Approval of research courses and units for research degrees

A possible model for faculty approval of new postgraduate research units and courses (under review)

Faculties may find the guidelines below a useful way to proceed. Such guidelines ensure that the proposal is only submitted to the full membership of the Research Graduate School Committee, as a final and complete version which has already been subject to extensive review and, where appropriate, modification.

C1 The faculty manager or nominee;

checks the proposal for completeness, accuracy and conformity with faculty policy, and

allocates the proposal a reference number (nominally the proposed postgraduate research course/unit code, with a faculty designation), allowing the proposal to be traced along the submission path.

C2 The faculty manager or nominee notifies the postgraduate research course/unit proposer of the reference number.

C3 The faculty manager or nominee sends the proposal as an email attachment to the associate dean (postgraduate research programs) or equivalent of the managing faculty.

Amendments made by the faculty manager should be displayed as tracked in the copy of the proposal sent to the associate dean (postgraduate research programs) or nominee.

Depending upon reporting lines within individual faculties, the proposal may, alternatively, be sent directly to the chair/convenor of the responsible sub-committee of faculty board of the managing faculty (normally the postgraduate research programs committee, or equivalent).

C4 Where the postgraduate research course/unit is also offered within an associated faculty, the faculty manager (or nominee) of the managing faculty sends the proposal to the faculty manager (or nominee) of the associated faculty.

C5 The associate deans (postgraduate research programs) or equivalent of the managing and associated faculties may then either;

approve the proposed postgraduate research course/unit, or

recommend changes;

where changes are recommended, the proposal is returned to the proposer for revision, the faculty manager being notified of this action.

C6 After the associate dean (postgraduate research programs) or equivalent approves the postgraduate research course/unit, the proposal is sent as an email attachment to the executive officer/secretary of the responsible sub-committee of faculty board (normally the postgraduate research programs committee, or equivalent).

Any changes made to the document must first have been confirmed by the proposer.

C7 The responsible sub-committee of faculty board may either

approve the proposed postgraduate research course/unit, or

recommend changes.
where changes are recommended, the proposal is returned to the faculty manager for action according to specific faculty procedure.

C8 Following approval by the responsible sub-committee of faculty board, the executive officer/secretary notifies the faculty manager of the sub-committee’s approval. Alternatively, the responsible sub-committee of faculty board recommends changes, which are similarly transmitted to the faculty manager.

C9 Once the postgraduate research course/unit is approved by the responsible sub-committee of faculty board, the faculty manager of the managing faculty submits the proposal to:

the faculty board of the managing faculty, and

convenor, Steering Committee of the Research Graduate School Committee (via the manager, Monash Research Graduate School) and

any other associate dean responsible for research degrees (or equivalent) who may, because of potential overlap between the proposed postgraduate research course/unit and already established postgraduate research courses/units offered within their faculty, have an interest in the proposal.

C10 Faculty boards may either;

approve the proposed postgraduate research course/unit, or

recommend changes.

where changes are recommended by faculty board, the proposal must, once changes have been incorporated, be returned to the convenor, Steering Committee of the Research Graduate School Committee (via the manager, Monash Research Graduate School).

C11 The executive officer/secretary to faculty board, if not the faculty manager, advises the faculty manager of the approval of the proposed postgraduate research course/unit to be reported to Research Graduate School Committee for approval.

C12 The convenor of the Research Graduate School Committee’s Steering Committee, as well as any other associate dean (postgraduate research programs) or equivalent, to whom the proposal was sent, confirms via email to the relevant officer of the faculty that the proposed postgraduate research course/unit conforms to university policy.