Academic Board Digest - 17 March 2021

Academic Board Digest for the meeting of 17 March 2021.

Membership

The following membership changes were noted:

• the appointment of Professor Stephen Tobias as Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Education and Arts, and Ex-Officio Academic Board member; and
• the appointment of Dr Matthew Charet, National Manager of Governance, Governance Directorate.

Report from the Chair of Academic Board

The Chair reported:

• that Academic Board is looking to appoint a new external member to Academic Board and invited suggestions for potential nominees from Board members;
• responses to the External Review of Academic Governance by Professor Hilary Winchester are 70% complete; and
• recommendations of the Winchester and Crossley reviews provide the opportunity to review the composition and practices of Academic Board. The Chair welcomes any feedback members wish to offer.

Academic Board:

• approved the proposed amendments to the Educational Partnerships Policy and Procedure;
• approved the proposed amendments to the Structuring Coursework Programs Policy; and
• noted the Terms of Reference for a review of the role, functioning and effectiveness of ACU’s Faculty Boards.

Vice-Chancellor and President’s Update

The Vice-Chancellor:

• welcomed Professor Stephen Tobias, Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts, to Academic Board, and Dr Matthew Charet, new National Manager of
  Governance, to ACU;
• recently attended the official opening of the Blacktown Campus, and acknowledged the work undertaken by ACU, the City of Blacktown and ex Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven, in terms of the successful development of the Campus;
• acknowledged the work undertaken by Paul Campbell and Professor Hayden Ramsey with respect to the development of the Ramsay Centre, and looks forward to the potentially successful collaboration between ACU, the Universities of Wollongong and Queensland in the Humanities through the Ramsay initiative;
• reported that both the Government and the Opposition are currently highlighting the importance of improvement in initial teacher education and more qualified teachers for
  student performance in Maths and Science; the Minister is keen to establish new ways of collaboration between schools and academics whereby academics teach into school programs and school teachers spend time in university classrooms;
• noted the potential social and economic benefits that could result from current consultations between the Minister and the Sector on research commercialisation; and
• has attended his first meeting of Universities Australia as ACU’s Vice-Chancellor.

Office of the Provost

The Provost reported on the early signs of success for the Blacktown Campus, noting that:

• a large number of students enrolled at Blacktown Campus are from the area, and noting potential for the area to be served by the campus;
• the Campus is expected to provide opportunities for industry partnerships; and
• with the aim to recruit more students to the Campus, work is progressing to ensure that the necessary systems and processes are in place.

Academic Board recommended the Response Plan to the Academic Integrity Review to Senate for approval.

Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Coordination)

Student Administrative Lifecycle and Policy Committee

Academic Board noted:

1. the 2020 Academic Misconduct Report
2. the 2020 Student Appeals Report
3. the 2020 Student Complaints Report.

Student Experience and Retention Committee

The Student Experience and Retention Committee recommended the following strategies to Senate for approval:

1. the Living and Learning Community Strategy
2. the Student Life Strategy
3. the Sport Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Courses and Academic Quality Committee

Academic Board recommended the following New Courses to Senate for approval:

• Master of Teaching (Primary) (Leading Learning)
• Master of Digital Health
• Graduate Diploma in Digital Health
• Graduate Certificate in Digital Health

Academic Board approved the following course discontinuation:

• Graduate Certificate in Management of Not for Profit Organisations

Office of Planning and Strategic Management (OPSM)

Academic Board noted:

• the Student Enrolment and Load Report
• a presentation on Selected Metrics delivered by the Director, Planning and Strategic
  Management.