Academic Board News - Meeting 5/2021 – 19 October 2021
Academic Board News - Meeting 5/2021 - 19 October 2021
The ANU Academic Board's fifth meeting of the year took place on Tuesday 19 October 2021.
Academic Board welcomed Mr Scott Pearsall to his first meeting as the new Registrar and thanked Ms Sarah Hawkins for her contributions as Interim Registrar.
Due to the continuing impact of COVID-19 and travel restrictions Academic Board once again met online to consider several significant matters, as follows:
Vice-Chancellor's Report
Academic Board discussed a report prepared by the Vice-Chancellor focusing on, the managing COVID-19 and return to campus, finances, international students, political engagement, the new Strategic Plan and ANU Health Services.
Dean HDR Report
Academic Board heard from the Dean HDR who presented two reports; a report on current activities in the Office of the Dean HDR and a report on the support that was being offered to HDR candidates due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on candidature.
SASH Response at ANU:
Academic Board heard from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student and University Experience), Professor Ian Anderson AO, and Director University Experience, Dr James Brann, who discussed the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment response at ANU. The discussion highlighted the following key points:
- The progress that ANU has made since the Change the Course report was released in 2017
- The challenges that have been experienced along the way and those that remain
- That the Broken Promises Report released in 2021 provides some insights as to what needs to happen next
- That ANU is refocusing efforts to ensure delivery of outcomes in 2022
- That a timeline with phases and actions has been developed with planned delivery in late 2021 and 2022
- That Academic Board should be kept informed on matters relating to the SASH response at ANU.
Learning Spaces Technology Uplift in 2021
Academic Board discussed how the Learning Spaces Technology project, that is being led by ITS, will improve the overall student and staff experience. This will be achieved though upgrades in equipment and technology and by creating effective models of support that better meet the expectations of students and staff that align with contemporary pedagogical practices.
Changes to ASA Offer Rounds for NSW and ACT students impacted by COVID lockdowns
Academic Board discussed and decided an approach to accommodate for the delay in the release of NSW and ACT year 12 results. The delay to NSW year 12 results has occurred as a result of the impact of the COVID lockdowns on NSW year 12 students sitting the Higher School Certificate examinations; ACT results are delayed as a consequence of being scaled against NSW year 12 results.
Policy
Academic Board approved the following policy documents;
- Short-term financial assistance for students policy and procedure - revised
- Student Assessment (Coursework) procedure - revised
- Student grievance and complaint resolution policy and procedure -revised
- Admissions procedure - revised
- Class Representatives policy and procedure - new
Academic Board commended the work of ANUSA in the development of the Class Representatives Policy and Procedure and noted that this was a great example of how the university can work in partnership with the student associations to make a meaningful and significant contribution to university policy.
Other matters
Academic Board also considered other significant matters, including; changes to Charters of sub-committees, Report from sub-committees, Accreditation, the ANU approach to Research Assessment, the TEQSA risk assessment and re-registration update, Academic Integrity Incident Report, Academic Progress Annual Report, Discipline Cases Annual Report, the addition of Academic Risk monitoring for Academic Board and the meeting dates for 2022.
Next Meeting
Academic Board next meets on Tuesday 30 November 2021.
Professor Joan Leach
Chair, Academic Board
