A full Academic Senate meeting was held on Tuesday 27 November 2018. The agenda is on the Academic Senate website and papers are available on Truth. An extraordinary Academic Senate meeting was held on Monday 3 December 2018. The agenda is on the Academic Senate website and papers are available on Truth.

For a quick run-down, watch the Chair’s vlog and check out the Top 5 items discussed at the two meetings below:

  1. Curriculum Architecture – Final Update

In total, 461 courses, specialisation and majors have made their way through the Curriculum Architecture Checkpoint, Course Learning Outcome Checkpoint, Faculty Committees (FSQC, FLTC, or FEC), Curriculum Architecture Working Groups, ASQC, and Academic Senate. Many of the staff involved in this process attended the 3 December meeting as observers, and we thanked them for their collegiality and dedication to the completion of this project.

At the Academic Senate meeting of 27 November we approved the academic case for 174 courses, majors and specialisation for 2020. At the extraordinary meeting on 3 December we approved the final group of 155 courses, specialisations and majors. 

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2. Shared Academic Governance

In November 2017 we approved in-principle a list of decisions currently sitting with Academic Senate and Committees of Academic Senate to be devolved to faculties.

The Curriculum Architecture project has contributed significantly to the development of:

  • enabling resources (the CA policy, course design, quality assurance resources, and training)
  • building capacity (workshops, training sessions, and FSQC reps involved in reviewing course proposals)
  • mechanisms for cross-faculty collaboration (AD Quality members of ASQC and ADs chairing course submissions review groups)

As we approach the end of the approval stage of the Curriculum Architecture project it is time to reactivate work on Shared Academic Governance.

I have been meeting with Executive Deans, who will each offer an update to Academic Senate early in 2019. A full project plan for Shared Academic Governance will be on the first Academic Senate agenda of 2019.

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3. Presentation from Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science

One of our goals this year was to  increase opportunities for faculty presentations at Academic Senate.

Professor Patrick McNeil gave an overview of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS). The faculty currently has  305 staff, 47% of whom are funded externally. They operate 5 coursework courses and supervise Higher Degree Research students.

Professor McNeil reflected that creating  a new faculty provides an opportunity to create the culture of that faculty. FMHS have a set of agreed values – caring, integrity and  teamwork – that governs the way they treat students, colleagues and partners, and a set of values –  ambition, innovation and engagement – that motivate their research, learning and teaching.

He outlined fields of strength in research, including neuroscience, oncology, health systems, patient safety and cardiovascular medicine; and strengths in learning and teaching, including a course-based view of learning, design focus on student experience, and the role of Course Support Officers.  He also noted the robust academic governance model in the faculty, with an engaged Faculty Board, and connected Subcommittees, which, similar to Academic Senate, are open to observers. 

4. Academic Senate Projects for 2019

We endorsed the list of projects for 2019 – which can be found on the Academic Senate Projects website. We are always on the lookout for members of the University community to join working parties, or offer feedback on projects we are undertaking. Feedback is welcomed through your Senate representative, or the feedback form on the Projects website.

5. Thanks to outgoing Senators

At the meeting on December 3rd, we farewelled the following elected members of Academic Senate who have finished their current term on Academic Senate and are not running in the elections for the next term:

  • Kathryn Millard (FoA)
  • Antonina Harbus (FoA)
  • Timothy Kyng (FBE)
  • Lisa Magnani (FBE)
  • Lucy Taksa (FBE)
  • Amanda Barnier (FHS)
  • Barbara Griffin (FHS)
  • Kerry-Ann O’Sullivan (FHS)
  • Enrico Coiera (FMHS)
  • Ayse Bilgin (FSE)
  • Neil Saintilan (FSE)
  • Florence Chiew (non-faculty)

We thanked them for their contribution to Academic Senate, Committees of Academic Senate, and working parties, and look forward to continuing to engage with them in different ways in the future.  

The first Academic Senate meeting of the New Year will be February 19th, 9.30am.

As always, Senate welcomes staff and students to observe the meeting. Dates are also advertised on the Senate website, in This Week, and on the Campus Facebook page.

Please email senate@mq.edu.au if you would like to attend so that we can ensure there will be enough seating.

Posted by Marie Herberstein

I am a biologist and work on the behaviour of spiders and insects here at Macquarie University. I am currently the interim Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic).

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