1. Can the University commit to diverse hiring practices such as making the initial processes blind application evaluations and ensure some positions are set aside for persons of colour, LGBTIQ++, females and Indigenous peoples?

The University has a strong focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, including in its recruitment processes. This is a key element of our Gender Equity Strategy and Accessibility and Inclusion Plan (to be released shortly). In 2018, a trial of anonymised recruitment in the Faculty of Science and Engineering was conducted and an extended pilot will occur over the next two years. Also, a new Recruitment Workshop for hiring managers will be launched shortly which has been designed to reflect inclusive practice and encourage mitigation of bias.

Walanga Muru and HR have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Workforce Plan with specific actions related to recruitment of ATSI staff (for which there is scope for designated roles). Broader diversity and inclusion strategies include our ALLY Network (a Steering Committee has recently been formed to increase the reach and impact of the Network in progressing initiatives around LGBTIQ++ inclusion).

More than one-third of our staff identify as coming from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We collect and analyse comprehensive data to understand staff experience of our culture and use this to inform our diversity and inclusion strategies.

2. Could the Vice-Chancellor speak to the checks and balances in place to ensure appropriate Executive pay and conditions, in the light of current budget constraints across the University.

AND

3. When is the remuneration of the Executive also going to reflect the difficult financial circumstances we are in?

Executive remuneration is overseen by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee (NRC) of University Council. Each year, the NRC determines the maximum annual increase for Executive and Senior Staff of the University who are not covered by the enterprise agreement increases.

A summary of the annual pay increase for Executive and Senior Staff over the past three years, as compared to professional and academic staff, is provided below:

The University uses the Mercer Salary Benchmarking Data Series to benchmark Executive and Senior Staff remuneration. This is the most comprehensive salary benchmarking data set in the Australian higher education sector. Comparison with this set of data shows that our Executive and Senior Staff are well within boundaries of the benchmarked data each year.

4. It is difficult to see meaningful purpose – and to have this motivate you – when you’re tasked with long-term work that needs to be done within the span of a very short-term contract.

I recognise the time pressure and extensive effort and hard work of the University community around significant programs of work, including the Curriculum Transformation Program. It would be desirable to have more time to work on these initiatives. As discussed in the Town Hall meeting, the University is responding to a rapidly changing context and seeking to maintain its position and standing in an increasingly competitive environment. We do not control the pace of change confronting us externally, but we are responding with an amazing work force which is showing its commitment to quality and agility. Additional resources have also been applied to these major change initiatives.

5. Do we hire people based on alignment with our values? Integrity, scholarship, empowerment?

Yes. The University has a merit-based selection policy, which is based on hiring the best person for each position. This includes the skills, experience and competencies of the position (reflected in selection criteria), as well as alignment with the University’s values of Integrity, Scholarship and Empowerment.

6. Staff mobility register seems to be tick box – staff secondments happen without transparency.

Career development for professional staff is a key priority for Human Resources. In the 12 months up to May 2019, there were 112 staff involved in 84 secondments across the professional staff workforce.

There are many opportunities for secondments each year, advertised on Jobs@MQ. Staff can also register interest for secondments through the Staff Mobility Register. The Vice-President of Human Resources, and the broader executive, is strongly supportive of staff mobility and secondments and encourage staff to move around the University to progress their careers and for professional development. For more information on professional development, please see the HR website.

7. What were the common themes at Macquarie from the YourSay survey?

We have not yet received results from the YourSay survey. The Voice Project (the independent group conducting the survey on behalf of the University) is currently analysing the data and will provide survey results to the University in the coming months. Information will be shared with the University community later in the year.

8. Why don’t we have a HR policy that preferences hiring MQ graduates to increase employability?

Thank you for this suggestion. It has been provided to the Vice-President, Human Resources for her consideration.

9. How can we continue work as usual when people leave the University, there is no communication about staff turnover, and there is an increasing sense of impending organisational change (e.g. significant restructuring and reductions in staff to save money – or fund loans…)?

Our latest annual turnover rate is 13 per cent (including expiry of fixed-term appointments). This rate is considered within the optimal range of 10-15 per cent and is below sector average, which is 16.3 per cent according to the latest figures available (AHEIA Benchmarking Report 2019). It is also appropriate to acknowledge, especially for long-standing members of our staff, the enhanced mobility between employing organisations has increased over the last decade.

Overall, our net staff numbers have increased year-on-year over the past three years:

It is acknowledged, however, that there has been significant change across the University during this period, including a number of organisational change processes and some redundancies. The University seeks to ensure that all workplace change processes are conducted consultatively and with sound rationale.

As mentioned during the Town Hall, it is anticipated that change will be a constant over the years to come, in response to the rapidly changing context around us. We commit to conducting change consultatively and in accordance with our workplace change provisions.

10. Is there any discount for staff taking on more studies at MQ?

Continuing and fixed term professional staff can apply for a staff study grant or scholarship through a competitive application and selection process. They can also apply for the Study for Staff scheme which provides all staff with the opportunity to attend a lecture series as part of their approved professional development. For further details, please refer to Support and Schemes section of the HR website.

11. What is the University doing to ensure policies, procedures and systems work together more efficiently so that less money can be wasted on faff? 

Significant work has been achieved in the systems and technology area over the past year, with an ambitious program of work planned for the next five years. We have completed implementation of the research system, an upgrade of FinanceOne, and work on the Student Management System and Curriculum Management System is well underway. We are in the final stages of procuring a HR system, which will be a major project. We have also rolled out a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to a number of key areas with significant impact, and with further rollout planned over coming months. As we implement new systems and technology, we are taking the opportunity to modernise and streamline our processes and work practices.

Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated. Further information is available on the policy website.

12. Since we function in a very top-down, hierarchy-driven organisation, what work will the Vice-Chancellor champion to help reduce silos and increasing protectiveness across the institution?

As discussed at the Town Hall, a key area of focus is to ensure “our community remains whole” as we navigate change. Unlike many universities, the degree of silo behaviour is less prevalent at Macquarie. An area that has been identified for improvement is internal communications. An Internal Communications Strategy has been developed and is currently in the early stages of implementation, and the Town Halls are part of this. It is designed to improve communication channels and facilitate the sharing of information across operational areas to reduce silos. I anticipate that the design and implementation plan of the new approach to internal communications will be rolled out in late 2019.

 13. Is this presentation on contextualising and clarifying the role of universities intended to distract or detract from necessary, yet uncomfortable, conversation about professional and academic staff restructures (that the University may well be avoiding)? The lack of transparency is frustrating.

The University seeks to be open and transparent with all workplace change across the University. Our workplace change provisions include a consultation process. We seek to be respectful to staff directly impacted by change by consulting with them before any broader communication takes place. There have been a number of restructures within parts of the University. Unlike some universities, we have not chosen ‘a one size fits all’ approach to restructuring the workforce but rather have chosen, appropriately in my view, to focus time, energy and resources intensively on issues pertinent to particular aspects rather than sweeping catch all university-wide initiatives. To my view those organisation-wide change initiatives, while appropriate in some circumstances, deny the importance of understanding the detailed needs of particular work environments.  Managing change on a case by case basis enables more successful implementation and adoption.

 14. Can the Vice-Chancellor please lead an honest discussion about the casualisation of the academic workforce and perhaps workshop some strategies to ensure great younger researchers are offered a degree of stability (i.e. 2–3-year contracts)?

AND

15. What provisions are being considered in the near future to make career advancement possible for sessional staff?

 A key focus area for the University is to build our academic workforce to continue to improve our student experience and to accelerate our achievements in research. Our academic staff numbers have increased over the past three years.

Another key development over the past year has been the creation of new academic job families, including Teaching and Leadership roles. This provides an additional career pathway for casual and sessional academic staff into permanent roles, with potential promotion to Professorial level. We have recently advertised a large number of new Teaching and Leadership roles, with casual academic staff being encouraged to apply. Further information can be found on the Academic Job Families website.

The casualisation rate of our academic workforce was 25 per cent in 2018 (latest figures available, based on the HEIMS government submission). This rate has been declining steadily over the past three years. For comparison, academic casualisation rate across the sector ranges between 8 per cent and 48 per cent, with the latest average being 24 per cent (2017 HEIMS data).  Also refer Q18.

16. After the merger of the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, 10 people left Macquarie University. Would it be possible to let us know when new academic staff members will be joining us? Please note while 10 academics left, the student numbers have increased, therefore student/staff ratio has increased.

A number of academic staff have been recruited in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and will commence in early 2020. Further recruitment is currently underway.

17. Does the University have any plans to review the professional staff salary scales and bandings to ensure retention of excellent staff e.g. HEW8 and HEW9 staff.

The salary rates for all professional staff were considered in the enterprise bargaining process conducted in 2018. The salary rates and salary increases over the life of the enterprise agreement are detailed in Schedule 1 to the Macquarie University Professional Staff Enterprise Agreement.

18. We want to deliver an engaging student experience, with some areas understaffed and being overworked (which may lead to burn out). There are also budget cuts to staff. How do we overcome this?

The University takes a number of steps to ensure there are no disproportionate resourcing impacts on our people and their ability to deliver. This includes workplace planning and strategic prioritisation decisions at Faculty and Portfolio levels, including review of resourcing impacts during annual budget builds. The Enterprise Technology and Process Transformation work focuses on delivering more efficient and integrated systems and processes, which will have better outcomes for staff.

I acknowledge the significant work being done by staff and I thank you for your continued efforts.

19. The MQ staff are in the midst of two years of extraordinary change, and our focus is on students (as it should be), what do you want for the professional and academic staff of MQ in the coming 12 months, and beyond?

Our people are key to our success. Our academic and professional staff continuously demonstrate excellence and commitment to this University through their dedication to our values of service and engagement. As the University continues to respond to the rapidly changing environment, we recognise that our staff are instrumental in making this program of change a success. I appreciate your resilience and commitment to the future of our University.

As mentioned in the Town Hall, a core priority for me is that we ‘remain whole as a community’ as we work through the next 12 months. I would ask all staff to continue their collaborative and collegial approach to their work over the next 12 months and beyond. For all our staff, I hope you will see a sense of great purpose in the contribution that each and every person is making to enhance the organisational trajectory of Macquarie University and the experience that our students, staff and partners feel on our shared journey.

Read more in the series: 

Curriculum Transformation

I appreciate many of you taking time from your University commitments to attend my recent Town Hall.

I believe it is timely mid-year for us to pause and reflect on our purpose at Macquarie University and to celebrate our achievements.

I noted just a couple at the Town Hall meeting – the wonderful accolade afforded to Associate Professor Ronika Power in the Department of Ancient History, who recently received one of the most prestigious medals from the Australian Academy of Humanities, and Macquarie’s shortlisting in the final round for an Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence. We have great hopes it will get over the line.

I also reflected during the Town Hall on the purpose of the University. We have witnessed another graduation season, celebrating another wonderful set of new graduates leaving the University to explore the rest of their careers.

I noted the continuation of the outstanding work on the curriculum redevelopment that is happening every day, and acknowledged with great appreciation the extraordinary work in which many of you are deeply engaged.

Keeping pace with a changing global landscape

I want to offer you some of my thoughts about the nature of the rapidly changing world and its very real complexity. Many of you may be asking the questions “Why am I doing this”? “How does my work fit into the bigger picture?”

Let me share with you from where I see this complexity emanating, and why we are doing the work that we are doing. Graduates of today, particularly if they are undergraduate high school-leavers, will reach the pinnacle of their careers in 25 or 30 years’ time. It is essential we keep asking ourselves “How are we doing in preparing these folks or career transitioning more mature graduates to lead the world that is out there in the year 2040 or 2050?”

Megatrends affecting our society

There are a number of megatrends around the world already affecting us, and many more side issues which will dramatically change the way we operate by 2050.  A number of these observations emanate from the two retired US military officers (Admiral James Stavridis and General John Allen):

• A move of geopolitical power from the west to the east;
• People are becoming more urbanised – by the year 2050, more than 70 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities;
• Many of those people will live in so-called megacities, larger than 10 million people;
• We will be dealing with new epidemics. How many of us 10 years ago had ever heard of Ebola virus? How many of us five years ago had heard of the Zika virus?
• Global food security is a huge issue affecting the world due to climate change;
• The networked world becomes more complex by the second;
• There is no question there are emerging economies of the world – the GDP from the emerging world eclipsed the developed world approximately four years ago;
• The rise of economies based around natural resource wealth;
• There is escalating Western nationalism; and
• With an ageing population we have a whole new set of challenges.

Global university trends

I have come to the concerning view in the last few years that there has been an emerging erosion of trust between societies and universities. The Hungarian government essentially forced the Central European University to shut down and move to Vienna, for example. In the last few months, the Brazilian government unilaterally cut more than 40 per cent funding to one university.

If we look at what is happening in Australia, the landscape is shifting. There are multiple reports that are about to be delivered by the Government relating to:

• Performance funding under the Commonwealth Grants Scheme (CGS);
• Reallocation of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP);
• Higher Education Provider Category Standards (PCS);
• Australian Qualification Standards; and
• Legislation to ban contract cheating.

In addition, there is government interest in:

• Student retention and completion rates;
• English-language skills of international students; and
• Freedom of speech and academic freedom.

The current focus in the media is around how universities are not doing enough to protect and preserve freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of enquiry and academic freedom on university campuses. Those are the things where Macquarie’s policy framework by and large stands us in very good stead. There is a very active Academic Senate working party looking at freedom of speech and aligning that with our other policies.

I profoundly support the notion of freedom of speech on university campuses in any democratically elected society.

University’s role in society

What is a university? What is our role in society? How did we get to where we are now as a nation whose future economic and social prosperity should be supported by the work of universities? The modern universities in the 1800s and beyond came out of several different and competing traditions.

The Humboldtian German universities came out of a fervent belief in the primacy of academic disciplines. The discipline, and its associated research, was what was really grounding about what it meant to be a university. The tradition was quite different in the United Kingdom, and particularly Ireland and Scotland. It came out of a belief that a university should be about the search for broadly based truth. While if you look at French universities, it was the primacy of engineering schools.

Where did Australia land? The founding of our universities, and the traditions that we have here today at Macquarie, came from an amalgam of all those ideas. An amalgam of the importance of a disciplinary strength individually, about the importance of broad education  and about preparing people for vocations in some fields more directly than in others.

Australian universities, by and large, are an amalgam of the historical trajectory of the other European universities where we find our origins. I see Macquarie University, as we are now, as a blend of those historic traditions. On the one hand engaged in teaching and researching areas of direct relevance to specific careers and businesses/industries; on the other hand, we have preserved rich traditions in the liberal arts and humanities which are the bedrock of preparing our students to be civic minded members of society. Those disciplines also provide thought leadership into many aspects of public discourse and scholarship in its own right. In this blend, we are an amalgam of the foundational differences of the various European origins of the modern western university.  My view is that we should protect and preserve this construct of how we have evolved.

Our collective journey is about building community

It is good to be a part of a university that reflects the reality of the world, that reflects the need for employment and careers at the same time as preparation to be a good community citizen, to lead that world that is rapidly changing out there.

Being part of a university is about helping our students’ journey to a productive and engaged life. Community is very important.  We have an opportunity to be a model of communitarian-based futures for our students – to show our students and our colleagues what it is to be part of a community, where these things prevail, where we have shared values, where we share things in common, where we care about each other. That is what I think is so terrific about Macquarie University. This University, like no other university I have ever known, has this very strongly embedded.

It is important to reflect on the vision we set about six years ago, about what we want to be as a university. I would advocate that ‘Framing of Futures’ continues to ground us in the work we are doing.

Building renown

We get very fixated about university rankings that count for a couple of things, but don’t tell the whole picture. We get very concerned about the rankings that will help drive international student recruitment. We get very concerned about the ranking systems that measure citation-based peer-reviewed journal performance. However, what we are doing here is looking at one aspect of the whole, and not the whole.

For me, renown is the whole story. If we look out across Macquarie University, we have terrific stories of renown in many different fields. Many parts of the University across humanities, arts and social sciences, as well as the STEMM fields, are represented in the top 100 in the world. Globally, our Philosophy department is the highest ranked department in this University. That is equally as valuable in my mind as counting the aggregated rankings that drive recruitment of students.

How are we travelling?

It is important we are honest with how Macquarie is travelling, and how we compare to other universities in Australia on important indices such as quality of learning engagement, quality of student support services, and student experience. Student Satisfaction Survey figures show we are less than the norm across Australia. This is why we are doing the work around student success framework. This is why we are so heavily engaged in the curriculum development work. It is about building renown around real and measurable performance.

We have incredible success in our vision to be connected. The launch of the Macquarie Park Innovation District is going extremely well. Excellent results are being achieved in our global engagement on many fronts, including student recruitment, institutional partnerships, alumni and philanthropy.

Our performance growth in research funding is good, but the slope of the line needs to be steeper because others are outperforming us. This is an opportunity to build renown, this is an opportunity to excel in our fields of excellence. This is about becoming the best university we can be and, by doing so, empowering our staff and students to be the best they can be as well.

Our campus transformed

This is a very exciting time for this University, amidst much change, as the vision for this remarkable campus continues to unfold.

The central courtyard is well underway. It will be a magnificent new facility with multipurpose areas, particularly for teaching, a new graduation hall, and new food services and, importantly, student housing will feature in the centre of the University campus.

We have new space for Macquarie University International College (MUIC) and the English Language Centre (ELC). I encourage you to have a wander through that beautifully renovated space for our pathway students. We also have a wonderful new space outside Walanga Muru, a meeting place for our Indigenous students, staff and their guests.

The redevelopment of the arts precinct is coming along very well, including a wonderful rooftop garden. The clinical education building is well underway, wedged in between the hospital and 75 Talavera Road. The Marquee has been a very successful multi-purpose space, most recently providing  a fresh, comfortable area for exams.

We have also been doing some campus development works focussed on the safety of how you move around campus. Redirecting and closing roads and removing cars from its centre is about making our campus safer for the tens of thousands of staff and students who use it every day.

I also point out that much of the fundamental infrastructure of the campus is ageing quickly.  Millions of dollars a year must be spent to upgrade basic services such as provision of water and electricity across the campus.

Looking forward

Where are we up to right now? Enrolments are going very well. The enrolment data for domestic and international students for first session this year is largely mirrored in second session. It is very pleasing to see that in a market that has turned down in NSW domestically, Macquarie is up. I do foreshadow complexity around domestic growth into the future with the re-election of the Liberal-National Coalition; there will be no reintroduction of uncapped places.

We have recovered some lost ground in international enrolments this year. A number of steps were taken to facilitate this, particularly diversifying our reach away from China and into other parts of the world, including other parts of Asia.

The Macquarie International team and the domestic futures students’ team are doing excellent work in sustaining us in the recovery of our enrolment profile.

The research story is one where a little is good, but more is better. Our external funding for research remains a challenge for Macquarie. We are gathering momentum, however, and more interest is being shown in extramural funding of research from non-peer-reviewed agencies. I would urge you to continue with that endeavour as we work together also to protect and preserve the positions in ERA we have secured.

I thank you all for the effort you make every day for Macquarie University and its community. I encourage you all to take a multi-dimensional view as we build on what it means to be a community working towards greater things.

Thank you for the questions received following the Town Hall. A number of themes have emerged, and I have answered them with the help of my Executive Group colleagues. Due to their number, answers will appear in This Week in several sets over the coming weeks.

Leading Macquarie University continues to be one of the greatest honours of my professional life, and I do so with gratitude for the vital role you all play in making this such a special place to study and work.

Sincerely,

SBD

 A video of the Vice-Chancellor’s Town Hall presentation is now available online:

• Access with an @mq email address here
• Access with an @muh email address here

1. In what ways will the University invest in responding to systemic issues affecting student satisfaction? These are evident in student feedback, complaints and appeals where we see issues repeating without being addressed.

As the Student Success Strategic Framework (SSSF) is operationalised, we will begin to see systemic issues tackled. For example, the Beacon Program of work, whilst supporting the curriculum transformation, also includes an upgrade of the Student Management System. This will provide a range of new functionality for the first time in more than 10 years and will support the review of associated process and policy as well as making it easier for students to find out key information quickly. Additionally, from 2020 our students will have a greatly improved eStudent experience with a much more streamlined sign-on process. Another focus is around our international students who will soon have access to MyLegalMate – a newly developed app to assist students in negotiating common legal issues associated with tenancy, work, visas and the like. The SSSF also places the student experience at the centre of everything we do, and this will continue to be the case as feedback is received and reviews of practice occur.

2. Improving student experience requires greater focus and investment in Learning and Teaching. What are the University’s plans in that regard?

With the release of our Student Success Strategic Framework earlier this year, this is the right time to refresh our Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework: 2015-2020 with a re-energised focus on student success. The core of the refresh will be on understanding and meeting current students’ needs within the Learning and Teaching space at Macquarie and the promotion of a future-focused educational enterprise.

Off the back of the Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework refresh, the concerted design and development of our Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy will then take shape. The priority in the Digital Learning and Teaching space will be to deliver a connected, creative and engaged learning experience for students, embrace innovation in both curriculum and pedagogy, and better meet the needs of our students.

Additionally, we recently commenced a University-wide process to further improve learning and teaching support for both staff and students. The work is keenly focussed on student success in their coursework, and successful student career paths upon completion. We have just finished the initial consultation stage with staff and students to understand what’s working well, what can be improved, and what more we can be doing to set our students up for success in the future.

3. Will the VC commit to allowing the re-establishment of the undergraduate and postgraduate student unions, with real power and mandatory membership of all students, to support students and build the community the VC has been speaking about?

We are committed to active, authentic and broadly based student voice and student representation. The form of that representation should evolve with needs and circumstances. However, student membership of unions was made voluntary by Commonwealth legislation in 2005 so students cannot be compelled to join a student union. The reality is that this resulted in many students moving to a position of complete non-engagement in the historic approach to student unionism that was present with compulsory financial commitments by students that had prevailed in Australia for a long while. The current version was implemented some years ago to re-invigorate a broader representation and engagement of students in issues of importance to the student body.

In 2019, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) is undertaking a review of the approach to the management and distribution of funds from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to ensure that expenditure is more directly aligned with the outcomes of student consultation and engagement with the Student Representative Committee (SRC). A new Chair has recently been appointed to the SRC by the Student Experience Committee and a new SRC was elected in May. Matters relating to the future of student representation may be raised through the Chair or through members of the SRC.

4. When can we expect more clarity regarding the transitioning or teaching out of students?

All teach out and migration decisions are proposed by Faculties and then approved by the Registrar in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Chair of Academic Senate. The proposals have been submitted for review and are in the final stages of approval. Additionally, we have engaged with specific student cohorts who are re-enrolling in Session 2 2019, with information around making enrolment choices that will ease their transition to the new curriculum in 2020.

5. We want to deliver an engaging student experience, with some areas understaffed and being overworked (which may lead to burn out). There are also budget cuts to staff. How do we overcome this?

Overall, our net staff numbers have increased year-on-year over the past three years:

I acknowledge the significant work being done by our staff and thank you for your continued effort during this time.

The University takes a number of steps to ensure there are no disproportionate resourcing impacts on our people and their ability to deliver. This includes workplace planning and strategic prioritisation decisions at Faculty and Portfolio levels, including review of resourcing impacts during annual budget builds. The Enterprise Technology and Process Transformation work focuses on delivering more efficient and integrated systems and processes, which will have better outcomes for our staff.

6. Could a version of this Town Hall be delivered to students in O Week, or a condensed student facing video produced? I think many would be interested in the bigger picture – e.g. global megatrends, history of universities, rankings – and glad to know their University is thinking strategically.

There are several opportunities within the Orientation program in which this type of information can be delivered. The Director, Student Life has undertaken to include relevant aspects of the presentation in the upcoming Program of events for Session 2, which I will consider. For each year of my term, I have held welcome sessions to new students at the start of semester. These have been well attended by students and families. I am always happy to be engaged in O-week activities. We need also to be mindful that many of our students also prefer to receive communications using a diversity of technologies and platforms in which the University is engaged.

7. Will we speak here about one of the many elephants in the room… the fact that employability of our graduates is comparatively low when put up against other universities?

Employability does not have a single measure. On some measures we perform very well (for example we rank first in Australia on the QS Graduate Employment Rate), on some we are at the same level as our peers, and on others we want to improve. However, there is no question that employability of our graduates is currently a key strategic focus for us and will continue to be as we deliver our student success vision.

Under the Student Success Framework banner, and in response to survey data, we will introduce a range of new employability strategies in 2019 and 2020. The first of these will be launched in Session 2, ‘Jobs on Campus,’ aimed at providing part-time work for current students, including international students. Whilst this will support the employability of the students involved, it is just the first of a range of new approaches to boosting the employability and employment outcomes for Macquarie students and graduates.

8. The curriculum transformation deems to increase teaching engagement and quality since we are ranked low. Should there be more training with academics on how to teach an engaging lesson as well?

This issue is being specifically considered as part of the Review of support of Learning and Teaching at Macquarie. As mentioned, the review findings are currently being considered in light of ‘next steps’ so no information has been released to the University community as yet. However, a number of opportunities have been identified for our academics to up-skill around different ways to engage students with a keener focus on their success. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Executive Deans will be carefully considering how this is implemented to achieve an appropriate balance between centrally offered programs and local initiatives which respect the different disciplines and their pedagogic needs in faculties.

9. How will business as usual be maintained if staff are continually shifted from central student admin team? Furthermore, there is no transparency, fairness and equity of potential work opportunities that arise from this.

To date staff have been identified by their managers for secondment to the project, due to requirements for specific skillsets. If staff are interested in working with the Program Beacon team, I ask them to speak to their supervisors to explore opportunities. All staff seconded to the Program have been and will continue to be backfilled according to local needs.

10. What are we doing to make sure the quality of students we let into the University is high enough, both to ensure our lectures are of high quality, as well as ensure our graduates are capable to get good jobs and perform well in them?

For the past three years we have examined performance data of students coming to Macquarie via one of our various pathways. This annual report is provided to Revenue and Student Numbers Planning Group (RSNPG). It looks at three indicators – retention, students’ success (number of passed units to number failed), and grade point average (GPA). We examine this data against each pathway and then also complete cohort analysis for each course against the major pathways.

The report for 2018 shows that while our major pathways are broadening, they are successfully achieving our recruitment objectives without sacrificing quality. However, the data does speak to the importance of our continuing work around Student Success. In 2019 the Pro Vice-Chancellor Programs and Pathways is working with Business Intelligence Reporting (BIR) to build a dashboard to allow Faculties to further explore and act on this data.

11. The curriculum transformation/implementation requires more staff and resources.

The Program Beacon teams work closely with Faculties and departments to manage the workload associated with the transformation work. Significant resources have been applied to the five streams of work within Beacon in 2019 and the Program will continue to be funded in 2020. The Program Director is available to discuss requirement for additional resources. I do note that the University has added nine per cent more staff overall over the last two years. Also refer to Q5.

12. How will the VC take accountability here for ensuring the University is one that is renowned for caring about our increasingly time-poor students within the context of significant increases in student mental ill health and mental illness? Words and strategic principles are not enough.

Students’ approach to the university experience has changed over the years. Historically, most students enrolled in a full course load spent much time on campus. That is less true today and I agree that students are increasingly time poor. They juggle the course load, often outside paid work, it is sometimes sport and often social commitments of their choosing. Every student group I have discussed this with agree that this is now the norm and I encourage them to reflect on and treasure their university time as a unique time of their lives and attempt to prioritise a less pressured lifestyle.  However, as you suggest that is not the norm today. The University has responded in several ways including the streaming of many classes which facilitate a learning experience that students of today demand on their own time and location plan.

The University provides a comprehensive set of wellbeing services in response to the mental health and wellbeing of students. Given our large number of students, we are implementing a tiered service model including additional resources with mental health nursing and related skills, to boost our capacity to respond and support.

13. What were the top recommendations in the L&T review recently completed?

The work that was recently undertaken by Professor Sally Kift was the first phase of the Learning and Teaching (L&T) Support review process and involved University-wide consultation to understand views across the institution (staff and students) and importantly, where we need to prioritise our energies and efforts to ensure L&T supports our student success aspirations. We are currently working through the results of that consultation and planning next steps in the process. Refer also Q2 above.

14. The Student Success framework mentions M-Power, a sustainability program that has been cut due to down-sizing and restructuring. How can we deliver student success without appropriate resources?

Part of the process of operationalising the Student Success Strategic Framework is considering the range of activities that contribute to the positive experience of our students. The University should always be examining in a recurrent way each of its programs and making adjustments as needed. The University’s engagement of the students in sustainability issues is now under the executive sponsorship of Professor Stephen Brammer. The Student Success Network (formerly Converged Services) has been formed with representation from across the University to consider the current range of services and opportunities available to students and to undertake gap analyses, and to identify new opportunities. Through this body, consideration can be given to the availability of essential programs.

15. Will there be candid conversation here about how much work the curriculum transformation involves, and how far the capacity of professional staff is being stretched with the very ambitious timelines and the top-down pressure to operationalise quickly and with minimal risk to individual and organisation?

Taking into account the nature and timing of implementation of the curriculum transformation project, the Executive considered a range of options including the potential to stage the implementation and run essentially two curricular designs (old and new) in parallel.  Reflecting on these options, including the experience of other universities which have done that, as well as the prevailing market circumstances for recruitment of students to needed new programs, the decision was taken for the style and timing of the current project.

Feedback from staff working on curriculum transformation is regularly sought, especially regarding wellbeing. The Program Beacon Board (comprised of Executive Group members) is aware of the ambitious nature of Program Beacon timelines and routinely conducts health and morale checks within the project teams. We have supported various strategies to address pain points. This is an ongoing discussion and the governance and management streams of the Program are happy to receive feedback from impacted staff.

16. Can you give some examples of a transformational curriculum that we are offering? What is it about that curriculum that is transformational?

The new Curriculum Architecture is transformative on a number of levels:

• The simplification of the structure of our courses will make it easier for students and staff to navigate their courses and greatly assist with improving the efficiency and simplicity of our current systems;
• The new majors, specialisations and courses provide a range of new and exciting opportunities for students. The new designated minors provide new transdisciplinary opportunities across our courses;
• The flexible zone and the new approach to double degrees allow students to become true co-creators in their learning;
• The new combined degrees provide new opportunities for students to pursue a study option with immediate employability prospects;
• The continuing work around the Indigenous connected curriculum will transform our engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge across our programs; and
• The work Macquarie is currently doing around micro-credentials will transform the way students engage with study and provide new opportunities, especially in postgraduate study.

There is still further work to be done on transforming our curriculum. Pedagogical considerations will be an important conversation point going forward.

17. Recent changes to Student Wellbeing, while made with good intentions, have significantly interrupted the quality of service to students and has left staff feeling demoralised, vulnerable and disrespected. What are the University’s plans for Student Support?

This comment has been investigated within the Student Wellbeing team and relates to the concern of an individual. The concerns are being addressed directly.

18. We’re not doing anything near the curriculum transformation that’s needed to deal with all of those trends. We haven’t yet transformed the curriculum, only its structure. So far.

The change to the curriculum architecture is a start of our transformation in this space, and not a finish. Without tackling this important element first, we believe the implementation would have been even more complex and pressured.  It is true that we started our transformation with the structure of our courses, and the finalisation of this work has already been transformative as noted in response to Q16 above. Pedagogy is the next big theme we need to focus on.

19. What is the timeframe for release of the Review of L&T Services and Programs and implementing its recommendations?

At this stage we are reviewing the results of the consultation to work out ‘next steps’, so cannot commit to any timelines for the implementation of any plans. However, the University community will be kept updated as decisions are made, and plans are firmed up.  I anticipate the Executive will have considered a range of the issues arising and we will be in a position to discuss these with the University in the coming months. Also refer Q2.

20. How can large-scale efforts in curriculum transformation and other areas be considered business as usual if they are (1) not in the ordinary, and (2) occurring in tandem with substantial professional staff changes across the University (that are rarely communicated about)?

To clarify my comments at the Town Hall: The curriculum (and other) transformational work taking place is of course quite different to the ‘business as usual’ (BAU) work that we undertake day in day out. It is both ongoing and (largely) unchanging. At the Town Hall I referred to ‘business as usual’ in light of the ongoing nature of the transformational work taking place, noting that we have been transforming for a number of years now. I also referred to the fact that in session there would be ‘no big surprises or rollouts’ – that transformation for many of us was indeed ongoing. The reality is that modern organisations will need to be dealing with change as a constant and as part of the concept of organisational resilience that was discussed at the prior Town Hall meeting.  Part of addressing the capacity to change is to agree and implement not only new things but also to agree on what things we should stop doing.

Saying this, it is worth mentioning that all transformational work taking place must move into BAU to fully realise the benefits of the activity. For instance, once our transformed curriculum (and other systems and processes that are in transformation) have been delivered, maintaining and updating these, to ensure benefits are derived, will become BAU. In other words, transformation delivers the capability to derive benefits, and our BAU teams use that capability to derive the benefits.

21. On the matter of promoting safety and wellbeing for all Macquarie community members, will the VC help do this by releasing key metrics on student safety and wellbeing that are currently not publicised (e.g. SWB service uptake, prevalence of sexual assault/harassment, etc.)?

There are always issues of confidentiality and privacy associated with these matters so care around reporting is essential. Currently, de-identified information is provided to the Student Experience Committee of Council on a regular basis. The possibility of making this reporting more widely available can be considered.

22. Can we talk for a moment here about how, realistically, Macquarie will be a construction-dominated campus for the next 5-10 years? What will this mean for our continued struggles to engage students in on-campus activities outside learning, when impetus to do so is declining?

The presence of construction sites across campus are an indication of progress, that the University is upgrading its facilities for the benefit of students. Many of the projects are in response to student concerns raised over many years and to our need to provide contemporary facilities as many universities have done over the last decade or more. They generate optimism and confidence in the future. The campus is large and alternative locations are available and being used for student events and activities. For example, the Sports and Aquatic Centre has encouraged student groups to utilise their facilities for meetings, events and activities. The first stage of our new Central Courtyard is due to open towards the end of 2020, breathing new life into that part of campus. A successful example of the response to needs generated by a major construction project has been the successful planning, implementation and evolution of the Campus Commons facilities. Feedback from students about this has been very positive.

There is also work being undertaken to utilise digital tools to connect and engage students not dependent upon physical space.

23. We have student transition support in a building that has no disability access – can this be considered as part of campus development.

Accessibility Services are located on Level 2 of Macquarie University Spatial Experience (MUSE) and are accessible, as are the Student Wellbeing services that have moved to the Australian Hearing Hub (AHH). All renovations of existing buildings and construction of new buildings are done in accord with relevant Building Codes which place special emphasis on accessibility and safety.

24. It would be good to track satisfaction rates at Macquarie and at other institutions against staff:student ratios in teaching settings. As I understand it, tutorial and other small-group class sizes at Macquarie are on the increase – could we gather data on this as a variable?

It is likely that staff: student ratios play a role in student satisfaction, but the relationship is not simple, depending as it will on types and quality of pedagogy and the underlying discipline (amongst other things). Departments and Faculties are best placed to get these settings right, and monitor as a matter of course.

25. All these external, aesthetics, and structural changes are great – what systems do we have to implement internal changes – namely the quality of delivery of lessons?

As above, the transformational work we are undertaking is fundamentally designed to enable a great student experience and empower students towards success, rather than being an end in itself. We do indeed need to keep our focus on what students experience in the classroom and beyond – this is the responsibility of all of us involved in Learning and Teaching across the University. There are a number of projects underway which speak to this issue, including further development of the teaching skills of our staff, the role of digital learning and teaching, and the current review of the support both staff and students involved in learning and teaching at Macquarie.

26. Do you feel the curriculum architecture is on track and will be fully developed to proceed in 2020, this would include significant features such as the embedding of Indigenous understandings and the UN Sustainability Development Goals?

The work of moving our new architecture to the new structures and systems (notably the CMS) is on track. The work taking place around Indigenous-connected curriculum and sustainability continues but it should be noted this work was not timetabled as part of the original 2020 delivery of the new architecture. More work on these themes is required within the context of individual courses and will continue through 2019.

27. PACE is an integral part of the student experience for Undergraduate students at Macquarie University. Where do you see PACE in the future at Macquarie University?

PACE remains a flagship of our institutional approach – now and into the future. That said, we are not resting on our laurels in this space. Others have seen our success in WIL (Work Integrated Learning) and are seeking to replicate, so we adopt a ‘continuous improvement’ approach to ensure we remain a leader in WIL.

28. What do you see as the impact of 2020 Curriculum Change to Staff and Students?

The new architecture holds a number of advantages over our previous approach to the structure and nature of our curriculum.  Importantly, we now have a common language and approach across the University for talking about and designing our curriculum.  Moreover, our conversations with students have shown that the simplified structure makes it easier for them to understand their course and study path.

The changes around double degrees, the new flexible zone for stand-alone degrees, and the new combined degrees provide new ways for students to engage with their learning as co-creators at a course level. These changes served an important role, augmented by the new CMS. For colleagues, the simplification and new structures also provide a language and a shared structure that allows them to better deliver on current practice and champion innovation. Also refer Q25 and Q26 above.

Week 1: Curriculum Transformation.

Week 2: Human Resources

Week 3: Freedom of speech, IT and leadership