Handbook 2008

The University

Murdoch is a dynamic, modern university with a national reputation for excellence in teaching, research and student satisfaction. It has strong links to its local region south-west of Perth, with the Rockingham and Peel campuses providing educational and research opportunities for their local community.

Murdoch has always paid particular attention to quality teaching and as a result we have been ranked among the best teaching campuses of all Australia’s public universities by an independent national survey of university graduates. Murdoch achieved the top rating for graduate satisfaction in the 2008 Good Universities Guide — the only university to achieve this honour for the twelfth time in 13 years. The University’s flexible, interdisciplinary outlook provides students the opportunity to ‘design’ the best degree for their future careers.

A Murdoch education is designed to foster those qualities of imagination, independence of mind and life-long learning on which professional and personal development ultimately depend. Murdoch students are taught to think independently and critically, to assimilate new information and to apply their knowledge to practical problems. We have put students’ needs first ever since our doors opened.

We have a flexible admissions policy and provide several alternative entry paths for students from non-traditional academic backgrounds.

Home to more than 15,000 students and 1400 staff from every racial, ethnic and social group in Western Australia, we also host more than 2000 overseas students from about 80 different countries. We have a very strong belief in equality and work particularly hard to ensure that all are made welcome.

Murdoch remains one of the leading research universities in Australia, ranking in the top twelve on a per capita basis. Industry links provide a solid base for generating research and consultancy income. Our strong research performance is increasingly supported by industry, government and the University has a success rate among the highest in the country in attracting industry-linked Australian Research Council Linkage grants.

The University conducts outstanding research across a wide range of disciplines. There are concentrated strengths in the areas of agricultural and veterinary biotechnology and bioinformatics, hydrometallurgy, ecosystem management and restoration, contemporary Asia, social change and social equity, technologies and policies for sustainable development, interactive media, and learning leadership and policy.

Murdoch University opened to undergraduate students in 1975, taking in 672 students. The second university to be established in Western Australia, we were set up as an institution committed to excellence in teaching and research, as well as to the flexibility of attitude and delivery which encouraged the concept of true equality in education. We were named after Australian academic and essayist, Sir Walter Murdoch, who embodied these characteristics.

Mission

The mission of Murdoch University is

To extend knowledge, stimulate learning, and promote understanding, for the benefit of the community.

Vision

Murdoch University is committed to its vision of being a prominent and influential research intensive university renowned for its teaching quality and research excellence; promoting intellectual independence and social and scientific critique within a supportive and sustainable environment for students and staff; and engaged with and benefiting local, national and international communities.

Government

The governing body of the University is the Senate. The Senate is predominantly a lay body with a total membership of 20, and is chaired by the Chancellor. The role of the Senate is to oversee the development and adoption of strategic initiatives, plans and key policies, and to monitor and review Murdoch’s overall performance.

The Vice Chancellor is the chief executive officer and academic principal and is responsible to the Senate for the University’s management.

Academic Council is the senior academic body of the University. It determines academic policy, decides which courses of study will be offered, awards degrees and other qualifications, awards the University Medals, and institutes five-yearly reviews of teaching and research within each School. Membership of the Council is drawn widely from across the University, and includes elected representatives of academic and general staff, and students.

The Murdoch University Act provides for the Guild of Students which is ‘an organised association for the furthering of the common interests of its members and shall be a recognised means of communicating between its members and the Senate’.

Organisational Structure

In 2007 Murdoch University began a review of its academic structure and decision-making, as part of a wider review of teaching and research. From 2008, a new academic organisational structure will take effect. Consequential changes in administrative functions will be implemented through the year.

Where it has been possible to do so, changes have been incorporated into this Handbook. Inevitably, with a project of this size and scope some information was not yet available or finalised when the printed version of the Handbook was complete. The principal effects on information contained in the Handbook are as follows:

three Divisions will become six Faculties
a Deputy Vice Chancellor (Faculty) and six Faculty Deans will be appointed
Divisional Boards will be replaced by Faculty Boards
the composition of Schools will be largely unaffected
Heads of Schools will become Deans of Schools
until further analysis of the administrative requirements of the new Faculties is complete, Divisional Offices will continue to support the Faculties into which their Division has been split.

From 2008, the University will be organised into six academic Faculties:

Arts and Education
Creative Technologies and Media
Health Sciences
Law and Business
Minerals and Energy
Sustainability, Environmental and Life Sciences.

Each Faculty will have a Faculty Dean who will be responsible to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Faculty) for the academic and managerial leadership of the Faculty.

A Faculty Board will be responsible for determining the Faculty’s strategic and academic plans and providing advice to the Faculty Dean and Academic Council. The Board will be comprised of elected representatives of the academic staff, general staff and students, the Deans of all Schools and the Heads of represented University Research Centres located in the Faculty.

Three administrative Divisions support the academic Faculties. The administrative Divisions are:

Academic Affairs
Corporate Services
Research and Development.

There should be minimal disruption, if any, to teaching and research during the transition. Any changes that will impact on students’ interaction with the University will be communicated well in advance of taking effect.

As the organisational restructure proceeds and where changes affect information contained within the Handbook, the online Handbook will be updated.