Academic board
August 2004
by Peter Cardwell
New Hawke Research Institute
Academic Board approved the establishment of UniSA's third research institute, the Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies (HRISS). It will comprise the Centre for Studies in Literacy, Policy and Learning Cultures, the Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work and the Research Centre for Gender Studies, as well as the Social Policy Research Group and the Group for Research on Employment and Workplace Change. The HRISS brings together a strong concentration of nationally and internationally prominent researchers, and will conduct research built around four interdisciplinary research programs looking broadly at the areas of gender, equity, work and contemporary culture.
Academic Board Charter
A new Academic Board Charter was approved, which codifies the Board's roles and responsibilities, the formal powers delegated to it by University Council, its terms of reference and membership, accountability and its reporting relationship as well as those of its sub-committees. The Charter also establishes a Standing Committee of Academic Board comprising the Chair, Deputy Chair, Chairs of the Board's major sub-committees (PVCs for Access and Learning Support, Research and Innovation and the Dean of Graduate Studies) and one other member appointed by and from the Board. The Standing Committee has been set up for cases where action is necessary before a Board meeting can be conveniently held, for example, over the summer vacation period when most academic staff are on leave.
New policies approved
Revised Selection and Entry to Coursework Programs (A-18.9) and Confidentiality of Students' Personal Information (A-46.1) policies were approved. They are the first of a series of academic policies that will come forward to Academic Board as the University reviews and amends its policies and procedures in response to the legislative requirements of the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The Selection and Entry to Coursework Programs Policy has also been substantially amended in response to the outcomes of an external review of undergraduate entry, and the need to update and formalise the broad range of selection procedures now in operation. A detailed appendix to the policy has been developed that documents the various pathways and selection mechanisms now in operation throughout the University for undergraduate entry.
The Confidentiality of Students' Personal Information Policy has been amended to comply with the information privacy principles set out in the Privacy Act in respect to personal information obtained for the purposes of administering Commonwealth student loans and support schemes, and to provide more general compliance with national Privacy Principles for Commonwealth agencies.
Revised degrees policies
Academic Board endorsed revised Professional Doctorates (RES 7), Doctoral Degrees (RES 10) and Masters Degrees by Research (RES 11) policies. The move follows the Board's decision in 2003 that responsibility for professional doctorates will in future reside with Research Degrees Committee (RDC) for doctorates with more than two thirds research and Academic Policy and Program Review Committee (APPRC) for coursework doctorates.
It has also been determined that in due course the Professional Doctorates Policy (RES 7) will be rescinded and replaced with a generic postgraduate coursework policy. The new policy will deal, inter alia, with coursework professional doctorates and come under the auspices of APPRC.
Associate degrees
It was resolved that the University not introduce stand alone Associate Degrees, but Divisions will be allowed to introduce articulating Associate Degrees that provide strategic advantage for their markets and partnerships. Associate Degrees (two-year higher education awards) became part of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) in 2003. In response to that decision, Academic Board has already approved the renaming of nine UniSA two-year awards as Associate Degrees.
Program development
The following new programs were approved: Graduate Certificate in Applied Science (Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation), Master of Professional Computing, Master of Quantitative Finance.