Deputy head of the Faculty of Business and Economics Daniel Khoury, academic head of Berwick campus pro vice-chancellor Professor Phillip Steele, Monash community projects officer David Allman and Araluen Ward councillor Rob Wilson at the Monash Business and Economics Faculty business breakfast.By Jim Mynard
MONASH University pro vice-chancellor and academic head of Berwick campus Professor Phillip Steele has lightly foreshadowed the possibility that Monash may look for alternative solutions to the sale of Berwick campus land.
Professor Steele was guest speaker at the Monash Business and Economics Faculty business breakfast held at the Berwick campus on Friday 11 November.
He was billed to address the meeting about the so-called Monash Urban Plan, but diverted to challenges facing the university.
Professor Steele carried with him the plan document but said he was aware of the feeling about the plan to sell some of the campus site for housing that existed within the community.
“Monash sees itself as a leading university and wants to be at the top end of education,” he said.
“There is in higher education a trend that universities have to become more self reliant.
“We must generate funds because the government provides only 40 per cent of our funding.
“This is a shift to the user pays system and puts us under pressure.”
Professor Steele said the Berwick campus had 1900 students, which was 3.7 per cent of the total Monash enrolment.
“This is a small, but important campus and has been growing at five per cent a year, which means that it will have 4000 students by 2020.”
Professor Steele said the university had 400 international students, but a low acceptance rate of students from the southeast region in which it was situated.
“There are many students in the region who cannot score high enough to meet Monash standards,” he said.
He discussed ways of raising the score levels of secondary college students, including the suggestion of creating a Monash College as a pathway program to university.
“This would provide study for a diploma and a move to second-year university study.”
The pro vice-chancellor said there was a need to create a lively campus that would attract lecturers and students.
“We need more students, more classes, more staff, more critical mass,” he said.
“We need cafes, bistros and eateries.
“Without these things it is difficult to compete against a campus with 25,000 students such as the Clayton campus.”
He said, however, that there was a real sense of community between students and staff at Berwick.
“How can we improve students amenity?
“We have 55 hectares of land and the question has been asked about why the university came up with the urban development plan.
“This is trying to create a campus with 15,000 people and we would have things such as research, a tourism sector and planners?”
Professor Steele left the matter of the Monash Urban Plan that would develop part of the campus for residential use unresolved in the public eye.
