2007 Annual report (PDF 8.1 Mb) - University of Melbourne

Performance Against 2007 Targets (continued)
Identify and implement initiatives to enhance the Melbourne Experience
The Melbourne Student Services Model discussed on the previous page will improve the Melbourne Experience by reducing the
administrative burden on students. Additional features of the Melbourne Model, developed to ensure a distinctive and rewarding
experience for students include:
> the creation of transition and cohort experience initiatives for first-year students in particular;
> innovative large-group teaching techniques;
> University Breadth Subjects to enhance a sense of learning community;
> an increased number of students participating in formal international exchanges; and
> capstone subjects and initiatives to assist students transition out of university.
The University continues to provide transitional funding to support student organisations operating within the budget constraints of the
VSU legislation.
Enhance the quality of student experience through improved services,
it and physical infrastructure
Improvements were made to the Learning Management System; all undergraduate subjects in 2008 (continuing and New Generation
degrees) have an online presence. A revised e-learning strategy defines the University’s pedagogical position and allocated resources to
its implementation. Intensive planning and development continued for student centres, classroom and laboratory changes to support the
implementation of the Melbourne Model. State-of-the-art teaching spaces for collaborative learning have been completed. The first ‘learning
precinct’ based around a cluster of disciplines combining libraries, online resources and flexible learning spaces is under construction.
Encourage and recognise good teaching practice
The University’s excellence in teaching was recognised with the award of $8.3 million under the 2008 Commonwealth Government’s
Learning and Teaching Performance Fund. A record 10 Carrick Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning and four Carrick
awards for Teaching Excellence, places the University among Australia’s top teaching universities.
The Teaching and Learning Forum was established to share effective, innovative approaches to undergraduate learning and teaching.
Preliminary 2007 Course Experience Questionaires outcomes showed improvement on the key Good Teaching scale with the per cent
agreement improving over 2006 for both undergraduate and postgraduate graduates. Graduates’ overall satisfaction showed a marginal reduction
over 2006 for both undergraduates and postgraduates. Quality of Teaching results show the proportion of undergraduate subjects rated poorly by
students increased in 2007 over 2006, rising from 2.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent of surveyed subjects. Results from the survey, however, indicate
a high and steady level of students’ overall satisfaction with the quality of their learning experience and of their perception that their subjects are
well taught.
Learning and Teaching
Excellence in learning and teaching is
fundamental to Growing Esteem. The
University seeks to provide high quality
programs within a supportive environment
so that students gain maximum benefit
from their learning experience. Under
Growing Esteem, learning and teaching is
informed by the other strands of the triple
helix – research and Knowledge Transfer.
The aim is to produce well-rounded
graduates with specialised knowledge in
a chosen field, an understanding across
a range of disciplines, and the skills to be
leading contributors in the community.
Central to the University’s strategy for
learning and teaching is the Melbourne
Model, a far-reaching reform which marks a
new national benchmark in higher education.
The Model fits well with the emergence
of life-long learning and multiple careers in
the changing workplaces of the twenty-first
century, reflecting an international trend
towards broader undergraduate programs,
followed by intense professional training at
graduate level. The Melbourne Model and
the six new undergraduate degrees in Arts,
Biomedicine, Commerce, Environments,
Music and Science to be offered from 2008
were formally launched to a gathering of
the University’s key stakeholders and the
media in 2007, with students enrolling in
New Generation undergraduate degrees
from the beginning of 2008.
Also central to the Growing Esteem
Strategy is the desire to provide access
to the very best and brightest students,
regardless of their financial circumstances.
To this end, in 2007 the University
continued to expand entry pathways to
the Model, and launched an extended
Melbourne Scholarships program.
The University places emphasis on the
quality of the overall Melbourne Experience,
recognising that campus-based learning
must combine excellent face-to-face and
online learning. The focus is to create
and maintain the services, facilities and
technologies to support learning and to
provide a stimulating and educationally
focussed community for all students.
student enrolments
by course levels
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Research Higher Degree
Postgraduate Coursework
Undergraduate
Total
NB. EFSTL data