1. Academic Board Meeting PRESENTATION BY THE DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIESMasud Behnia14/5/03

2. Go8 Student Load (EFTSU) 2002 Ave = 20.8% ASIAWEEK (2000) Top 10 Ave = 24.6%

3. Go8 Student Load & FTE Staff Ave = 13.9 2.9 Stanford 10.2 5.4

4. Go8 Res Student Load & FTE Staff Ave = 42% 1.2

5. International $ Comparison Australia Go8 universities 12,341 Canada (UBC, Toronto) 15,376 Korea (Chongnam, Seoul) 17,521 UK (13 leading universities) 21,886 UK (Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL) 32,720 USA (eight state universities) 35,162 Hong Kong (four universities) 37,965 Japan (six leading universities) 56,190 Average = 30,683 Go8 Funding = 40% of Average Australia’s Go8 Funding Revenue/student ($US) Adjusted for purchasing price parity (PPP)

6. PG Student Surveys • Postgrad Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ) • Sydney Uni pilot survey (2002) for current research students [Student Research Higher Degree Questionnaire –SREQ] 1530 students (48%) SREQ focuses on • Supervision (e.g. “Supervision is available when I need it”) • Infrastructure (e.g. “I have access to a suitable working space”) • Climate (e.g. “A good seminar program for postgraduate students is provided”) • Generic Skills (e.g. “Doing my research has developed my ability to plan my own work”) • Overall Satisfaction

7. PREQ Go8 Comparison

8. PREQ Go8 Comparison

9. PREQ Go8 Comparison

10. SREQ 2002 - University

11. SREQ 2002 - Colleges

12. SREQ 2002 - Colleges

13. SCEQ 2002 - University

14. SCEQ 2002 - Colleges

15. SCEQ 2002 - Colleges

16. SCEQ – University Trends

17. Research Students’ Needs • Infrastructure • Resources • Human • Material • Climate & environment • Processes • Policies, rules & regulations • Transparency

18. University Resources • Office accommodation • Computer, communication and internet facilities • Library facilities • Project-specific research facilities • Financial assistance • Postgraduate Research Support Scheme • Faculty-level funds • Grant-in-Aid • Supervisor is the KEY University resource provided to research students

19. Academic Board Reviews • Generally confirm the findings of SREQ & PREQ • High degree of satisfaction with supervision • Numerous positive comments in the reports • Few recommendations for better serving PG students’ needs in some faculties: • Communication • Rules & regulations, IP, financial assistance, staff, etc. • Integration • BroaderUniv community, departments, staff, induction • Resources • Accommodation, computer facilities, etc. • Staffing • Supervisor training, associate supervisor

20. In Summary • In general, the PG research students’ needs are well served by the University (high degree of overall satisfaction in SREQ) • There is room for improvement in areas of Infrastructure and Climate • There is a need for identifying best practices and implementing them across the University

21. What Is Being Done? • Direct communication of rules, regulations, availability of resources, etc. • Development of FlexSIS to include all relevant PG student data • Co-funded scholarships (>40 for semester 2, 2003) • University and department based induction programs for PG students (14 August 2003) • Postgraduate marketing