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Excellence and Diversity

Strategic Framework - 2004-2008

Monash in 2008

As we are in an environment of change and unpredictability, it is impossible to predict the future. Our aspiration is that by 2008 Monash will be established as a leading international university, recognised for its excellence in research and scholarship and as a destination of choice for students from all over the world. Our campuses in Australia and overseas will be united by common governance and a commitment to the highest standards but they will also be fully engaged with their local regions and in the case of the international campuses integrated into the higher education systems of their country. Monash will be recognised as an excellent employer in all respects and will be known for its advocacy of social justice and tolerance and for its integrity. It will be fully engaged with its alumni, government and industry and will have moved further towards self-reliance.

Context

Malaysia campus

In the 43 years since Monash admitted its first students, the university has established
a reputation for innovation and quality in research and education. It has seen four decades of growth and development that are a tribute to the vision of its founders and those who have come after them.

Monash is now at a critical phase in its history. Higher education faces new challenges and Monash must build on its foundations and seize the opportunities the new environment presents. It is necessary, therefore, to define the strategic directions for Monash over the next five years.

Recent data relating to both research performance and evaluation of teaching suggests that in relative terms Monash is stable rather than improving compared with other leading Australian universities. A major new effort is required if Monash is to achieve its potential to become not only a leading Australian university but also a truly great international university. It is the best positioned of any Australian university to do so.

Monash was one of the first Australian universities to recognise the importance of an international focus. Through its innovative approach to research, international student recruitment and in attracting excellent staff, the university has put itself on an exciting path. Its international campuses provide particular opportunities and challenges.

Monash is unusual among Australia's research-intensive universities in having multiple locations including one regional, two outer urban and two overseas campuses. Monash is big enough to be able to concentrate on cutting-edge international research excellence while also delivering high quality education and research programs with a more regional or applied focus. This provides particular opportunities for local community and regional engagement and gives students from diverse backgrounds access to quality education. It also requires careful planning to ensure that all programs are consistent with Monash's overall strategy and vision.

Strategic framework implementation

Excellence in research and scholarship

Monash is committed to being a great research-intensive university and to playing
a major role in preparing the research leaders of the future for the public and private sectors. Monash will enlarge its horizons and look internationally to establish benchmarks for its performance. Improving research performance is a major priority for the next five years. This will involve striking a balance between established peaks of excellence at the cutting edge internationally and research and scholarship with applied or local relevance. The location of the Australian Synchrotron at Monash provides a wonderful opportunity for Monash to become the regional centre for science and technology but this will require careful planning. To enhance its activities in research and research training Monash will:

provide an environment that supports high quality research and attracts the best researchers from around the world
strengthen funding and develop strategies to provide appropriate infrastructure to support high quality research
create an environment where staff are valued for their contributions to research and scholarship
develop strategies including scholarships to attract the highest quality research students
add to existing support and professional development of research students and ensure training of supervisors on all campuses
develop funding strategies that allow a balance between areas of research strength and the encouragement and support of early career researchers and scholars
provide mentorship for early career researchers including, in particular, those returning after career interruptions
respond to external research initiatives and attract research funding from State and Commonwealth governments, international sources and industry
enhance research and scholarship in disciplines and campuses where it is currently underdeveloped and encourage and mentor capable staff currently inactive in research to become active
build collaborative research groupings within Monash as appropriate through cross-departmental and faculty structures such as centres or institutes
collaborate widely with other institutions
in Australia and overseas including other universities, CSIRO and industry
develop clear and mutually supportive relationships with Monash's affiliated research institutes and teaching hospitals to enhance research and research training
actively recruit leading researchers to enhance existing areas of strength and
to serve as the nucleus for new research initiatives
enhance success in national competitive grants by encouraging researchers to prepare and submit better bids for competitive funding
develop programs to gain maximum benefit from the location of the synchrotron on the Clayton campus
benchmark Monash research performance against leading international universities and the Group of Eight.

Excellence in education

Recognising the fundamental significance of high quality education to the future of Australia and the world, Monash will strive for the highest possible quality in teaching
and learning. To achieve this, Monash will:

foster an environment that attracts the highest quality staff and students
be guided by its view of the nexus between teaching and research
provide sufficient financial and physical resources to sustain high quality education
design and deliver staff development and student leadership programs to assist staff and students to achieve their full potential
maintain and further develop an environment where staff are valued for their contributions to teaching and learning
plan teaching carefully and creatively, with planning for each campus designed to meet local needs as well as the university's overall objectives
continue to enhance teaching and learning by development and application
of advances in information technology and apply such advances to increase flexibility in teaching and learning whether on or off-campus
further implement the principles of student-centred, flexible learning emphasising the discovery, analysis and integration of information, problem-solving, communication and preparation for a lifetime of learning
develop effective methods to ensure quality of teaching and learning for our
own quality improvement cycle and to demonstrate to others that we are performing at an excellent level.

Excellence in Management

Excellent education and research need to be supported by excellent management. Monash's complexity, size and diversity provide significant management challenges.
A fundamental component of excellence in management is to value staff and to be an exemplary employer. To achieve excellence in this area Monash will:

ensure that management processes are efficient, accountable and transparent
develop an explicit approach to the management of Monash as a matrix
of campuses and faculties
foster a consultative and collegial approach to management whilst maintaining efficiency
have a rigorous program of planning, risk management, implementation and evaluation of plans and reporting for all divisions whether academic, commercial
or administrative
continue to improve information management including upgrading information technology systems
ensure that all proposals for new initiatives are accompanied by rigorous financial plans and risk analyses
pay attention to all aspects of responsible environmental management
address occupational health and safety so all aspects of our duty of care are satisfied
create an environment where all staff are valued as equal partners in achieving the vision of the university
appoint and support excellent general staff and provide them with high quality development and educational programs
provide leadership and development programs for staff in senior positions
maintain excellent communication throughout the university
ensure that the quality of support services for students and staff are excellent
ensure that employment conditions are optimised.

Diversity

Monash is distinguished by its organisational diversity, and the university must build and promote this. Its diversity includes multiple campuses in city, regional and international locations, an extensive range of educational and research programs and centres of excellence covering almost all fields and disciplines. The wider Monash encompasses a foundation studies program and Monash College. To take advantage of its diversity
Monash will:

formulate strategic plans for each of its campuses that ensure that not only are educational opportunities provided to students from a diverse range of backgrounds but that each campus provides high quality education and research appropriate to its region and consistent with Monash's overall vision
recognise that the changes re-shaping modern society require advancement
in knowledge across the full range of scholarship
develop and support the humanities and creative and performing arts as well as the sciences and professional education
recognise that maximising performance requires community diversity to be reflected in staffing at all levels of seniority
provide educational and counselling support so that students and staff from
as diverse a range of backgrounds as possible are attracted to Monash.

Innovation and Creativity

Monash will be fully engaged internationally and, anticipating an increasing trend to global systems of education, industry, trade and governance, ensure that all our educational programs have strong international content and focus.

Monash University prides itself on its culture of innovation and creativity, with imaginative thinking fostering new and exciting approaches across the spectrum of education, research and development. In a rapidly changing world it is essential that Monash continues to take advantage of new opportunities and develop new solutions. To sustain and develop this culture, Monash will:

celebrate and reward creative ideas and approaches in education, research and external engagement
encourage faculties, departments and service divisions to develop new methods of realising the Monash vision
question accepted concepts and methods, welcome debate and encourage positive ideas for improvement
ensure that all academic programs provide opportunities for Monash students to develop their creative abilities
while recognising, defining and managing risk, make conscious decisions to take risks if the potential academic returns justify them.

International Focus

Although remaining centred in Australia, Monash will be fully engaged internationally and, anticipating an increasing trend to global systems of education, industry, trade and governance, ensure that all our educational programs have strong international content and focus. To achieve this, Monash will:

continue to attract a significant number of international students to all Monash campuses by providing high quality, internationally-relevant educational and research training programs
further develop the Monash Abroad program increasing the opportunities for Monash students to gain international experience
further develop online learning so that Monash programs are available to a wider range of international students studying either partly or fully off-campus
liaise with its joint venture partner in Malaysia to further develop the Malaysian campus and extend the range of programs available
further develop Monash South Africa guided by a business plan with carefully defined milestones and targets
continue to promote Monash in Asia, Europe and North America through
well-planned strategies involving centres, sponsored events and targeted marketing
form strategic alliances with high quality universities and research centres in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa to enhance research collaboration and international staff and student exchanges
ensure that all Monash educational programs have strong international content and perspectives and that our international campuses contribute to their development
develop further international campuses, when and if they are supported by a sound business plan and risk assessment, are welcomed by the host country and are compatible with Monash's strategic vision and financial planning.

Fairness

Respect for individuals regardless of religion, race, belief, gender or disability is fundamental to Monash. The university is fully committed to the principles of fairness and tolerance and is committed to assisting students from diverse backgrounds to develop through higher education. Monash is also committed to providing employment opportunities for staff in a fair and equitable way. In accord with these values, Monash will:

provide a range of equity-based scholarship programs at undergraduate and postgraduate levels aimed at educationally or financially disadvantaged students in Australia and internationally
develop, in consultation with indigenous leaders, a comprehensive education program to achieve effective preparation and bridging, recruitment and retention of indigenous students
enter partnerships with TAFE providers and secondary schools to develop bridging and articulation programs to assist educationally disadvantaged students to access Monash courses
continue to develop and implement programs to ensure that no staff member
is unfairly disadvantaged as a result of her or his gender, race, religion or disability
further develop an environment which welcomes and supports individuals without discrimination or intolerance.

Engagement

Monash will be fully engaged with its communities including local schools, governments, industry, professions and the general public. Monash will:

interact as relevant and appropriate with local communities, local government and local politicians with respect to each of its campuses, both in Australia and overseas
actively engage Monash alumni in the development of the university and its relations with wider communities
develop campuses to become vibrant centres featuring high quality art, music
and theatre that is accessible to the community
use its excellent sporting facilities to enliven campuses and engage with students and staff and surrounding communities
engage with the professions at all levels, especially in the design of educational programs
enhance relations with secondary schools and provide high quality information to prospective students
maintain continuing and constructive relationships with relevant politicians and government officials
involve industry partners in advisory and liaison roles, seek joint industry-academic research funding, and where appropriate recruit part-time or honorary staff from industry
encourage academic staff to undertake consulting for industry where this does not impinge substantially on teaching and research
encourage staff to contribute to public debate and advocacy in areas of expertise and in more general areas relating to social justice, human rights and a sustainable environment
develop campuses to allow for relevant business presence where this enhances research, educational or infrastructure objectives.

Integrity

Monash recognises that only by placing an absolute value on integrity and honesty will it be able to achieve its aspiration to be a great international university. To ensure this, Monash will:

see that all its dealings are characterised by openness and transparency and conform to best academic, financial and business standards
have an active program of educating staff and students about appropriate standards of academic and professional conduct
implement processes for detection, handling and minimisation of all forms
of academic fraud and misconduct
ensure that its policies for ownership of intellectual property are clear and fair
have processes to deal with conflicts of interest in research, teaching and assessment, human resource management and financial and business dealings.

Self-reliance

It is very unlikely that there will be increases in public funding for Australian universities of sufficient magnitude to allow them to become competitive with the top rank of overseas universities. Yet if Australia is to become a significant international player in innovation, industry and in the global economy it is essential that there is a substantial increase in the funding available to our universities. While continuing to argue for increased public investment in tertiary education Monash recognises that it has the capacity to improve its financial position steadily and to become progressively more self-reliant. To this end, Monash will:

develop an explicit approach to the understanding of the cost of all our activities and the revenue generated in helping to arrive at a transparent budgeting and financial management system which is strategic with respect to achieving the core objectives of the university in education and research
continue to improve the financial management capacity of senior staff
regularly review structures and processes to ensure cost effectiveness and efficiency
continue to optimise the use of our physical resources
encourage research commercialisation
initiate a major university-wide fundraising campaign
seek to maximise fee income while offering merit and equity scholarships to students
seek support for joint ventures with industry or government consistent with the strategic directions of the university
encourage submissions for support to traditional and non-traditional granting agencies both in Australia and overseas and ensure that such applications are of high quality.

Planning Cycle

An annual planning cycle will be implemented involving the formulation of a university-wide annual plan, the formulation or updating of the Learning and Teaching Plan, the Research and Research Training Management Plan , the Support Services Plan, faculty plans, campus specific plans, and the Marketing Plan. The emphasis will be on formulating plans that are linked to the budget-setting process and are subjected to an annual cycle of evaluation of progress against plan. It will be essential throughout that staff and students have substantial input into the planning process and feel committed to the plans proposed.

February 2004