School of Behavioural Science Planning Days

1
School of Behavioural Science Planning Days

• Overview Henry Jackson
• 13-14 February 2006

2
Overview 2005- Accomplishments I

• 2005 What did we accomplish?
• Got together - devised vision
• Formed working parties
• Finalised
• Operationalised plans
• Strategic Plan
• Governance structures

3
Overview 2005 Accomplishments II

• Attempted to improve communication
• Involvement in working groups
• Friday morning teas
• Talk to student groupings
• Website improvement and utilisation
• Acknowledging successes and awards
• Emphasis on importance of Cyberpsych - it
  keeps growing!

4
Overview - 2005 Accomplishments III

• Attempts to increase contact with other parts of
  the University to increase our profile
• Representation on both Faculty and University
  Committees
• Formation of External Relations Committee
• Work of Sarah Drew, Jenny Boldero and David
  Castle in organising public events
• Communication of successes to Central University
  and Faculty newsletters
• Publication and dissemination of School Report

5
Overview 2005 Accomplishments IV

• Improvement in publication output C1 and B1
• Continued strength in ARC Discovery grants
• Higher degree completions looked superior to
  begin with but 1-year period not really growing
• Promise that lifts would be fixed in late 2007
• Psychology Clinic re-established in Blackwood
  Street
• Benchmarking phase 1 with Nottingham completed
• Creation of External Relations Manager HEW 8 with
  marketing and communication skills for student
  recruitment, alumni, strengthening external
  engagement, etc.

6
2005 - What did not happen and why?

• Working party on Space interrupted by Budget
  announcements mid-year. Money to be used for
  renovation of 11th Floor or leasing new space now
  needs to be reserved for staff retirements
• Working Party on Professional P/G Coursework
  courses overtaken by Growing Esteem document.
  Need to refocus Working Party
• Governance took time to get decided need to get
  all committees functioning including Executive
• Workload Equity big issue overwhelmed by other
  tasks
• Workforce Plan still in process - PDFs still
  ongoing

7
Our problems - General

• Aging staff and unusual profile in the University
  - we have 44 of staff now 55 and over mean age
  for us is 50yoa compared to 46yoa for Faculty and
  47yoa for University
• We have unusual staff level profile
  concentration at Associate Professor level. 39
  compared to 25 at Faculty level and 20 at
  University level
• Worst compared to other Psychology Departments in
  GO8
• Not entirely compliant yet some work to do in PDF
  area.
• Budget workforce planning new staff - in
  what areas?
• Space quantity and quality need to re-organise
  space

8
Our problems Teaching and Learning

• Falling numbers of enrolments at early U/G years
  where we make our money!
• Honours year being questioned by Growing Esteem
  document but we think we do this well especially
  thesis component
• Fewer professional postgraduate students because
  of loss of courses - fewer combined MPsych/PhD
  students
• QOT and CEQ results not good and uneven we
  dont seem to be providing students with a great
  Melbourne Experience
• Poor facilities
• Large classes
• Is our curriculum appropriate and delivered
  appropriately?

9
Our problems - Research

• Not No 1 Psychology Department/School in country
  and uneven performance from year to year
• One consistent failing over the years is the
  amount of dollars earned per T and R or R only
  staff member. Near bottom of GO8 on this index.
• Few large scale collaborations
• We are expected to apply for international grants
  especially those of us at the senior levels
• Need to expect more from staff. My view is over a
  3-year time frame needs to be 6 raw publications
  per staff member.
• Not getting through to research students need
  to obtain more publications from students
  should be in natural order of things

10
Growing Esteem

• Triple Helix
• Three strands
• Teaching - especially more graduate teaching
• Research more focused strengths
• Knowledge Transfer (Engagement) - probably
  least understood area

11
Growing Esteem

• Takes place in context of new local and
  international competitors, less money but greater
  control from federal government and rise of
  importance of international rankings of
  Universities, e.g., the Times, Shanghai Jiao Tong
  University, etc.
• Rankings will move to disciplines later this year
  

12
Growing Esteem- Research 1

• World-Significant Research
• RQF Taskforce audit research projects and staff
  profiles across the University - are we in the
  top three in research area in Australia but also
  international benchmarking? This will be baseline
  for maintenance or improvement
• Research reviews informed but not limited by
  RQF
• Underperformance will open up the prospect of
  restructuring, closure, etc.
• Increase in research income by 12. A 5-year plan
  to increase research dollars

13
Growing Esteem Research 2

• Strengthen Cross-discipline and Collaborative
  Research
• Build on Bio 21 Institute model
• VC to head cross-discipline working group to
  identify strategic priorities and
  cross-disciplinary developments at national and
  international level.
• Identify and set search criteria for 10 Future
  Generation Professors from 2007 on.
• Support Six Future Generation Fellows at
  post-doctoral and early career level

14
Growing Esteem Research 3

• Build future research capacity
• Research students improve student satisfaction
  rates
• Improve completion rates by 10 a year for next 3
  years
• High quality research training, student feedback
  to identify development planning for supervisors
• More mentoring of students and performance
  management plans
• Future generation professors to build teams for
  fellows, post-docs and students.

15
Growing Esteem - Teaching and Learning I

• Melbourne Model based on Bologna Model 3
  generalist U/G degree 2 year professional
  graduate training and 3 year doctoral research
  training but may not suit all professions and
  disciplines
• Improve credit transferability and make courses
  consistent with international benchmarking
• Rationalise offerings at U/G levels - fewer
  degrees aim to improve coherence, research
  relevance of courses
• All Curricula to be reviewed. Commission
  established met last Friday for the first time
• Focus on improving flexible learning spaces,
  learning hubs and discipline precincts

16
Growing Esteem - Teaching and Learning II

• Need to point to evidence that such degrees will
  lead to better jobs and salaries
• All year long teaching to reduce completion time!
• Semester abroad or online U21 Global subject with
  community service element embedded in it
• Some subjects will need to be taught out

17
Growing Esteem - Teaching and Learning III

• University will reward excellent teaching with
  awards and seeks to have highest CEQ scores in Oz
  and in internal student surveys in all
  disciplines
• Graduate teaching awards to be established
• Increase student exchange
• All teaching staff to undertake teaching
  update/refresher courses and especially P/G
  courses
• Improve IT anytime, anywhere access
• Attract the brightest and best - set some
  targets and develop relationships with high
  schools
• Equity and access to be examined by VC-led
  Committee

18
Growing Esteem - Teaching and Learning IV

• Need to involve accreditation bodies and convince
  public and other stakeholders
• Quality of educational experience given emphasis
  - facilities and teaching methods and quality
• Need to convince Canberra of policy change to
  transfer CSP U/G places to P/G

19
Knowledge Transfer (Engagement I)

• 2-way interaction with community to benefit of
  both
• Should both shape and shadow the Universitys
  research and teaching priorities
• First will audit current activities, and identify
  issues the University should engage with, then
  develop a more focused approach what does
  community want?
• Embed knowledge transfer as core business of
  University build into student experience,
  reward staff, expand inclusion of community reps
  on Committees
• Transform alumni relations a number of
  initiatives will be launched including lifelong
  email addresses for all graduates, alumni
  activities

20
Knowledge Transfer (Engagement II)

• Focus community engagement
• Engage society through the arts
• Promote intellectual leadership
• Generate income from knowledge -
  commercialisation
• Develop partnerships with business, government
  and international bodies
• Investing in development and fundraising

21
Growing Esteem - Bringing it Together I

• Administration will need to be changed and
  various enablers looked at
• Internationalisation
• Equity and access - will no longer rely on nexus
  between ENTER scores and U/G entry for
  professional training
• Need to communicate to everyone the new
  direction, refresh Uni website, marketing
  executive and branding important

22
Growing Esteem - Bringing it Together II

• People workloads increase especially during
  change processes central Uni will need to help
  them expand professional development
  professional development for younger staff and
  admin staff more opportunities attractive
  renumeration.
• Infrastructure - dont we know about this one! A
  new Master Plan for 2007
• Upgrading IT
• Fundraising needed for scholarships and
  research
• Resourcing
• University Administration shared services
• The Universitys Planning cycle