Office of the Vice-ChancellorGrowing Esteem

Dear Colleagues,

A little over three years has passed since Council endorsed the University's strategy, Growing Esteem.  Much has been achieved since then.  We have become the first Australian university to articulate a triple helix of research, learning and knowledge transfer, and to reflect that commitment in reworking curriculum from first principles.

Growing Esteem included a commitment to review the strategy on a three year cycle.  Such evaluation is always important.  As often elsewhere in life, some plans succeed but not everything works as hoped.  Taking time for reflection on progress helps us identify gaps in original ambitions, and respond to changes in the world beyond the campus.

When Growing Esteem was framed, a Coalition Government was setting national policy, the world economy was enjoying a long boom, the University community included a significant proportion of fee-paying domestic undergraduates, and we benefited from significant returns from University investments.  Each of those circumstances has altered, and it is important the strategy be responsive.  As an institution we are firm on ends, but should be flexible on means.

There are further external challenges awaiting, as government responses to the global financial crisis and the Bradley and Cutler Reviews take effect.  As governments spend to maintain economic activity, the University and its partners have been fortunate to secure significant additional capital from the Commonwealth Government for major research and teaching and learning projects.  The Florey Neurosciences Institute and the planned Peter Doherty Institute have benefited from additional Victorian and Commonwealth funds, while the most recent federal infrastructure grants include a further $34 m for graduate spaces on campus and a new data centre for the ?supercomputer? supported last year by the Victorian government.  The recent round of major project announcements included a particularly welcome addition to public transport, with a new underground line from the city to Parkville as part of the East-West Rail tunnel project.
 
The Federal Budget also contained some good news about a long-term move to better indexation and full funding of research.  Alas it will be some years before the benefit of those decisions flow into University finances.  In the meantime, we live through a curious moment in which generous capital for new buildings is available but income to support our daily operations is tight and will become even more constrained.  We must operate in, and plan for, the most difficult financial environment for decades.

In the wings are further external challenges, including the Educational Research Assessment exercise and a new tertiary accreditation and regulation body.  There are also implications for domestic student load.  Canberra has lifted the limit on the numbers of students a public university can enrol.  Given some universities already struggle to fill their existing CSP allocation, a market in student places will likely see some universities grow and others decline. 

Some have speculated this will prompt a further round of university amalgamations.  Others foresee the development of new institutions that sit between the TAFE and tertiary sector, providing pathways and associate degrees.

On the international student front the flow remains strong.  Yet some lead indicators suggest 2010 will see slower growth, with significant financial consequences for a sector so dependent on export dollars.

This context matters, but some issues arise from the Growing Esteem strategy itself, and the ambitions it has set for the institution.

For example, the 2005 document proposed we be a ?public spirited institution?, but did not expand in detail on how this might be given expression through each of the strands of the triple helix.  Likewise, what does ?internationalisation? mean in practical terms?  There is widespread agreement our international obligations must be about more than student numbers, but how should the University set goals and measure its international contribution?

In February this year, the annual Deans and Heads Conference worked through Growing Esteem, to explore progress to date and issues requiring further consideration.  Council, too, worked through the agenda at its February Planning Conference.  Both meetings affirmed much of the broad direction proposed by Growing Esteem but identified new and emerging issues.

A further meeting of senior management from across the University in early May has led to a new discussion paper that both evaluates progress to date, and proposes next steps for the Growing Esteem journey.  The paper seeks to be clear-eyed about what has worked and what needs further consideration, in the hope of prompting further conversations across the University of Melbourne on shared aspirations for this great institution.

Refining Our Strategy: A discussion paper that invites involvement and response, May 2009 is now available online at: http://www.growingesteem.unimelb.edu.au/about/refining_our_strategy

Between now and the end of July there will be opportunities to participate in discussion about directions and priorities through staff and student forums. Some will be centrally run focus groups, others will be coordinated within faculties and graduate schools and individual departments. Written responses are welcome ? individual but also collaborative.  Many of the best ideas arise from discussions among colleagues.  Good strategy needs the perspective of researchers, teachers, junior and senior staff, and our large and talented cohort of undergraduate, graduate and research higher degree students.

I hope you will chose to express a view, and be part of the conversation.


Glyn Davis