteria ...”]
- The “Clustering” will be underway by end of the year
Budget
- $30 million real savings
- Push to overturn VSU as it approaches the Senate with a suggestion of talking to Fielding. A failure to reverse it will generate $11 million loss.
- Forecast result for 2009 = $118.3 million with an operating margin of 8.4%
- Profit and loss is sound; cash is now in the black; forecast cash result for 2009 = $21 million.
South Africa Report
- SSR of 1 : 35 is apparently something they asked for as a way of addressing the debt [they are currently running at SSR = 1 : 32]
- Fee increase across the board with no discounts for South African citizenship poses very significant risks for the ongoing fiscal health of the campus. [Nonetheless the fee they have proposed and will take effect from beginning 2010 is slightly lower than that of a local private secondary college – still, I wonder how many Soweto South Africans go through this system]
Academic Board
- Teaching semester reduced from 13 weeks to 12 weeks to take effect from 2011. [“Academic Board approved the replacement of the current standard 13 week semester structure with the proposed 12 week standard semester structure for introduction in Semester 1, 2011. Members noted the intended use of Orientation Week to help prepare students for their studies.” Uh der?]
- Electoral changes mean that President of the board can only do two terms in a row [similarly for vice president of the board] and, rather more controversially, the President of the board can only be elected from among the Professors. [“Limit eligibility for the position of President, Academic Board, to members holding professorial appointments”]
Membership
- Paul Ramler and Colin Bourke will not be seeking further terms and will end their membership in December 2009
- Heather Carmody will commence on Council [subject to ministerial approval] in January 2010
- Louise Adler and Ian Pyman have been elevated to Deputy Chancellors [we now have three with Leanne Rowe remaining in situ]
