part 1: executive summary & introduction - anu...

CHANGE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN SCHOOL OF CULTURE, HISTORY AND LANGUAGE:

ANU COLLEGE OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Part 1: Executive Summary & Introduction

Executive summary

The School of Culture, History and Language (herein referred to as CHL or the School) is one of four Schools within the College of Asia and the Pacific (herein referred to as CAP or the College). It has been a strongly performing School since its creation, but the external review and CHL’s own Strategic Plan recognise a number of critical challenges that it faces in its current form.

The intent of this Change Implementation Plan (herein referred to as Implementation Plan) is to return the School to a stable state, so that it can fulfil and renew its own identity and mission as ‘the principal arena for humanistic enquiry within, and a foundational pillar for, the College of Asia and the Pacific’ (CHL Self-Study Report - June 2015, Appendix 1). Despite its historically strong academic performance and outstanding reputation nationally and internationally, the School has been in a deteriorating financial position since 2013. Student numbers have been declining and expenses, predominantly salaries, have increased to an unsustainable level.

The change outlined in this Implementation Plan responds to the request in the 2015 School of Culture, History and Language: Outline of Strategic Aims and Strategic Plan (Appendix 2) and the subsequent CHL Senior Management Group (herein referred to as School SMG) submission to the Change Management Proposal (Appendix 3). Both of these called for the creation of a new School that will draw upon the unique depth and breadth of the School in Asia Pacific humanities, social sciences and languages to further secure the University’s reputation as leading national and international initiatives to build capability in engaging with the Asia Pacific region.

The new School will be organised around questions of how Asia and the Pacific are being transformed; and support a world-class capability in trans-disciplinary and trans-regional inquiry. It will play a key role in delivering the University’s mission nationally and internationally in the teaching of Asia-Pacific languages, including leading the debate and the practice in this national domain of knowledge. The University recognises that high level language proficiency among ANU staff and students is an indissoluble part of the University’s research strength.

To allow the new School to flourish in this way, there is an immediate short-term need to stabilise the School’s financial position. To achieve this requires stronger management of expenses, a reduction in the School’s salary expenditure and the further development of initiatives to improve income.

A key strength of the School is its diversity, and so this Implementation Plan puts in place a School-led process for transferring academic staff into the new School with maximum flexibility and minimum burden on individual staff members. In the cases where staff are not automatically transferred into the new School, individualised transition plans will be developed with the affected staff member.

For the benefit of the School and affected staff, transition arrangements for affected staff will be developed on a case by case individual arrangement. Transition arrangements will be in accordance with the ANU Enterprise Agreement 2013-2016 provisions and will include transfer to other areas of the University, pre-retirement contracts, voluntary conversion to part-time work; and or voluntary separations. Staff redundancies, if unavoidable, will be subject to the University’s redundancy provisions.

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Cultural and governance change is also necessary: the success of the new School requires a new commitment by academic staff to one another, and to the new School, and a full commitment by the College and the University to supporting the new School through every aspect of its transition. The College and the University reiterate their support for the School and for its transition.

Part 2: Formal Change Process

A Change Management Proposal for the School of Culture, History and Language (Appendix 3) was released on 25 February 2016 and the formal consultation period ran from 25 February to 15 March, and was extended twice by request. The consultation concluded on 11 April 2016. A further staff forum was also held with the Vice-Chancellor on 12 April to discuss and consider feedback.

There was significant consultation undertaken, including via written submissions, small group sessions for staff and students and larger group sessions for staff and students with the Vice Chancellor and the Executive Director, Administration and Planning. A number of group submissions were prepared as a result of collaborative efforts by groups of colleagues and groups of stakeholders. The NTEU were also actively engaged throughout the consultation period and feedback was provided by the NTEU directly and on behalf of members.

Colleagues and stakeholders are thanked for their time, effort, contributions and feedback during the consultation period. The comments, suggestions and written submissions made during this time were comprehensive, well-considered and constructive.

There was clear support to ensure a sustainable future for the School while protecting and maintaining the international reputation of the School. It was evident from the feedback there were areas which required more explanation and where further consideration was required, in addition to the exploration of alternatives to improve the proposed plan. For example, an explicit ongoing commitment to languages by the University was an area of significant concern for a number of staff, students, alumni, emeriti and other School and University community stakeholders, and the University is very willing to confirm that ongoing commitment.

The feedback provided useful information with similar themes in the comments and discussions across the small group information sessions and in the written submissions. It formed the basis for review and further scrutiny and consideration of the initial proposed structure in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the new school.

This document, the Implementation Plan, outlines the details of the updated structure for the new School. It considers the themes, comments, information and details from the feedback and discussions during the consultation period, and provides amendments and revised recommendations which have been incorporated into the design of the new school structure. It also details the schedule for the implementation required to re-build the new School.

Background CHL was formally constituted in 2009-2010 through the merger of the Faculty of Asian Studies (herein referred to as FAS) with disciplinary groups situated in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (herein referred to as RSPAS). This merger occurred at the time when the College of Asia and the Pacific was formed, as part of the restructure of the University into seven Colleges. Both RSPAS and FAS enjoyed

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enviable international reputations and were seen as leading institutions for Asian and Pacific studies within Australia and worldwide.

For Australia, key disciplines that make up CHL (anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies, gender studies, history, linguistics, modern languages) provide the foundational knowledge of Asia and the Pacific upon which our applied knowledge in other disciplines (e.g. applied economics, environmental management, governance, public policy) depend for their success.

CHL also represents the most distinguished clustering of colleagues within the College (currently four of the College’s five ARC Laureates); an ARC Centre of Excellence; six Future Fellows and disciplines that are ranked ERA 4 or 5.1

While the School represents the most distinguished clustering within the College, almost 50 per cent of the current CHL academic workforce is aged 55 years or over, which presents a potential succession planning issue. During the course of 2014 and 2015, CHL in conjunction with the College and the HR Division initiated steps to address succession planning and renewal. This has had limited success, with only a small proportion of staff transitioning to voluntary early retirement or pre-retirement arrangements which provide both the individual and the School with certainty leading into retirement, and provide opportunities for institutional renewal.

This Implementation Plan has been prepared following:

a 2015 Review of the School of Culture, History and Language (Appendix 4) in accordance with University policy,

a School Senior Management Group led consultation process, conducted across August 2015 – December 2015, to prepare a formal response to the review;

a consultation period for staff with the Vice-Chancellor which was undertaken during February 2016

a HDR consultation session in February with the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Research Training, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), and the College Dean.

A Change Management Proposal released on 25 February 2016 and extensive range of consultation meetings and presentations, for both staff and students, across the consultation period which ran from 25 February to 11 April 2016; and

A further consultation with the Vice-Chancellor on 12 April 2016.

This Implementation Plan takes into account the feedback received during the consultation period, including formal proposals put forward by the School’s Senior Management Group, by the School’s Laureates, by School academics, by the School’s professional staff, by HDR and undergraduate students and by School visitors, emeritus and friends. This Implementation Plan outlines a revised adjustment to the structure and operations of the School to enable it to be sustainable and to support the strategic focus of the School, the College and the University.

This Implementation Plan details the recent consultation process, the nature of the changes, provides a structure for the School and the key staffing principles to support and achieve this change. It re-iterates the drivers and rationale for the change along with a timetable for implementation.

1 (With the exception of Cultural Studies and Religious Studies, for which CAP made no ERA submissions.)

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The impact of this Implementation Plan will involve:

A renaming of the School;

A re-forming and re-organisation of academic departments and teams which will affect all continuing staff (56 Academic and 14 Professional);

No impact for Fixed term, Externally Funded and Centre of Excellence in the Dynamics of Language Staff (27 Academic Staff and 10 Professional Staff);

Transfer of majority of Academic staff to new School by an academic-led deliberative process

Transition of up to 15 academic staff members – transition means and may include transfer to other areas of the University, pre-retirement contracts, voluntary conversion to part-time employment, and voluntary separations. If any job losses eventuate then these will be managed in accordance with the University’s redundancy provisions;

Transfer and re-organisation of the School professional staff, following the establishment of the Academic departments and further consultation with the School and its professional staff about its professional service needs. These changes may also include a change to staffing levels, a change in reporting or supervisory lines for some staff and positions; a change in work practices for some staff; and/or a change in conditions, including change that would be likely to lead to changed responsibility levels, including reclassification of positions; and

A reorganisation of Academic and Professional staffing to fulfil the education, research, outreach and service needs of the School, while allowing it to operate within its recurrent budget is the purpose of the Implementation Plan.

Part 3: Overview of the consultation

Consultation Period Background The Change Management Proposal consultation period was scheduled to occur from 25 February to 15 March 2016, and was formally extended until close of business 11 April 2016 to accommodate two requests for additional time. The extensions were granted to ensure that staff, students and all School and University stakeholders had sufficient time to prepare submissions and review additional materials prior to submissions being provided. Prior to the consultation commencing the Vice-Chancellor held a CHL staff forum on 8 February 2016. There was also a session held with HDR students on 16 February 2016. The Change Management Proposal was provided to the School staff, students, emeriti and honorary visitors, College of Asia and the Pacific staff, ANU stakeholders and the NTEU on Thursday 25 February 2016, for consideration and feedback. The Change Management Proposal was also made available on the School’s website from this time for broader engagement. When the consultation period formally commenced there was a number of small group consultation sessions which were initially scheduled and held during the consultation period including:

Academic session #1 - 1 March 2016;

Academic session #2 – 3 March 2016;

Academic session #3 (specifically for Language instructors) – 4 March 2016

Professional staff session #1 – 8 March 2016;

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These sessions were well attended and were an opportunity to discuss the proposal, the future of the school and for staff to ask any questions. They typically ran for 1.5 – 2 hours enabling staff to attend the session in its entirety or to drop in for a period of time. NTEU representatives were welcomed at the sessions. With the consent of attendees all sessions were recorded and posted on the CHL Review Alliance site. Individual discussions were held with all proposed directly affected professional staff early in the consultation period, prior to or around the time of the broader release of the Change Management Proposal. During the course of the consultation period, requests for additional consultation meetings and presentations were received and the following sessions were arranged to ensure that the background, rationale, and nature of the proposed change were presented, and to provide the opportunity for direct feedback and consultation. The additional sessions during the extended consultation periods included:

HDR student session – 23 March 2016;

Professional staff session #2 – 24 March 2016; and

Budget and financial modelling briefing session – 7 April 2016.

Following the close of the consultation a final staff forum was held with the Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday 12 April.

Overview of Submissions and Feedback The considerable time and thought invested by members of the School and the broader ANU community in providing valuable feedback regarding the Change Management Proposal is acknowledged and appreciated. Overall, the feedback to the Change Management Proposal during the consultation period was comprehensive, well-considered and constructive. There was a high degree of concern expressed about the proposed changes, particularly with regard to the ongoing commitment of the University to continue to invest in, teach and maintain the languages of Asia and the Pacific. This included a concern that any change – particularly a reduction in academic staff numbers – was an indication that the University was downgrading its commitment to Asia and the Pacific, disestablishing an historical strength in area studies and risking the reputation and capacity of specific disciplines of the School. During the period of consultation a total of 97 submissions and enquiries were received. The breakdown of the source of those submissions is shown below in Figure 1. These were from ANU stakeholders both within and external to the School and many external parties with an interest in the Asia Pacific, the School and its work and teaching and the ANU more generally. The feedback was provided on an individual and also group/team/consolidated basis, and each submission was acknowledged by either the Dean or the CHL Review coordinator.

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Figure 1: Overview of Feedback Respondents

An additional nine submissions were received after the final closing date for submissions. While these submissions will not be counted as submissions received during the consultation period, were read carefully and considered. The broad themes of these submissions were consistent with the themes discussed below. Of the 75 Individual and 19 Group submissions received during the consultation period, the responses and feedback ranged widely2 including many specific suggestions and solutions for the future sustainability of the School. Key themes included (in no order of priority):

Financial position and outlook for the School beyond 2016;

Process of change / make-up of the Deliberative Committee;

HDR student welfare and support;

Languages support and sustainability;

Leadership, planning and strategy;

Structure of School;

Staff profile for the School and its departments;

National and international reputation;

Teaching and programs; and

CAP and CASS Collaboration - opening up borders, particularly for coursework students wishing to study courses offered by both colleges.

2 Feedback ranged from ‘close the school it can’t be viable, allocate more funding, stop the review, provide more financial information’, through to

specific suggestions and solutions for the future sustainability of the school.

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The nature of the feedback commentary

1. New School: There was widespread support for creating a new School with a new name. 2. Structure of the new School: There were different views expressed about what the focus of the

School’s departments or units should be and suggestions included devolving final decisions about naming the departments or units to the School. Submissions from the School expressed a wish for the School to have flexibility to establish and disestablish its departments or units or clusters, and this will be easier if they are not AOUs (and there was no strong call for the departments to be AOUs).

3. Budget: Submissions on the School’s structure supported a single, School level budget with allocations to the departments on a basis to be agreed within the School.

4. Academic Staff Profile: Most submissions from those closest to the School wanted to see the absolute minimum reduction in academic staff. Many submissions suggested a more fluid allocation of resources within the new School – people were concerned about the new Departments/units being too top-heavy. Further to this, there was little support for creating a new Level D/E position leadership position for languages. Submissions also indicated the strong preference for all the transfers to the new School to be determined by the Deliberative Committee, with none set-aside for strategic positions.

5. Languages: There was strong feedback that the binary distinction between less-commonly taught languages and more commonly taught languages was unhelpful. Colleagues and students wanted assurances that all the languages taught by the School would be continued. There was very strong feedback that the instructors in less commonly taught languages should have continuing positions in the new School.

6. Deliberative Committee: There was strong feedback requesting that the Deliberative Committee representing the School be drawn, as far as possible, from the School and for members of the School to be able to make nominations to that Committee.

7. Professional Staff: Professional and Academic Staff within the School expressed a strong view that it was more appropriate to consider the professional staff profile after the academic organisational structure had been confirmed. Submissions asked for more discussion with the professional staff about what the best combination of roles and skills would be to support the new School. Both professional and academic staff wanted more flexibility in the staffing profile for the professional staff.

8. HDR Students: HDR student submissions expressed concern about continuity in supervision, the anxiety being felt by students and supervisors and the support needed from Professional Staff within the School whose role is dedicated to HDR students. Feedback also requested confirmation of support for extensions of time or scholarships made available on an individual, as-needed basis for students affected by the change management process.

9. School Vision, Strategy and Planning: There was some feedback which expressed concern that documents detailing the School vision, strategy or planning beyond the change process were not included with the Change Management Proposal.

10. Priority and nominate areas: There were numerous submissions in support of particular disciplines, languages, individual academic staff members, and/or particular geographic areas of expertise. There were also submissions seeking different disciplinary names for the proposed Departments, as well as submissions expressing concern that the names and composition of proposed Departments did not map directly to nominate area studies specializations, or to majors and minors within undergraduate degrees into which the academic staff of the School teach. Some submissions expressed concern that the review of the School had not produced firm priorities for the School, nor identified activities that the School would discontinue.

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Clarifications and amendments A number of administrative clarifications, and updates, have been incorporated into the Implementation Plan as a result of feedback and further review during the consultation period. Of particular note are the following:

Clarifications on management of any impact for HDR Students and as a result of the managing change process and the process to request an extension;

Clarification and update to show two positions within the Professional Staffing team which are currently vacant but were not appearing on the existing organisational structure;

Update and clarification on the financial position of the School. The feedback received noted that there was a need to summarise the CHL budget position in terms of the savings required to be achieved to ensure that CHL returned to spending within its allocated budget.

There was a finance forum with the School on 7 April 2016 led by the University’s Executive Director of Administration and Planning (EDAP), Mr Chris Grange. There was considerable concern expressed prior to that forum, at that forum and in feedback subsequently received by academic staff and students in the School about four aspects of the School’s financial situation:

1. whether the financial position represented by Figure 2 below is an accurate statement of the School’s financial position;

2. whether the savings required through staff reductions, as indicated in the Change Management Plan, were underpinned by sound projections about the School’s financial future;

3. whether, if staff reductions were undertaken as part of this change process, the School could be sure that no further, similar process would be required in future; and

4. whether the imposition of a levy for administrative services on the School by the College was legitimate and what impact this could be expected to have on the new School’s financial position.

Those questions were explored during the 7 April School forum and again, in summary, by the EDAP at a School staff forum led by the Vice Chancellor on 12 April 2016. Those responses are summarised here:

(a) Financial position in 2016: The School’s total income in 2016 is $14,600,858. Of that, $12,210,858 is recurrent income and $2,390,000 is the ‘languages subsidy’ (strategic investment in languages) to the School for 2016. Of that $2,390,000, an amount of $1,190,000 is income available to the School for language salaries, sessional language teaching, and teaching buy-outs necessary for creation of language courses in flexible modalities. The balance of that $2,390,000 ($1,200,000) is held by the College for funding the technical salaries, additional tutoring, non-teaching aspects of transforming the languages program and contingencies for the languages program over 2016-18, developed through the languages strategy to be developed as part of the 2016 CHL Work Plan (Appendix 6).

(b) Languages Subsidy in future years: The strategic investment in languages reduces to $1,500,000 in 2017 (with $1,190,000 available to the School) and then to $1,000,000 in 2018 (with $1,000,000 available to the School -- which approximates to the recurrent salary cost for the less commonly taught languages. The fixed (non-discretionary) expenditure for the School in 2016 is $5,519,052, which leaves $9,081,806 available for expenditure on academic and professional staff salaries. It follows that the savings required by the School, to stabilize it for the long term, are $(2,432,981).

(c) Projections : The achievement of this level of savings, will not redress the financial problems of the school without a decision from the University on the strategic allocation to languages (covered later in this document) and without addressing, over a longer term, the declining level of student enrolments

(d) Future need for change: All of the projections presented by the EDAP at the 7 and 12 April forums were predicated on the need for the School to grow its income over time. The most promising opportunities at present were identified as:

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a. modest growth in undergraduate EFTSL taught within and outside CAP; b. modest growth in language EFTSL through the development of more flexible delivery

modes for students outside CAP and beyond ANU; c. full development of the Masters of Asian and Pacific Studies; d. vigorous pursuit of opportunities to create programs for external stakeholders, particularly

government. e. These opportunities need to be supported by strategic planning, internal review of

academic programs through the CAP-CASS governance project; strong financial modelling, market research and strong marketing, as well the cultivation of philanthropic support for the School – and this support needs to be provided at both the College and the University levels over a sustained period of time.

(e) College levy: Colleagues in the School asked whether the levy by the College was necessary and whether it represented good value for the School. The levy is made up of two components: a levy for what was formerly the Research School of Asian and the Pacific, which is represents pooled funds for research within the College. These funds are returned to the School either automatically (e.g. travel funding for early career researchers) or through a competitive process (Research grants). The second part of the levy funds the services needed to support the School (e.g. human resources, finance, IT, student services, property services, the College Research Office). EDAP confirmed that the College’s current levy is equivalent to that of College of Arts and Social Sciences (herein referred to as CASS) and is the second-lowest in the University. The effective rate of the College levy has been static since 2014 and in 2015 the College Executive changed the formula for calculating the levy, which reduced it by 3% in CHL’s favour. The College Executive’s intention is to both reduce the cost of College administration as far as practicable and to reformulate the basis for calculating the levy. Over time we anticipate that this will reduce the levy for the School, but for the purposes of modelling the immediate financial position of the School, we have assumed $2,446,454 to represent the sum of the two types of levy applicable in 2016 and 2017. If the School realises a reduction in the levy in 2017, that amount would represent a contribution to the School’s contingency or reinvestment funds.

Figure 2 (below) represents a summary of the financial position of the School in 2016, consistent with the commentary above, after the finalisation of the 2015 University budget.

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Figure 2: Revised Budget Estimates under the New Structure

Amount

Recurrent Income before Language Strategic Allocation 12,210,858

2016 Language Strategic Allocation 2,390,000

Total Income 14,600,858

Scholars Expense & Travel 800,000

Recurrent salary costs from non-affected staff 782,598

ARC Salary Shortfall 300,000 Expenses to develop and deliver improved language modalities (jointly managed by the College and the School) 1,190,000

College Cost Recovery 2,446,454

Total Anticipated Expenses 5,519,052

Income available for salaries in the new School structure 9,081,806 2016 Budgeted Salaries (net of known salary costs above) 11,514,787

Savings required (2,432,981)

Principal adjustments and revisions There were a number of very positive and relevant suggestions and alternative options presented throughout the consultation period by ANU stakeholders. The following adjustments and revisions have been adopted and reflected in appropriate detail at the relevant section of the Implementation Plan: 1. Reconsidering the ‘languages subsidy’ An area of strong concern in the feedback on the Change Management Proposal was future uncertainty about the University’s ‘off the top languages subsidy’. In late 2015, the current languages subsidy was confirmed for a further three years, until the end of 2018. This means there is a $2.39m investment by the University in less commonly taught languages for 2016 across the Colleges of Arts and Social Science and the College of Asia and the Pacific, with a further $1.5m and $1m confirmed for the College of Asia and the Pacific in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Feedback from the Change Management Proposal suggested:

concern about the future uncertainty of the ‘off the top languages subsidy’ and the difficulty that limiting this in time would pose for continuity in staffing, curriculum planning, student recruitment and HDR supervision;

a perception that this would mean a ‘downgrading’ of languages at ANU and possible plans to disestablish less commonly taught languages, because no funding is guaranteed beyond 2018;

the unhelpfulness of creating a binary distinction between ‘less commonly taught’ and ‘more commonly taught’ languages;

that teaching languages is labour-intensive and needs professional expertise; and

that under the current funding models for the humanities, maintaining smaller-enrolment languages requires strategic investment.

The University recognises that the teaching of Asian and Pacific languages is part of the University’s unique capability. In particular, ANU is the nation’s lead provider of education in less commonly taught Asian and

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Pacific languages. The University is committed to fulfilling that role for Australia: a smart country speaks the languages of its neighbourhood, and Australia needs to be fluent in the languages of Asia and the Pacific. The University’s Senior Management Group consisting of the University Executive and the College Deans, (herein referred to as the University SMG), met on 14 April 2016 to consider the feedback from the Change Management Proposal in relation to languages. The University SMG agreed that:

The ‘languages subsidy’ to the College of Asia and the Pacific represents a strategic investment, rather than a subsidy, by the University;

Since the purpose of the strategic investment is to enhance the quality and reach of the University’s language offerings and make them accessible to the largest number of students possible, the University should allow the College and School flexibility in the use of that investment, not limiting it to ‘less commonly-taught’ languages;

That the School and College need a secure basis on which to plan Asian and Pacific languages programs and thus the strategic investment should be continued beyond 2018 and into the foreseeable future, subject to set of defined performance conditions;

That this strategic investment, now and beyond 2018, is subject to reporting and satisfactory performance, as is the case for all of the University’s strategic investments; and

That the criteria for satisfactory performance should be known in advance by the School and the College.

The agreed conditions for showing satisfactory performance in relation to the strategic investment in languages are set out in Part 4, below. 2. The Less Commonly Taught Languages academic positions The Change Management Proposal recommended that the current continuing positions in ‘less commonly taught languages’ be transferred from continuing to fixed term positions. While acknowledging that the University’s strategic investment in languages is performance based and will be monitored by the University SMG, the Implementation Plan recommends that the continuing positions in less commonly taught languages (Hindi, Sanskrit, Thai and Vietnamese) remain as continuing positions; and the current fixed-term positions in Literary Chinese and Burmese be converted to continuing positions prior to the expiry of their current terms. Treating all ‘less commonly taught language’ positions as continuing positions does pose some operational risk for the School, but it is the same risk that attaches to sustaining all continuing positions within the School. To secure the University’s strategic investment in Asian and Pacific languages, the conditions for that investment need to be fulfilled, and thus the School has to be invested in the success of the languages program and the College needs to partner effectively with the School to deliver program enhancements. 3. School Structure and Financial Management The Change Management Proposal suggested four departments for the School with each department having approximately the same number of (full time equivalent – FTE) academic staff at the time of the creation of the new School. The Languages Department would have some variation with some additional fixed term positions in LCTL. The existing Centre for Excellence in Dynamics of Language (herein referred to as CoEDL) was preserved, with affected staff within CoEDL presumptively assumed to affiliate with the proposed new Languages Department. The proposal was for these four departments within the new School to each have financial responsibility and accountability with the potential to become financially sustainable over time through pursuit of diverse

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sources of income. This was to be supported by a presumptively equal allocation of income during the new School’s establishment period (including national institutes grant (NIG) income, CGS-HECs tuition income, and indirect research income), made without reference to any prior Departmental or other organisational divisions. The feedback suggested that colleagues in the School preferred more flexibility in forming the departments and a single, School-level budget and allocations to the departments on a basis to be agreed. The recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that there will be a more fluid allocation of resources and flexibility regarding the size of individual departments. In addition, it is recommended there will be a single School level budget. 4. Level D/E Leadership appointment for Languages The Change Management Proposal suggested a new leadership position at Level D or E in language planning and delivery be included in the staffing profile for the Languages Department. The feedback from colleagues suggested that creation of a new Level D or E position to lead language planning for the School was not a universally favoured suggestion and this would further contribute to the “top heavy” nature of the School. Accordingly, the recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that no new position to lead language planning is created. Instead, the School Director would work with the Associate Dean (Education) to nominate an existing academic staff member with appropriate skills to fill a leadership role in strategic planning for Asian and Pacific languages. 5. Changes to the Deliberative Committee process The Change Management Proposal outlined the formation of a Deliberative Committee (herein referred to as DC) to provide recommendations on the staffing profile and departmental affiliations of the new School to the Dean. There was strong feedback regarding the proposed representation on the DC and a view this should be revised to ensure the School, as far as possible, was represented. Additionally, there was a call for members of the School to be able to make nominations to that Committee. Nominations for the DC were called for during the consultation period and this Implementation Plan recommends the eligible nominees from this list be included for consideration for the appointments to be made by the Deputy Vice Chancellors and the Dean. Feedback was also received regarding the scope/terms of reference for DC. It is recommended, following the release of the Implementation Plan, the DC will meet to discuss and settle the terms of reference and confirm the process, procedures and resources available in order for them to complete their work. The DC will be advised and supported in its work by senior human resources professionals from the University, to ensure that their deliberations are consistent with all legal and ANU Enterprise Agreement requirements for the process. The DC will also be able to request and obtain specialist technical and/or academic advice as and when required in order for the Committee to make a recommendation to the Dean about staff departmental affiliations. In some staff consultation sessions, CHL staff asked to be allowed to prepare and submit a one-page summary of additional material about themselves and their ability to contribute to a new School, including an optional nomination of preferred departmental affiliation. The DC process is intended to avoid burdening academic staff and so this Implementation Plan recommends that affected staff may prepare

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such a summary and will be invited to do so, but that this step is entirely optional and that non-submission of a one-page statement will not negatively impact the DC’s deliberations. Concern was also expressed by CHL staff that the DC process would lengthen an already long and drawn out review process – and thus add to their uncertainty. This concern was noted and this Implementation Plan recommends the DC deliberations would be completed by early May with staff affiliations and transitions to be confirmed by mid-May. 6. Professional Staffing Professional and Academic Staff within the School expressed a strong view about the appropriate level of professional staff support for the School and that it was more appropriate to consider the professional staff profile after the academic organisational structure had been confirmed. This Implementation Plan recommends that the professional staff structure required to provide high level support to the academic endeavours and business operations of the new School be designed once the academic organisational structure of the new School has been confirmed. The design and implementation of the new professional staff structure would be temporarily postponed until the academic staff structure is implemented. While the financial position for the School means the existing 14 Professional staff positions cannot all be retained, flexibility is possible in considering roles, levels of appointment and which positions may be supported by College-level funding. Once the academic staff structure is finalised, a separate Implementation Plan will be developed and issued with the details of the professional staff structure. 7. School Vision, Strategy and Planning Many of the submissions in response to the Change Management Proposal related to the implementation of recommendations made throughout the review process, as well a presenting new ideas for activities and initiatives for the new School. All of the submissions that were intended to be public are available to the School to draw on after the change process. Some submissions provided during the consultation period expressed concern regarding the School vision, strategy or planning not being outlined or articulated as part of the Change Management Proposal. The School leadership and the College Associate Deans have been working in parallel with the Change Management Process to develop a work plan for the broader series of consultations and decisions required for the new School (including a new strategic plan, teaching plan, languages strategy and workload management plan) and a timeline for producing these during 2016, once the new School structure has been implemented. This 2016 CHL Work Plan (Appendix 6) was prepared with the School SMG and circulated to the School by the Director during the consultation period. The Contact officers listed in Part 7 of this document are available should additional clarification be sought as to the consideration of feedback provided during the consultation period, or where ANU Stakeholders would like to discuss the Change Implementation Plan in more detail.

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Part 4: Nature of the Change

The School of Culture, History and Language: Outline of Strategic Aims and Strategic Plan (Appendix 2) prepared in 2015 by the School Senior Management Group in response to the Review, was submitted to the College Executive and formally received, considered and endorsed on 17 October 2015. In summary, the 2015 CHL Strategic Plan recommended that a new School be established by:

Renaming the School (with a name to be determined);

Organising the School around four newly-established departments. The recommendation outlined in this Implementation Plan is for the units to be organised on a trans-disciplinary, trans-regional basis as outlined and envisaged in the CHL Strategic Plan and as endorsed by the College Executive. They will be established within the new School as Departments, sitting below a School AOU and thematically grouped as Languages, Histories, Cultures and Environments (formal names to be determined at a later date by the School). This recommended structure was endorsed and re-iterated in the submission made by the School SMG during the formal consultation period. It included some further articulation on the preferred governance structure (including financial) for the School and the need for a fluid allocation of resources within the departments. The education and research rationale for each of these Departments is outlined below:

Languages (working title): required to deliver deep knowledge of the regions’ languages including exploration of the origins, historical development and contemporary configuration of Asian and Pacific languages. This includes the research priorities and mission of the Centre of Excellence in Dynamics of Language;

Histories (working title): will explore historical change in Asian and Pacific nations and communities, social and political institutions, conflicts and reconciliations, shifting order and the origins of migration flows and the impact of conflict and historical memory on the present-day region;

Cultures (working title): will chart the dynamic transformations of Asian and Pacific cultures, including the dynamics of development, urbanization and migration and changes in individual and community identities grounded in race, gender, nation, region and religion;

Environments (working title): will link archaeological knowledge of ecological change in deep time with contemporary humanities scholarship addressing the urgent issues of climate change and the imminent challenges of food and water security, displacement and conflict in Asia and the Pacific.

Each of these Departments reflect the disciplines in which the ANU has an 2015 ERA 4 or 5 evaluation, or has a prospect of attaining this by the 2018 ERA round, including:

Languages (Linguistics, including the CoEDL; Asian and Pacific Language pedagogy);

Cultures (Anthropology, Literature, Gender Studies);

Histories (Archaeology, Natural History, History);

Environments (Archaeology, Interdisciplinary approaches to environment).

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Each of these Departments will require:

Academic staff who in aggregate represent expertise in more than one discipline;

Academic staff who are specialists in one or more geographic areas within Asia;

Academic staff who are specialists in one or more geographic areas within the Pacific. The signature attribute of staff in the new School is their expertise in Asia and/or the Pacific, coupled with deep disciplinary skill and the capacity for transdisciplinary inquiry. A hierarchy of geographic foci, or of sub-specialisations within studies of Asia and Pacific were not defined as part of the School’s self-study during the School review, nor in the External Review report on the School. However, many submissions in response to the Change Management Proposal identified historical strengths of the School, areas of critical mass and unique capabilities of the School. A definitive set of priorities for the College will be articulated after the College consultation commencing in May 2016, as part of the development of the College Strategic Plan. The College will also provide the new School with additional time and, if necessary, financial resources to re-visit its strategic plan in light of the submissions, feedback and discussion coming out the change management process, in order to develop a multi-year plan that expresses the School’s mission, desired specializations, and the academic recruitment that flows from this. The recommended structure of the new School is shown below.

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DirectorSchool of Culture History

and Language

Anthropology9.5 FTE

Professional Staff(Recurrently Funded)

11.4 FTE

School of Culture History and Language

Structure (current)

School Departments & Academic Staff Professional Staff

Archaeology and Natural History

12.0 FTE

Asian and Pacific History18.8 FTE

East Asian Studies15.6 FTE

Gender, Media and Cultural Studies

12.5 FTE

Linguistics 11.8 FTE

South and South East Asian Studies

6.8 FTE

Professional Staff(S-Funded)

4.0 FTE

Centre of ExcellenceAcademic Staff

2.5 FTE

Centre of Excellence

Centre of ExcellenceProfessional Staff

5.0 FTE

16

Key

School Director

Program CoordinatorKorean Studies

ANUO5(0.5FTE)

School ManagerSM1

(Vacant/Acting)

Executive OfficerPAMBUANUO8

Administration OfficerARC

ANUO5

Research Officer ANUO5/6(0.6FTE)

Research AssistantARC

ANUO5

Research Officer ANUO5/6

Senior Academic Services Officer

ANUO6/7

Administration OfficerANUO5

Fixed Term

Senior Operations Officer

ANUO6/7

Publication & Academic

Services OfficerANUO5

School for Culture History and Language

Professional Staff (current)

S-Funded Professional Staff Recurrently Funded Professional Staff

Finance OfficerANUO5(Vacant)

Operations Administrator

ANUO4

HDR AdministratorANUO5

Senior Project Officer

ANUO6/7(Vacant)

HR, Events and Communications

OfficerANUO5(0.8FTE)(Vacant)

Fixed Term

Executive AssistantANUO5

Senior Education Project Officer

ANUO6/7(Vacant)

HDR Support OfficerANUO5(Vacant)

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and Language

Professional Staff(Recurrently Funded)

9.0 FTE


New Structure

Professional Staff

Professional Staff(S-Funded)

4.0 FTE

Centre of ExcellenceAcademic Staff

2.5 FTE

Centre of Excellence

Centre of ExcellenceProfessional Staff

5.0 FTE

Cultures

Academic Operating Units

Environments

Histories

Languages

Total of XX FTE Academic Staff across all Departments

(Recurrently Funded)

18


and Language


New Structure – (with Academic Unit breakdown)

Head of Academic UnitLevel E

Cultures

Distinguished ProfessorLevel DP

Less Commonly Taught Languages

Sanskrit

Hindi

Literary Chinese

Vietnamese

Thai

Burmese


Environments


Head of Academic UnitLevel tbc

Note – not proposed to be new Level D or E

Languages



Histories


40 FTE Academic Staff to be distributed across all Departments Levels to be confirmed

Cultures Environments Histories Languages

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Key

School Director

Program CoordinatorKorean Studies

ANUO5(0.5FTE)

School ManagerSM1

(Vacant/Acting)

Executive OfficerPAMBUANUO8

Administration OfficerARC

ANUO5

Research Officer ANUO5/6(0.6FTE)

Research AssistantARC

ANUO5

Research Officer ANUO5/6

Senior Academic Services Officer

ANUO6/7

Administration OfficerANUO5

Fixed Term

Senior Operations Officer

ANUO6/7

Publication & Academic

Services OfficerANUO5

School for Culture History and Language

Professional Staff (no immediate change)

S-Funded Professional Staff Recurrently Funded Professional Staff

Finance OfficerANUO5(Vacant)

Operations Administrator

ANUO4

HDR AdministratorANUO5

Senior Project Officer

ANUO6/7(Vacant)

HR, Events and Communications

OfficerANUO5(0.8FTE)(Vacant)

Fixed Term

Executive AssistantANUO5

Senior Education Project Officer

ANUO6/7(Vacant)

HDR Support OfficerANUO5(Vacant)

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Attributes for the New School The School of Culture, History and Language: Outline of Strategic Aims and Strategic Plan (Appendix 2) is premised on the creation of a new School, that leverages the unique depth and breadth of expertise in the existing School, and that is organised around questions of how Asia and the Pacific are being transformed.

In accordance with the expectations for academic staff in the University, the University’s guidelines on Promotion, and the CAP Academic Performance Guidelines, all academic staff in the new School will contribute to both the School’s education and research programs. They will also perform service at the School, College, and University level and outreach appropriate to their level of appointment.

Education priorities The staffing in the new School will take account of the education program staffing needs for:

(a) delivery of core and elective courses for the current programs within the College and their precursor degrees, at undergraduate, Masters and HDR level;

(b) instruction in priority Asian and Pacific languages; (c) teaching that contributes to programs co-convened with, or offered by, the College of Arts and

Social Sciences; (d) teaching that contributes to other ANU education programs.

Research priorities All academic staff in the new School will be expected to be research active.

Academic staff will be expected to: (a) fulfil the University’s minimum requirement for research activity (currently 15%); (b) produce work that fulfils the quality indicators for published research indicated in the Academic

Performance Guidelines for the College of Asia and the Pacific; (c) produce predominantly externally peer-reviewed work that has contributed to, or will contribute

to, an ERA submission in the relevant discipline at a 4 or 5 level.

All academic staff in the new School will be expected to undertake HDR supervision at a level commensurate with their career stage and in accordance with University policy. HDR supervision will be collaborative and fully engage all members of the supervisory panel. All academic staff who are current or commencing HDR supervisors will be expected to undertake the professional development necessary to ensure that their supervision, participation in HDR panels and management of the HDR process is of a quality consistent with being a world-class University.

Financial organisation of the Departments The Change Management Proposal outlined that the four departments within the new School would have financial responsibility and accountability and the potential to become financially sustainable over time through pursuit of diverse sources of income. This was to be supported by a presumptively equal allocation of income during the new School’s establishment period (including national institutes grant (NIG) income, CGS-HECs tuition income, and indirect research income), made without reference to any prior Departmental or other organisational divisions.

The feedback on that proposal suggested that colleagues in the School preferred a more fluid allocation of resources within the new School with a single, School-level budget and allocations to the departments on a basis to be agreed.

While the CHL Strategic Plan describes these as AOUs (Academic Organisational Units), throughout the College the predominant design is School AOUs with Departments established as lower-tier units. This is the recommendation within this Implementation Plan. It will not limit the governance attributes for these

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units – namely for the units have some degree of academic and financial autonomy and accountability. These governance attributes do not depend on whether the units are formally constituted as AOUs. The attributes for the School and the financial accountability is outlined in further detail below. The recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that there is a School-level budget, with budget allocations made by the School to the new departments on a basis to be agreed after the formation of the School. Structure of the Departments The original Change Management Proposal suggested that each department would have approximately the same number of (full time equivalent – FTE) academic staff at the time of the creation of the new School (with a permitted difference of 1-2 FTE between Departments). The exception to this was the Languages Department, where additional fixed term positions in less commonly taught languages would be added, funded through the addition of the University subsidy for those less commonly taught languages. The existing CoEDL was also preserved, with affected staff within CoEDL presumptively assumed to affiliate with the Languages Department. The feedback suggested that colleagues in the School preferred more flexibility in forming the departments. The recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that the Deliberative Committee and the School Director form the new departments with reference to individual colleagues’ preferences about affiliation, but with flexibility regarding the size of individual departments. Delivery of Asia Pacific Languages The ANU is recognised for the strength and effectiveness of its teaching in the most widely taught Asia-Pacific languages in Australia (Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean), which are also high enrolment languages for the University. ANU is Australia’s major University provider of ‘less commonly taught’ languages: we currently teach 50% of these for the country, most of which are Asia-Pacific languages. Of those less commonly taught languages, several are priority languages for Australia (Hindi) or are important for trade, diplomacy and aid policy purposes (e.g. Bislama, Cantonese, Mongolian, Tetum, Thai, Vietnamese). Others are likely to be important for emerging political engagement (e.g. Burmese). Another cluster are foundational courses for deep research on history, literature, religion and culture in the region (e.g. Javanese, Literary Chinese, Classical Japanese and Sanskrit). A key attribute of ANU language instruction has been that it is coupled with deep contextual knowledge drawn from non-language courses on Asia and the Pacific, and that it is enriched by mobility opportunities for short and long-term immersive study in the relevant country for that language.

In 2015, the Dean and CHL colleagues developed an implementation plan: Asia-Pacific Languages at ANU: Innovating Toward Sector Leadership Business Case 2015-2018 (Appendix 5). This plan outlines the importance of the role ANU plays in the teaching of Asia-Pacific languages and provided a proposal for the required financial support in the form of a University-level ‘subsidy’ for 2016-2018 (inclusive) to ensure the College can continue to successfully deliver (and grow) the University’s Asia-Pacific languages offerings. That implementation plan has been accepted in principle by the University Executive. Languages leadership The External Review, the CHL Strategic Plan, and the Change Management Proposal all suggested that effective leadership of the University’s Asia-Pacific languages program required recruitment of a senior academic with a skillset that is different to that of existing language-teaching staff. Accordingly, a new

22



leadership position at Level D or E in language planning and delivery was included in the Change Management Proposal. The feedback from colleagues suggested that creation of a new Level D or E position to lead language planning for the School is now not a universally favoured suggestion. The recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that no new academic position be created and recruited. Instead, the School Director would work with the Associate Dean (Education) to nominate an existing staff member with appropriate skills to fill a leadership role in strategic planning in Asian and Pacific languages.

Delivery of less commonly taught languages In the Change Management Proposal, the University was committed in principle to the provision of a ‘less commonly taught languages’ ‘subsidy’ for the College of Asia and the Pacific. That budget support was made available for 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the first instance, to be reviewed annually. That budget support was predicated on a successful delivery of a full suite of online and blended language offerings for less-commonly taught languages and the less-commonly taught aspects of widely-taught Asia-Pacific languages.

The Change Management Proposal recommended that instructional positions in less-commonly taught languages (additional to the commonly-taught languages and linguistics academic positions in the Languages Department) be filled on two or three year fixed-term basis, to match the duration of the less commonly taught languages subsidy confirmed for the period of 2016-2018. Subject to ongoing funding beyond 2018, and ongoing performance of the program, these positions were then to be considered for conversion to continuing positions.

The continuing positions affected by that proposal were Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese and Sanskrit (each proposed for an initial three-year period). Burmese and Literary Chinese were not affected by the proposal, because these are currently fixed-term positions. The feedback on the Change Management Proposal reflected:

concern about the future uncertainty of the ‘off the top languages subsidy’ and the difficulty that limiting this in time would pose for continuity in staffing, curriculum planning, student recruitment and HDR supervision;

a perception that this would mean a ‘downgrading’ of languages at ANU and possible plans to disestablish less commonly taught languages, because no funding is guaranteed beyond 2018;

the unhelpfulness of creating a binary distinction between ‘less commonly taught’ and ‘more commonly taught’ languages;

that teaching languages is labour-intensive and needs professional expertise;

that under the current funding models for the humanities, maintaining smaller-enrolment languages requires strategic investment.

Based on that feedback, the Dean initiated further discussion with the University SMG to establish more clarity around the process and basis for requesting University financial support for Asian and Pacific languages beyond 2018. The University recognises that the teaching of Asian and Pacific languages is part of the University’s unique capability. In particular, ANU is the nation’s lead provider of education in less commonly taught Asian and Pacific languages. The University is committed to fulfilling that role for Australia: a smart country speaks the languages of its neighbourhood, and Australia needs to be fluent in the languages of Asia and the Pacific.

23



As noted in Part 3 above the University’s SMG, met on 14 April 2016 to consider the feedback from the Change Management Proposal in relation to languages and agreed that the School and College need a secure basis on which to plan Asian and Pacific languages programs and thus the strategic investment in Asia and Pacific languages should be continued beyond 2018 and into the foreseeable future, subject to set of defined performance conditions.;

Those conditions would be:

Balanced budget: After the change management process, the new School operates within its recurrent budget. That is, its normal operations (including the strategic investment in languages) are not in deficit;

Accountability: The College and the School must demonstrate that strategic investment funds have been used for supporting and transforming the languages program;

Increased enrolments: A demonstrated gradual increase in enrolments across all the Asian and Pacific language offerings in the College and School – at least a 10% improvement in EFTSL over the period 2016-2018, as monitored by the University Education Committee;

Strategy: Evidence of a fully built out languages strategy that uses market research, effective marketing and flexible modes of delivery to reach the widest number of potential students at ANU and beyond;

Curriculum collaboration between CAP and CASS: Full incorporation of, and consideration of, languages in any revisions to academic programs in the CASS, including language coordination, sharing knowledge, and collaborating on program design and marketing;

Languages pedagogy: Evidence of progress on enhancing language pedagogy within the School and progress toward enhancing the University’s reputation, nationally and internationally in our language offerings;

Philanthropic and external funding effort: Coordination at School, College and University level to incorporate languages into the University’s case for philanthropic support and to seek external funding opportunities of all types to support the languages program;

Flexibility: Ability to report other kinds of innovation and impact that cannot currently be predicted.

While acknowledging that the quantum of the University’s strategic investment in languages beyond 2018 will be the subject of a submission by the College to the University SMG, this Implementation Plan recommends that the continuing positions in less commonly taught languages (Hindi, Sanskrit, Thai and Vietnamese) remain as continuing positions; and the current fixed-term positions in Literary Chinese and Burmese be converted to continuing positions prior to the expiry of their current terms.

Composition of Academic Departments The departmental profile and levels of appointment will be configured within the total budget available for the School, and with adequate provision for potential promotions at all levels over the period 2016-2018. It is recommended, each of the four Departments; Cultures, Histories, Languages and Environments will be led by one (1) Distinguished Professor (level E3) and, with the exception of the Languages Department, at least one Academic Level E. This reflects the feedback from colleagues that the creation of a new Level D or E position to lead language planning for the School is not a favoured suggestion. It also reflects feedback that the structure of the Departments should not be too ‘top-heavy’ with senior positions. The mix of the remainder of roles will not be set, however each Department must include a suitable combination of early career academics (ECAs) and mid-level career academics and academic leaders in their field. This is important to provide career development and succession planning and to ensure the long term success of each department in research and education.

24



The Change Management Proposal outlined that in addition to the range of recommended transfers to each Department in the School, there would be four to six FTE Strategic Priority Positions allocated by the Dean and the College Executive, necessary to effect an appropriate mix of academic staff by reference to one or more of the following objectives:

Gender equity

Career stage

Diversity

Emerging areas of research or education innovation The feedback from colleagues suggested that these roles should not be considered separately and that all the transfers to the School should be recommended by the Deliberative Committee, giving due consideration to the objectives. Accordingly, the recommendation in this Implementation Plan is that the six identified Strategic Priority Positions be included in the overall available continuing positions for the new School to be considered and recommended by the Deliberative Committee. The structure outlined above is intended to enable the new School to continue to be a world class centre for study of Asia and the Pacific through the humanities and social sciences and to operate from a stable and secure base within the recurrent budget available now and into the future. Composition of Professional Staffing Structure There has been much feedback about the appropriate level of professional staff support to the School. The proposed professional staff structure in the Change Management Proposal was regarded by many staff submissions as being overly prescriptive. It is now recommended that the professional staff structure required to provide high level support to the academic endeavours and business operations of the new School will be designed once the academic organisational structure has been formed. As such, the design and implementation of the professional staff structure would be temporarily postponed until the academic staff structure is implemented. A separate Implementation Plan will subsequently be developed and distributed with the details of the professional staff structure, once the academic staff structure is finalised. The professional staff structure will be developed in close coordination with the School leadership and the School professional staff, as well as the College Administrative teams, to provide the required skills and support for the new academic departments and enhanced HDR student services for the new School. It will also be within the allocated budget for the School. In parallel with this Implementation Plan, the College is continuing to implement the recommendations of its 2015 Review of the College Student Centre (Appendix 7). This will provide at least one full-time staff member within the Student Centre team dedicated to support the administration of the School’s HDR cohort, consistent with feedback on the Change Management Proposal suggesting that more professional staff support for the School’s HDR program is desirable. While administrative responsibility for HDR processes will sit with the College Student Centre, the feedback suggests that it is important that at least one HDR support role be physically located within the School, while also ensuring that support available to the School’s HDR students and academics supervising those students is continuously available A strong request from feedback to the Change Management Proposal was that at least one professional staff role at School level be retained to support the School’s HDR cohort, because the holistic, pastoral care provided by that role was important, particularly during a period of uncertainty and anxiety for students. It was noted that historically there had been two administrative roles dedicated to HDR support for the School.

25



Consideration of undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students Submissions from undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students and alumni dealt principally with the need to guarantee sufficiently diverse coursework offerings in both language and non-language courses. Comments about language courses included concern that these be taught by professional language staff. This concern is addressed in this Implementation Plan by removing references to staff from other Departments being required to contribute to the languages program, and by ensuring that the positions in ‘less commonly taught languages’ are continuing. Students were also concerned to ensure that there were enough advanced language course offerings available and that these were stable offerings over the life of a student’s degree program. This concern is addressed in the review of language majors and minors and the Languages Strategy work being undertaken in parallel with this Implementation Plan. A further concern expressed was the possibility that choice of courses would be diminished if fewer academic staff were being asked to teach more. This concern is addressed in the review of elective courses in the Bachelor of Asian Studies, the review of the Bachelor of Pacific Studies and the review of the Masters of Asian and Pacific Studies being carried out in 2016 in parallel with this Implementation Plan. Those reviews are designed to ensure that core courses for each of these degrees can be offered within the new School’s staffing structure. With regard to elective courses, of the 167 courses offered by the School in 2014, more than 80 were taught to classes of fewer than 10 students and more than 100 taught to classes of fewer than 20 students (CHL Review Data 23.07.2015, CHL Review Alliance website). There is thus considerable scope for maintaining course diversity while aiming for a more even spread of teaching load within the School. Elective courses will be secured through the development in 2016 of the 3-year teaching plan required by the University. Several of the academic staff submissions outline viable and creative course changes by School staff that would further enhance coursework and student mobility offerings. Consideration of HDR students Supervision Where transitional arrangements for supervision of HDR students are required as a result of this Implementation Plan, the following process will be followed:

Where, following the Deliberative Committee process outlined below, a current HDR student’s principal supervisor or another member of their supervision panel is not directly appointed into the new departmental structure, that student will be advised in person by the Associate Dean (HDR) and the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Research Training) before any staffing announcements are formally announced.

The same notification will be made to any intending HDR student not currently enrolled who is known to be affected, and the process below will apply to them with any necessary modifications.

Consideration will be given to arranging ongoing associations or affiliations, in accordance with the University’s Conferral of Academic Title Policy and procedure, for staff who may be leaving the University.

As part of that discussion, the affected staff member will be asked to indicate if they wish to continue their supervision arrangements with any current or intending HDR students for whom they are responsible. If so, Associate Dean (HDR) will consult with the student(s) and confirm that the student(s) wish to continue with this supervisor. In this case, and the College and School will make the necessary arrangements to facilitate this, including covering any financial costs involved.

Where the principal supervisor chooses not to affiliate with the University, the Associate Dean (HDR), in cooperation with academic staff in the new School and the College, will make recommendations to the student about suitable academic staff within the University who could assume the principal supervisor’s role. No appointment of a new principal supervisor will be made without full consultation with the student and the student’s agreement.

26



If a suitable principal supervisor or other panel members cannot be identified within the University, the Associate Dean (HDR) will work with the student and with staff in the new School and the College to identify a suitable replacement from within the disciplinary network of universities in Australia and internationally. In this situation the costs of securing substantive supervision from an external academic will be covered by the University.

Extension Requests Where an HDR student requests an extension due to the impact of the managing change process on their ability to complete, the following process will be followed:

1 The request for extension needs to include the following documents and should be emailed to the Delegated Authority in the School:

a. Annual reports showing planned progress and including some record of the impact of the review process on the delivery against the agreed targets. Students may also include an out-of-rounds annual report if they wish or they make a written statement to the Dean of Students which can be used in its place at their request.

b. Statement of the impact of the review on (which) elements of progress. c. Any other documents for extenuating circumstances (e.g. medical certificates for stress

related to the review process, mental health issues) – these are optional and will be treated in strict confidence.

2 The request will be reviewed by an advisory group consisting of the College Associate Dean - HDR, Dr Chris Ballard; the Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Research Training), Professor Jenny Corbett; the School Delegated Authority; the Associate Dean – HDR in College of Arts and Social Sciences; the School HDR Administrator and the School HDR Convenor.

3 The advisory group will make a recommendation to the Delegated Authority in the School who formally makes the decision.

4 Requests should preferably be submitted two months prior to the final expiry date and certainly no later than one month prior to the expiry date.

5 Decisions will be made on a case by case basis and will be made as quickly as possible. Financial matter in relation to receiving an extension due to the impact of the managing change process:

Arrangements have been made to waive the ANU extension fee for international students and to refund the visa extension fee.

Where an extension has been granted for reasons beyond the candidate’s control, scholarship extensions will be considered subject to the conditions of the original award.

There are also hardship funds via PARSA and via Division of Student Administration. These cover expenses based on extenuating circumstances beyond student’s control and the usual decision criteria will apply to CHL students.

27



Part 5: Staffing Principles

The transition to the new structure and department model is via the following steps and staffing principles. For fixed term and continuing contingent funded academic and professional staff, including those in the CoEDL, their existing contracts will remain unaffected. For change management purposes, affected academic staff currently working in the CoEDL will be appointed to the Languages Department, from which they are deemed to be operationally transferred to the CoEDL for the funded life of that Centre. As outlined in Section 4 above, the Academic Structure for the new School can be represented as follows: Figure 3: CHL Academic Structure

The University commits that wherever possible, positions will be continuing positions in the new School and departmental structure. Wherever fixed term or continuing contingent funded positions are utilised they will be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the ANU Enterprise Agreement. The School currently has 83 academic staff and 24 professional staff positions, this includes 6 professional staff positions which are currently vacant. The total professional staff and total vacant positions have been updated to reflect two positions which are vacant and had not been included in the existing professional staff numbers in the Change Management Proposal. The recommended new structure will result in a re-forming and re-organisation of academic departments and teams which will affect all 56 continuing academic staff. Fixed term, externally funded and CoEDL staff will not be affected. This includes 27 academic staff and 10 professional staff. A separate implementation plan detailing the future professional staff structure for the school will be subsequently developed and issued after the implementation of the academic structure. The overall objective of transitioning to the new School structure is to ensure that the University works with individual staff members within the School, and representatives, to ensure timely and effective

28



consultation and that any reductions in staffing are managed in accordance with the job security provisions outlined in clause 71 of the ANU EA. Where possible continuing academic staff will be directly transferred into positions in the new School and departmental structure as outlined below. Directly transitioning existing continuing staff in the earliest and most transparent manner, using a Deliberative Committee process, is designed to minimise the impact on staff. ACADEMIC STAFF: STAFFING PRINCIPLES There is a high calibre of academic staff within the School and they are among the most talented and innovative within the College. The College and the University is committed to retaining this talent to ensure the delivery of the core research and teaching capacities and to support the growth and success of the new School. The existing positions of Distinguished Professors, Laureates, the (currently interim) School Director, and any academics of the School who currently hold Associate Dean positions with the College will remain unaffected. Deliberative Committee for Academic Staff Direct Transfers Composition of the Deliberative Committee: The Deliberative Committee (herein referred to as DC) will provide a staffing recommendation to the Dean for the new School. This recommendation will be in relation to all available continuing academic positions within the new School. The DC will have a reasonable gender mix and the members will have the appropriate expertise, across the diversity of disciplines, to properly assess the information provided. The feedback from colleagues was the membership of the DC needed to fully represent the School as far as possible and members of the School should be able to make nominations to the DC, including nominations of emeritus colleagues with a strong understanding of the current School. Accordingly, nominations were called for during the consultation period and it is recommended that eligible nominees be included in the three appointments to be made by the Deputy Vice Chancellors and the Dean. It is recommended that the DC will be comprised of up to fourteen members, as follows:

School Director (Chair)

Up to four (4) Distinguished Professors/Laureates from the School

Three (3) Associate Deans from the College, appointed by the Dean, one or more of whom may also be from the School

Up to three (3) committee members external to the School, proposed by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) and the Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific;

Up to three (3) additional eligible members nominated by CHL staff (where ‘eligible’ means members who are not themselves affected staff under the change management process)

In extraordinary circumstances, if for some reason, a member of the Deliberative Committee is unable to participate, the Vice-Chancellor will reserve the right to nominate a replacement. The Deliberative Process

29



The DC will meet with the Vice Chancellor, the University Director of Human Resources and the Dean following the release of the Implementation Plan and will discuss and settle the terms of reference for the Committee’s work, including the process, procedures and resources available in order for them to complete their work. Once finalised, it is recommended that these terms of reference be circulated and made available to the School for information. Feedback recommended that the DC needed to be able to request and obtain specialist technical and academic advice as and when required in order to make a recommendation to the Dean about staff departmental affiliations. This is supported and this Implementation Plan recommends this requirement be included in the terms of reference prepared and agreed by the DC. Materials to be provided to the Deliberative Committee: All affected staff will be invited to prepare and provide a one-page summary additional material, including an optional nomination of preferred departmental affiliation. This is an optional step and not submitting a one-page summary will not disadvantage any staff member during the DC deliberations. If prepared, it must be submitted no later than 9am on Tuesday 26th April so it can be included in the information provided to DC at their first deliberative meeting. In addition to the optional one-page statement from individual staff, a range of resources and materials will be prepared for the DC to assist in their deliberations. This will include:

Affected staff list;

Individual staff profile as available on the ANU website and/or ANU Researcher;

Table of HDR supervision panels;

Table of current CHL external grants and Chief Investigators and staff funded from those grants;

Table of language courses and instructors; and

Table of the core courses for the Bachelor of Asian Studies and Bachelor of Pacific Studies and the Masters of Asian and Pacific Studies and the assigned instructors.

Following the Deliberative Process The DC will make a recommendation to the Dean regarding the presumptive affiliations and composition of academic departments The Dean will then confirm to the School Director the continuing academic staff to be directly transferred into positions in the new School and departmental structure. Staff will be individually notified of the outcome of the Deliberative Committee and the department to which they have been affiliated. Staff not directly appointed to the New School Following the Deliberative Committee process, it is anticipated that there will be no more than 15 academic staff members who will not be able to be directly transferred into the new departmental structure. In those cases, the affected staff member will be individually advised of the outcome by the Dean. The staff members and their representative(s) will then be invited to meet with the ANU HR Division to individually negotiate transition arrangements within the job security provisions (clause 71 of the ANU Enterprise Agreement). These transition arrangements will include transfer to other areas of the University, pre-retirement contracts, voluntary conversion to part-time work; and or voluntary separations. Where, following the deliberative process outlined above, an affected staff member is a current HDR student’s principal supervisor or another member of their supervision panel, that student will be advised in person by the Associate Dean (HDR) and the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Research Training) before any formal staffing announcements are made. The University has a preference for the above arrangements and staff reductions, if they eventuate, will be subject to the University’s redundancy provisions.

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Staff who have not been directly appointed into the new departmental structure or another role within the College or University, and who wish to review a decision relating to an employment matter outlined in Clause 78 of the ANU Enterprise Agreement may seek to do so.

Part 6: The University’s Commitment

Status The impact of this Implementation Plan will involve:

A renaming of the School;

A re-forming and re-organisation of academic departments and teams which will affect all continuing staff (56 Academic and 14 Professional);

No impact for Fixed term, Externally Funded and Centre of Excellence in the Dynamics of Language Staff (27 Academic Staff and 10 Professional Staff);

Transfer of majority of Academic staff to new School by an academic-led deliberative process

Transition of up to 15 academic staff members – transition means and may include transfer to other areas of the University, pre-retirement contracts, voluntary conversion to part-time employment, and voluntary separations. If any job losses eventuate then these will be managed in accordance with the University’s redundancy provisions;

Transfer and re-organisation of the School professional staff, following the establishment of the Academic departments and further consultation with the School and its professional staff about its professional service needs. These changes may also include a change to staffing levels, a change in reporting or supervisory lines for some staff and positions; a change in work practices for some staff; and/or a change in conditions, including change that would be likely to lead to changed responsibility levels, including reclassification of positions; and

A reorganisation of Academic and Professional staffing to fulfil the education, research, outreach and service needs of the School, while allowing it to operate within its recurrent budget is the purpose of the Implementation Plan.

It is a business driven change and the University will seek, wherever possible, to avoid redundancies. Any staff reductions will be managed and achieved through transitional arrangements in accordance with the ANU Enterprise Agreement job security provisions, namely clause 71. Notification The University has prepared this document to set out its planned change implementation for your information and it is being circulated to:

School of Culture, History and Language staff, students and honorary visitors;

College of Asia and the Pacific staff;

ANU Executive;

College Deans, Research School Directors, Service Division Directors, College General Managers, and School Managers;

Nominated staff representatives including the NTEU; and

Relevant stakeholders, as required. Representation

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Throughout this process staff members may be represented, and seek advice or assistance at any time from a person of their choice as outlined in the ANU Staff Representation Procedure which may be accessed at: http://policies.anu.edu.au/procedures/staff_representation_procedure/procedure Staff may not request representation by a legal practitioner unless they are directly involved in a formal disciplinary or termination of employment process.

Part 7: Implementation Timeframes

The University has set out the below timetable to meet and confer with the staff members concerned (and their chosen representatives). The University endeavours to reach agreement about the implementation of change and to work consultatively with people affected by change.

Date Details of Implementation

25 February 2016 Release of Change Management Proposal

26 February - 11 April 2016

Consultation Period

18 April 2016 Implementation Plan released

19-25 April 2016 Feedback on Implementation Plan

19-25 April 2016 Opportunity for staff to provide one page additional information including preferred affiliation (this is optional for staff)

26 April 2016 Due date for submission of optional one page statement from affected staff

26 April 2016 Implementation Phase commences

26-29 April 2016 Deliberative Committee meetings

9 May 2016 Outcome and Recommendations of Deliberative Committee submitted to Dean

11-13 May 2016 Initial meetings with directly affected staff, discussion regarding all options

12-13 May 2016 HDR Student forum and update on new School structure

16-27 May 2016 Follow up meetings with directly affected staff regarding options and preferences

23 May -3 June 2016

Individual meetings with directly affected HDR Students, including discussions regarding individual options

6 June 2016 Commence staff transition to new structure

Week Commencing 20 June 2016

Professional Staff structure implementation (anticipated commencement)

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http://policies.anu.edu.au/procedures/staff_representation_procedure/procedure



Contacts The implementation plan will be led by Professor Veronica Taylor, Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific, in consultation with the Human Resources Division.

Name Position Contact Details

Veronica Taylor

Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific [email protected]; (02) 6125 2221

Belinda Farrelly General Manager (Acting) College of Asia and the Pacific

[email protected]; (02) 6125 7858

Melissa Austin

Deputy Director, Human Resources [email protected]; (02) 6125 0086

Staff seeking additional support or advice should contact:

Name Position Contact Details

Gail Frank Advisor to Staff [email protected]; (02) 5125 3616

Employee Assistance Providers

Assure Relationships Australia

1800 808 374 6122 7100

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mailto:[email protected]






Appendices

Appendix 1*: CHL Self Study Report Appendix 2*: School of Culture, History and Language: Outline of Strategic Aims and Strategic Plan,

October 2015 Appendix 3*: Managing Change Document, School of Culture, History and Language, February 2016 Appendix 4*: Review of the School of Culture, History and Language (CHL), August 2015 Appendix 5*: Asia-Pacific Languages at ANU: Innovating Toward Sector Leadership Business Case

2015-2018, July 2015 Appendix 6*: CHL Work Plan – March 2016 Appendix 7*: Report: Review of the Student Centre, College of Asia and the Pacific *Please note: These Appendices will be available for staff on the CHL Review Alliance site

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