Faculty of Business and Economics
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group
Meeting 3/2007 of the Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group of the
Faculty of Business and Economics was held at 3:00pm on Friday 27 April 2007 in Board
Room, C1, 02, Peninsula Campus.
Minutes of Meeting
Item
Action
1. Attendance
1.1 Present
Prof. Val Clulow (Chair), Fiona Bertoli, Dr Melanie Bryant, Andrew West,
Gennadi Kazakevitch, Peter Krueger, Hugh O’Reilly, Mike Willis and
Jennifer O’Reilly
1.2 Apologies
Dr Andrew O’Loughlin, Prof. Rob Brooks, Shanthy Rachagan, Ooi Vee
Vian and Andrea Howell.
1.3 In Attendance
Stephanie Jones (Course Administrator and Secretary), Colin Rich, Elaine
Smart, Liz Jose and Ruth Powell
2. In2Monash PRESENTATION – Colin Rich
Colin Rich gave a brief PowerPoint presentation on the student’s perspective when
using In2Monash with regards to courses offered at Monash, the admission and
entry requirements and possible credit transfers for previous studies.
In2Monash demo.ppt
It was advised that all QAAS deliberations and reviews are fed directly into the
In2Monash system ensuring up to date and accurate information is provided.
A suggestion was made to have a link put into the system to enable students to get
specific information with regards to the maths requirements for particular courses.
Colin advised that there are funding issues with regards to making changes to the
website. It was then suggested to have a link to a frequently asked questions page
where the maths entry requirements along with other useful information could be
provided.
It was requested that Fiona Bertoli discuss with Carol Nahal the option of a link from
In2Monash to a frequently asked questions page and identify specific student’s
needs within the Bachelor of Business and Commerce.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Fiona
3. Approval of all unstarred items
Members had the opportunity at this point to star additional items for discussion.
Items 7.1, 11.1 and 11.2 were starred.
The Chair moved that all items on the agenda not starred to be adopted without
discussion and the necessary action be taken or the information therein be noted.
4. Minutes
The Minutes of the Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group
Meeting 2/2007 held on the 30th March, 2007 were confirmed without amendment.
5. Issues arising from previous minutes
5.1 - Item 12 of Meeting 5/2006 – Attendance at on-campus classes
Professor Clulow noted that a faculty grant application for funding was submitted to
the Faculty Education Office to undertake a research project to gain a greater
understanding of why student attendance is increasingly a problem at the Berwick
campus.
Professor Clulow mentioned that the faculty grant application document be used as
an example or template for any other projects applying for funding.
5.2 - Item 10.4 of Meeting 1/2007 – Summer Semester
Professor Clulow noted that the BBusCom submission was presented to the Faculty
Education Committee as part of the discussion.
Professor Clulow advised that a recommendation to have summer semester on the
larger campuses was made with the discussion of possible elective units with
minimum pre requisite requirements to be offered.
Student progression and units with high fail rates were discussed, as these needs
are not generally met by elective units. Further consultation by all Course Directors
will be undertaken with the Heads of Departments regarding the units the courses
would like to see offered and at which campus. This will be discussed at the next
Faculty Education Committee meeting.
Professor Clulow requested that representatives from each department at the
meeting nominate units they would like to see offered during the summer period
taking into account the student perspective, progression and high fail rates and to
email this through by Friday 4th May. Professor Clulow will then discuss these
recommendations with the Heads of Departments for their consideration.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
Page 2 of 11
Peter, Jennifer,
Gennadi, Hugh,
Melanie & Mike
Val
5.3 - Item 10.2 of Meeting 2/2007 – Public Relations major (Berwick)
Professor Clulow advised that the Department of Marketing’s proposal to transfer
the Public Relations major on the Berwick campus to the Arts Faculty with effect for
semester 1, 2008 was discussed at the previous Faculty Education meeting and
was approved for discussion with the Arts faculty.
Fiona Bertoli advised that the Arts faculty had approved the change to go ahead
and that the Marketing department need to submit these changes for action.
5.4 - Item 10.5 of Meeting 2/2007 – BBusCom (Global)
Professor Clulow advised that the BBusCom (Global) Working Group would provide
feedback after they meet. Reassurance was given that market research by the
faculty shows the BBusCom (Global) is a viable option.
Professor Clulow advised that the BBusCom (Global) discussion paper has been
revised due to concerns of the BBusCom Course Advisory Group members
regarding the importance of the International Business major example within the
degree. The revised paper was distributed to all working group members.
Mike Willis advised that the Working Group has been looking at the BBusCom
(Global) discussion paper and there has been a lot of thinking and discussion with
regards to the possible options.
It was mentioned that it would be difficult to market the international experience if it
was not mandatory in a tagged degree.
Mike Willis also discussed the option of setting up an internal staff ‘blog’ page to
enable input from all BBusCom staff, admin and academics with regard to the
proposal for the Bachelor of Business and Commerce (Global). Then have these
options fed back through to the Working Group. Peter Krueger suggested that the
Working Group look at targeting specific people for course input with regards to
units.
Professor Clulow mentioned that the Graduate School of Business had a similar
web page for ideas with regards to possible changes and perceptions and
suggested that a similar type of page may be able to be set up in the Business &
Economics intranet site for the Global ‘blog’ page. It was requested that Fiona
Bertoli and Stephanie Jones look into possible options for this.
5.6 - Item 10.8 of Meeting 2/2007 – Finalised NP Policy
Professor Clulow advised that the revised NP Policy has been approved and will
come in to effect as of semester 1, 2008. It was also advised that Judy Duffy is
taking forward the recommendation that any student caught plagiarising can only
receive a maximum grade of 43 to ensure they are never eligible for a NP grade in
that unit.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Fiona & Steph
5.7 - Item 10.2 of Meeting 1/2007 – 2007 intake and load statistics
Fiona Bertoli advised that she had completed an analysis on E type, V type and
VTAC admissions as per the documents attached with the agenda. It was reported
that secondary schools were the key feeders into our on campus degrees. It was
also noted that the ENTER and demand had increased with more places at all
campuses.
It was mentioned that 41 students came into the Bachelor of Business & Commerce
from Chisholm TAFE which reaffirms the importance of the existing relationships we
have with TAFES. The possibility of forging relationships with the other relevant
TAFES was discussed as there were a number of students that came into our
degrees from VUT and Swinburne of which we do not have any current agreement
with. The importance of not causing conflict with existing TAFE agreements was
mentioned.
Professor Clulow requested Fiona Bertoli summarise the statistical data and
highlight this for Professor Brooks to discuss at the next Undergraduate Operations
meeting in the faculty.
6. Issues arising from other meetings
6.1 Marking Standards – Professor Clulow
Professor Clulow discussed the issue of grade distributions within Business and
Economics programs with regard to marking and grading standards as per the
discussion paper attached to the agenda, from the Faculty Education
Committee.
Professor Clulow discussed the grade distributions and noted that the Faculty a
lower proportion of Distinction and High Distinction grades compared to other
faculties. A concern is that this may disadvantage some students’ career
prospects and competitiveness for scholarships. A possible review of the
descriptors in marking categories is underway.
Hugh O’Reilly commented that there are a lot of other factors influencing the
issue of marking standards within the Bachelor of Business and Commerce and
huge differences exist also within the entire Business and Economics faculty.
Mike Willis advised that there is a vast difference in the standards, assessments
and criteria in the Business and Economics faculty compared to the Arts faculty.
An example was given that the Arts faculty have a 4000 word count for their
total semester assessment where Business and Economics have a 10,000 word
count for semester assessment. A suggestion to discuss the issues with
assessment at the Core Unit Education Forum in Malaysia was made.
Professor Clulow advised that there will be a further Marking Standards paper
coming through from the Faculty Education Committee.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Fiona
6.2 Plagiarism prevention working group – Jennifer O’Reilly
Jennifer O’Reilly advised that no further input had been received from the Chief
Examiners at this stage. It was advised that new assignment cover sheets had
been produced with an agreement for students to sign to enable academics to
use plagiarism software in their unit. Academics wanting to use detection
software need to ensure they are using these new assignment cover sheets and
students are signing the agreement.
Professor Clulow mentioned that the faculty can obtain Turnitin software
licences from David Murphy at CALT for trials in semester 2, 2007. Dr Bryant
advised that she would be happy to run a trial using Turnitin in her unit running
in semester 2, 2007.
Professor Clulow requested that the new assignment cover sheet be obtained
and provided with the minutes.
assessment-coversh
eet.pdf
6.3 Bachelor of Business & Commerce (Honours) Review
– Professor Clulow
The recommendation for students to take units from other Honours departments
in place of the two directed studies units to enable them to have a more
specialised degree tailored to their interests was adopted without discussion.
6.4 ETW2111 Business data modelling, option to be a recommended
preparation unit for BBusCom (Honours) – Hugh O’Reilly
The recommendation that ETW2111 was an excellent preparation unit for
students that were considering enrolling in Bachelor of Business and Commerce
(Honours) with a view to adding a sentence about this subject being
"Recommended" in the Honours handbook was adopted without discussion.
The necessary action to enable this information to be updated in the Honours
handbook and promotional material is currently being checked.
6.5 Bachelor of Business & Commerce (Honours) presentation date.
It was advised that Friday August 10th, 2007 was confirmed for the Bachelor of
Business & Commerce (Honours) presentations at the Berwick campus in room
LT 117. Professor Clulow encouraged everyone to attend and support the
Honours students.
It was also advised that Malaysia will be having their Honours presentations on
the same day at the Malaysia campus. It was noted that Dr Karean discussed
the possibility of having a video conference with Malaysia for the honours
presentation at the previous Honours Co-ordinators meeting however, issues
with room bookings with this facility at the Berwick campus, along with the time
difference as the presentations normally start at 930am.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Fiona
7. Course Amendments
7.1 Recommendation to remove offering of sequences in BBusCom
– Dr Melanie Bryant
Dr Bryant advised that the offering of sequences in the Bachelor of Business
and Commerce had been reviewed and a recommendation was made to
remove these sequences from the degree as they are not relevant and many of
the units within these sequences are being disestablished. The only sequence
that will remain is the Professional Accounting sequence for CPA recognition.
Dr Bryant advised that all Team leaders within the departments had been
emailed with regards to the recommendation and they were all happy to
approve this recommendation to go through.
Dr Bryant confirmed that students can still take any of the units that were
offered within the specialisations as electives within the Bachelor of Business
and Commerce as long as they are still being offered.
Professor Clulow thanked Dr Bryant and Elaine Smart for their work on this
recommendation.
The course amendment will be sent to the next meeting of the Undergraduate
Operations Committee. Other campuses noted their preference to retain current
sequences.
Steph
7.2 Change to Econometrics and Business Statistics major (Malaysia)
– Ooi Vee Vian
The Proposal to change the third year level unit within the Econometrics and
Business Statistics major to include a new Econometrics unit, ETW3420 due to
the Faculty of IT phasing out their third year level Business Systems unit as of
2008 was adopted without discussion.
The course amendment will be sent to the next meeting of the Undergraduate
Operations Committee.
8. Courses to be disestablished
Nil
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Steph
9. Unit Amendments
9.1 ETW3420 - Principles of Forecasting and Applications
The proposal to introduce a new third year level business unit within the
Econometrics and Business Statistics major at the Malaysia campus due to the
Faculty of IT phasing out their third year level Business Systems unit as of
2008 was adopted without discussion.
The unit amendment will be sent to the next meeting of the Undergraduate
Operations Committee.
10. Disestablishment of Units
Nil
11. Other Business
11.1 Bachelor of Business and Commerce (Global) Working Group
– Mike Willis
Previously discussed in Item 5.4 - Issues arising from previous minutes
11.2 Bachelor of Business and Commerce (Global) Working Group ‘Terms
of Reference’ – Professor Clulow
Previously discussed in Item 5.4 - Issues arising from previous minutes
11.3 Proposed Disestablishment of the Accounting and Finance major at
the Peninsula campus – Professor Clulow
Professor Clulow discussed the current situation with regards to the A&F Dept’s
preference to disestablish the Accounting and Finance major at the Peninsula
campus.
Professor Clulow advised that the five year accreditation review will happen this
year in November with the consideration of resourcing for the Accounting and
Finance programs and the concerns this is causing with regards to stretching
the department if the major continues to be run on all campuses. It was advised
that recruitment is a huge issue and the recommendation to reduce the offer of
the Accounting and Finance major to two campuses had been made to help free
up current resources.
Professor Clulow confirmed that the department will not be cutting staff just
sharing resources; however the level of detail is still to be confirmed.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Steph
It was suggested that students could enrol in their first year at Peninsula then
complete the remainder of their degree at the Berwick campus, thus sharing the
resources. It was advised that this proposal will be taken forward for Faculty
consideration due to the strategic nature of the proposal.
The group discussed the possible options and significant side effects this could
have on students specifically selecting the Peninsula campus due to location or
financial constraints. The issue of the Bachelor of Business and Commerce
viability at the Peninsula campus if the Accounting and Finance major was not
offered, was mentioned.
Professor Clulow requested that staff individually note any issues so that these
could be forwarded on to Professor Brooks for further discussion and
consideration.
Staff Issues recorded in relation to the proposed disestablishment of the
Accounting and Finance major within the BBusCom at the Peninsula
Campus.
1)
If students are expected to go to another campus for the 2nd year of the
A&F major they need to have made this choice prior to electing the
campus and in their 1st yr. This will put pressure on student’s to choose,
with the possible consequence that they will not choose Accounting or the
campus.
2)
Additional pressure on Berwick and other campuses’ resources.
3)
Students may go elsewhere (non Monash) to study if the major isn’t
offered at the Peninsula campus, due to financial constraints not enabling
them to travel to other campuses.
4)
Where does the decision fit into the strategic Bachelor of Business &
Commerce view/thinking?
5)
Load and planning implications.
6)
Current statistics show increased demand. What statistics were used to
base the decision to possibly remove the major?
7)
What costs will be saved by removing the Accounting and Finance major?
8)
Possible flow-on repercussions if removing majors so easily. Setting
precedent that disestablishing majors in this way?
9)
Strong concerns that other majors within the BBusCom might be
disestablished in this way.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Steph
11.4 Proposal for South Africa to have Tourism and Human resources
majors introduced.
It was advised that the Tourism major proposal has successfully been
approved and feedback is currently expected with regards to the Human
Resources major.
It was mentioned that Andrew West will be more involved with the
introduction of the new majors when he returns to South Africa in June.
It was requested that the minutes from the Department of Management be
included in these minutes for further information.
Please see the attached section of the minutes below:
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Meeting 3/2007- Tuesday, 20 March 2007
MINUTES EXTRACT
5.3 South Africa – Introduction of Tourism and HRM majors
The committee was advised that the South African campus had received South
African government approval for the introduction of the two majors and that they were
now requesting endorsement from the Department of Management.
Betty Weiler has already commenced discussions with South African on the tourism
major. A document providing overview details was tabled.
A document providing overview details from Wendy Webber on the HRM major was
tabled.
The Department of Management endorsed the introduction of the Tourism and HRM
major at South Africa conditional on the South African campus providing the following
detailed information:
-
Academic staff resourcing on the SA campus
How SA will ensure quality, content and delivery of the units
Progression of units
Reporting role to Chief Examiner
11.5 BTW3221 – Taxation law and Practice
The proposal to change the assessment within the unit by the introduction
of a 'Taxation Folio' was adopted without discussion.
The unit amendment will be sent to the next meeting of the Undergraduate
Operations Committee.
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
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Steph
12. Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Friday 20 July 2007 at 3:00pm, in the BusEco
Conference Room, Gippsland Campus.
Please see Action Sheet Below
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
Page 10 of 11
Faculty of Business and Economics
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group
Action Sheet
MTG
ITEM No.
TOPIC
ACTION REQUIRED
RESPONSIBLE
5/06
12
Attendance at on-campus
classes
A Faculty grant application for funding was submitted to the
Faculty Education Office
Professor Clulow
3/07
10.4
Summer semester units
Collect a list of units which should be offered in semesters
between campuses to ensure maximum flexibility for students
and email to Professor Clulow to discuss with Heads of
Departments.
Peter Krueger, Jennifer
O’Reilly, Gennadi
Kazakevitch, Hugh
O’Reilly, Melanie Bryant,
Mike Willis & Professor
Clulow
Professor Edwards
(Chair), Mike Willis,
Andrew West and Fiona
Bertoli
2/07
10.5
BBusCom (Global)
Working party to meet to discuss ‘Terms of Reference’ and
possible options for the BBusCom (Global) degree.
2/07
10.9
Equality of Teaching Time
Fiona Bertoli to raise issue with Michael Scorgie about the
issues surrounding the equality of teaching time across
campuses.
Fiona Bertoli
3/07
2
In2Monash
Fiona Bertoli
3/07
5.4
BBusCom (Global) ‘BLOG’
Look into the option of a link to frequently asked questions and
identify specific student’s needs within the Bachelor of Business
and Commerce.
Look into the options of setting up a ‘BLOG’ page on the BusEco
intranet site
3/07
5.7
2007 intake and load statistics
Summarise the statistical data for Professor Brooks to discuss at
the next Undergraduate Operations meeting in the faculty.
Fiona Bertoli
3/07
6.4
To enable this information to be updated in the Honours
handbook and promotional material.
Fiona Bertoli
3/07
7.1, 7.2,
9.1 & 11.5
ETW2111 to be a
recommended preparation unit
for BBusCom (Honours)
Recommendation to remove
offering of sequences in
BBusCom,
Econometrics major change,
ETW3420 & BTW3221
Send through Course & Unit amendment documents to Karen
Kempe to be put on UG Op’s next meeting agenda.
Steph
Bachelor of Business and Commerce Course Advisory Group – Minutes 03/2007
Page 11 of 11
STATUS
Pending
In Progress
In Progress
Completed
Fiona Bertoli & Steph
Jones
Completed