Academic Board Digest of the 8 July 2020 meeting

Meeting 03/2020  8 July 2020

Membership

The following membership changes were noted:

• Professor Margot Hillel’s term as Chair, Academic Board, would expire with effect from 6
  August 2020
• Professor Tim McKenry’s appointment as Chair, Academic Board, with effect from 7 August
  2020, for a three-year term
• Professor Pauline Nugent resignation as Provost and departure as an ex-officio Academic
  Board member with effect from 31 May 2020
• Professor Zlatko Skrbis’ appointment as an ex-officio Academic Board member with effect
  from 1 June 2020.
• Professor Meg Stuart’s appointment as an ex-officio Academic Board member with effect
  from 11 June 2020.
• Professor Michael Ondaatje’s departure as an ex-officio Academic Board member with effect
  from 11 June 2020.

Report from the Chair of Academic Board

The Chair highlighted the following points:

• As Professor Tim McKenry assumes the role of Chair on 7 August, a ballot is being held to fill
  the vacancy of an Arts Level E Academic Board member.
• A ballot is being held to elect an Academic Board Deputy Chair, the three candidates for which
  are Associate Professor Christian Lorenzen, Professor Jan Seruga, and Associate Professor
  Anthony Whitty.
• TEQSA has granted ACU a three-year extension of its current registration under Section 37A
  of the TEQSA Act; re-registration is now due in July 2025.

External Academic Board Review Report

The External Review Report and its recommendations were well received by Academic Board.
Academic Board agreed to recommend that Senate adopt the Report’s recommendations, and the
Action Plan developed for the implementation of the Report’s recommendations.

Vice-Chancellor and President’s Update

The Vice-Chancellor addressed the following matters:

• ACU’s strategies enabling it to trade through the current financial situation created by the
  COVID-19 pandemic
• ACU’s continued support for the humanities despite the rise in costs of humanities degrees
  under the current Higher Education package
• ACU’s commitment to the new degree in Western Civilisation
• Professor Margot Hillel’s service to ACU as Chair of Academic Board, and her significant
  contribution to ACU through her distinction as a scholar, as driver of the Poetry Prize, as
  driver of the agenda of ACU’s commitment to art, and as driver of change to the Academic
  Board.

Office of the Acting Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Innovation) (“DVCEI”)

The Acting Provost and DVCEI spoke to the following highlights:

• ACU will respond to the Government’s Job Ready package. There has been a delay in consultation about the university’s response due to the COVID-19 situation.
• The First Peoples Directorate aims to present its draft of the Belonging Strategy to the September Academic Board meeting.
• The Advancement and Alumni strategy will take a new and bolder approach to engaging with the university’s alumni.
• The University Learning and Teaching Committee has developed a set of draft graduate attributes.

Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) spoke to his report, highlighting the following points:

• The Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences has been successful in receiving over 2
  million dollars in NHMRC grant funding recently.
• Large attendance numbers at seminars hosted by the Centre for Religion and Critical Inquiry
  have been very good, with some distinguished scholars attending these seminars.
• Recent research rankings have improved for the disciplines of Nursing, Education,
  Psychology (which has been placed in the top 2,000), Public Health, Medicine, Hospitality
  and Tourism, and Sports Science.

University Research Committee

Academic Board approved:

1. proposed amendments to the Research Training Program Scholarship Policy
2. proposed amendments to the Guidelines on the Preparation and Presentation of a
   Research or Professional Doctoral Thesis for Examination
3. proposed amendments to the Appointment of Examiners and Examination Policy
4. the new Appointment of Examiners and Examination Procedures
5. proposed amendments to the Higher Degree Research Regulations.

Academic Administrative Committee

Academic Board approved:

1. the revised Common Academic Calendar and study periods 2020
2. the Common Academic Calendar and study periods for 2022
3. the proposed amendments to the English Language Proficiency requirements for
   Postgraduate Law entry as outlined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy
4. the proposed amendments to the English Language Proficiency requirements for Midwifery
   entry as outlined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy
5. recommendations of GPA requirements for progression into ACU undergraduate degrees
   applicable to the domestic student cohort
6. proposed amendments to the Elite Athlete and Performer Program Policy
7. the introduction of a new grade: Result Pending
8. the introduction of the ACU Guarantee Entry Program for school leavers based on their
   Year 11 results.

Courses and Academic Quality Committee

Academic Board recommends new course proposals for the Master of Teaching (Secondary) (Leading
Learning) (Faculty of Education and Arts), for implementation from Summer Term 2021, and the
Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Faculty of Law and Business) for
implementation from Semester 1, 2021, for approval by Senate.

Academic Board recommends the following New Course Proposals from the Faculty of Law and
Business with effect from Semester 1 2021, for approval by Senate, pending approval for
recommendation by circular resolution:

• the Graduate Certificate in Application Development
• the Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics
• the Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security
• the Graduate Certificate in Data Science

Academic Board also approved the newly developed Microcredential and Short Course Policy and the
Microcredential and Short Course Guidelines.

If you have any questions about the content of this Digest, please direct them to the Governance Directorate
via Service Central.