In The Age (02/12/09) senior Arts Writer Ray Gill pointed to the importance of working with the University of Melbourne’s (UoM) Discussion Paper on VCA despite its flaws.

SAVE VCA encourage all staff, students, alumni, VCA parents and industry to make a submission to the Review, remembering you dont have to follow any particular format and you can choose to focus on your own area of interest. You can make a personal submission, as a business, as a collective (e.g. VCA Production 1st Year Students) etc.

SAVE VCA will publish sample submissions shortly which you can personalise, but in general terms your submission should include:

1. VCA NOW: If you are a student or staff member, give the Review Committee a sense of what has been lost post-merger and how this has affected you.
2. VCA FUTURE – CURRICULUM: Should VCA be 100% practical or liberal arts (aka Melbourne Model) or another combination? Be as specific as possible e.g. the number of contact hours, term length, how many students in a class, how many studio vs lecture classes, how much private tuition. See Discussion Paper pages 21-22.
3. VCA FUTURE – STRUCTURE: Should VCA remain a Faculty of UoM or demerge (aka back to pre 2007) or become completely independent (heavily reliant on the Rudd Government considering VCA for Arts Ministry funding like NIDA)? See Discussion Paper pages 27-28.
4. VCA FUTURE – MISSION: What should VCA do? What should it give its students? What should the outcomes be? What do they need in order to be able to get work? What does the industry need of graduates? What is required of VCA to make the best contribution to the Arts economy? What should VCA be offering that is unique in Melbourne?
5. PERSONAL GOALS: It is extremely important the Review Committee understand your area of interest e.g. if you are talent agent, explain if you think the Melbourne Model will affect graduate quality. If you are an arts business, explain to what degree you are reliant on VCA graduate quality and numbers. If you are a film student, explain why sessional teachers are important to you being able to get work. etc etc.

If you make a submission, we would love to publish it on savevca.org for others to read. Just email it to us at savevca@savevca.org.

The Discussion Paper can be found here. We suggest you also read the SAVE VCA brief which gives more detail on the status of VCA at present.

In the coming weeks SAVE VCA will attempt to get some clarity from UoM on the major queries with the Discussion Paper including:

• TIMING: Should the 12/02/2010 submission deadline be extended so it falls due after students are back on campus in 2010 so they have more chance to work on submissions together?

• INDEPENDENCE: The Review Committee is hand-picked by the Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis and the Dean Sharman Pretty. Will the University consider some compromise to allow the 5 staff and 2 student representatives to be elected by the staff and student bodies respectively? It is also unclear whether the “one University academic from outside VCAM” need be a UoM employee?

• TRANSPARENCY: Will all submissions be published on the Discussion Paper website in a timely manner? The Review Committee’s final report is submitted to the Vice Chancellor and the Dean – will it simultaneously be made public?

• IMPLEMENTATION: The recommendations of the Review Committee must be approved by the VCA Integration Committee. The three public members of the Advisory Board resigned this year and the University website says the Advisory Board member roles in the Integration Committee are not filled . Who is on this Committee? Are they independent?

• GOVERNMENT: There is no active engagement with Government in the review process nor is there a formal opportunity for the Victorian and Federal Governments to give a response. What is the University doing to engage Governments in this Review, especially if extra funding is being sought (either through reversing the 2005 $5m p/a funding cut, moving VCA from the Education to the Arts Ministry like NIDA or seeking State Government support like the WA Government give to WAAPA)?

• LIMITATIONS IN SCOPE: A glaring omission in the Discussion Paper process is any request for feedback on curriculum content. Only structures are offered up for discussion. Staff, students, and industry should be encouraged to detail what they believe are standard benchmarks in terms of (1) how many contact hours are necessary (2) how long should courses run, (3) what percentage should be practical, (4) how many students should be in a class etc. The Review Committee need this information to work out what curriculum and financial structure is appropriate. Will the University issue a call for this information?

• OMISSIONS: Will the University consider supplying an supplementary document explaining the new financial arrangements imposed on VCA since the merger, most particularly the rental scheme (which saw VCA pay $6m in rent to UoM in 2009 for assets it owned pre merger) and the “responsible division management” of staff? This information is critically important when considering whether VCA would be best to operate as a Faculty of UoM, demerge or becoming independent.

• UNREASONABLE EXPECTATIONS: Many questions posed by the Discussion Paper require knowledge well beyond that supplied in the paper. For instance, without seeing VCA’s budget, the budgets for each discipline and having an idea of VCA’s running costs in a demerged environment, how can a respondent answer “if an independent VCA operating with the FEE-HELP program is established how will the corresponding significant increase in student fees be avoided” (question 14, page 26)?  Will the University commission an independent financial review of the College to operate in tandem with the Discussion Paper, staffed by experts in the field, to present a range of researched options that lay people can understand?

• GENERAL QUERIES:

1. Are the Review Committee being paid?
2. Will all Review Committee members have equal weight in putting forth recommendations? Will recommendations have to be unanimously endorsed?
3. On page 3 the statement is made “in recent years there have been substantial changes to the structure and governance of the way visual and performing arts courses have been offered in the city of Melbourne.” What is this statement based on?
4. On page 21, “Option 1” Music Theatre is considered a viable practical degree (undergraduate) and practical diploma (post graduate). However, in “Option 2” (page 22), Music Theatre disappears as an option. What makes Music Theatre Melbourne Model “non-friendly”? Conversely, on what basis are the remaining courses deemed Melbourne Model “friendly”?
5. Should the VCA become independent, there is no mention in the document as to what would happen to the $103m worth of VCA assets UoM inherited at merger. There is also no mention of the cost UoM would charge VCA for UoM-owned land rental (the Drama and Arts buildings sit on UoM land).
6. On page 24 the Melbourne Model is presented as a revenue raising facility, whereby non-VCAM students are lured to study their breadth subjects at VCAM. Is this appropriate to be considered in this Review process?
7. Considering the highly controversial tenure of the new Dean Sharman Pretty, will there be any consideration of whether the current VCAM leadership should be reviewed?

As soon as we get answers from the University on the above, we’ll post them here. Alternatively, we invite the University to directly post their responses below.

Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Former Telstra CEO

In an move that is polarising opinion, UoM have appointed former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski to Chair the VCA Review Committee.

Ziggy has never worked as an artist, nor as an artist educator, nor had a he run an arts business, but he does have exposure to non-UoM opinions through his role at the Australian Major Performing Arts Group. He has also had a very successful corporate career and headed a review into the nuclear industry. Perhaps it’s good to have someone who can come to VCA with fresh eyes? Or is he not qualified for this crucial role? What do you think? Post your comments below

We wait to see who will form the rest of the Review Committee as to whether UoM are really interested in giving Mr Switkowski and Ms Delahunty colleagues from a range of viewpoints

You can read the University of Melbourne Press Release here

You can also read a recent article from  09-11-26 in The Age

The Cover of the discussion Paper

It’s taken seven months of pressure to force a formal consultation process out of Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis and VCAM Dean Sharman Pretty.

Only problem is they will be playing judge and jury in the “discussion”.

SAVE VCA welcome the University of Melbourne (UoM) finally opening up discussion about the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) to the wider Arts Community as well as to students, staff and alumni. It is also encouraging that some staff recommendations about the composition of the Review Committee have been acknowledged in the document.

However let us not forget the only reason this Discussion Paper exists is because of the seven-month backlash against the UoM changes.

Now UoM want the VCA community to entrust the moderation of discussion to an organisation which has already shown high disregard for VCA’s staff, students and Victoria’s arts business. And considering the ongoing conflicts in the Law, Business, Economics and Arts faculties, SAVE VCA feels it is reasonable to be sceptical about this consultation process, especially as the result is ratified by the VCAM Integration Committee (the same Committee from which the Chair and two other highly regarded members resigned this year).

It is also hard to escape that reality that VCA is in crisis now and it’s because of the UoM. We’ve gone beyond a Discussion Paper. We need the Federal and State Governments to urgently step in to not only safeguard VCA’s courses and funding, but Australia’s arts business:

Students are voting against the Melbourne Model with VTAC first-preference applications down 27% (The Australian 11/11/09 ).

• Victoria is losing arts industry jobs and business now because of UoM’s mishandling of VCA. UoM has cut off the supply of Music Theatre and Puppetry graduates to the ‘arts capital of Australia’ without notice. Ironically VCA’s Music Theatre course was developed after extensive industry consultation and it was the first course UoM cut – clearly the opinions of industry are not held in high regard.
• Even this week The Age reported West Side Story will buck the trend and open in Sydney. VCA is the epicentre of Victoria’s arts business and it is being left to the wolves.
• A National Tertiary Education Union run survey taken by approximately a quarter of VCAM Southbank staff showed 40% are seeking to leave VCA within a year. VCA is facing a huge and immediate teaching talent drain.

FURTHER OBERSEVATIONS:

• The “independence” of the Discussion Paper is highly suspect. How independent is an “Independent Chair” and his/her Review Committee if they are all “appointed by the Vice-Chancellor in consultation with the Dean of VCAM?”
• There is no mention of whether the highly controversial tenure of the new Dean Sharman Pretty should/will be reviewed. Many would argue there is no point in discussing anything with the current Dean at the helm.
• All the changes done to date (e.g. Puppetry & Music Theatre being axed and staff cuts) are not mentioned in the document. Is UoM embarrassed of its management of VCA to date?
• Nothing has changed in the UoM attitude to VCA. VCA is still presented as ungrateful child that has rudely questioned its parent’s wisdom:

“The VCA affiliation turned into a significant financial disadvantage for other University of Melbourne students. Millions of dollars in teaching income earned from enrolling students at the University have become cross subsidies to the VCA and then the Southbank campus of VCAM. As these student places were already under-funded without this added cost, it would benefit University of Melbourne students if this money could be used as originally intended.”

The above statement is also highly defensive and conveniently forgets the $103million of VCA assets UoM inherited and that three other UoM Faculties are also cross-subsidised. There is also no discussion of the UoM rental and administration cost system which is the major financial drain on the VCA.

• The tone of the Discussion Paper gives a very obvious sense of what the result of the Review will be. The most obvious solution to VCA’s is independence from UoM, but this is demonised and does not factor in perusing funding from the Arts Ministry (like NIDA):

“The risk to the University itself would be low; the risk to the training of students through many of the current VCAM programs and the wellbeing of the existing VCAM staff would be significant.”

The Discussion Paper is box ticking. It’s no mistake this document was launched to the media whilst most students have already ended classes for the year. The UoM have bought themselves another 6 months in the hope staff, students and industry will simply get war weary. It also means the UoM have deflected the Government’s ability to become involved because UoM can say they are “consulting”. All this at a time when VCA can least afford to delay in clawing back its reputation and arts business need urgent certainty on the supply of graduate quantity and quality.

Read the highly subjective UoM Discussion Paper “Defining The Future” document here (http://vcam.unimelb.edu.au/discussion/)

Meanwhile, Sharman Pretty has tried to sell the Discussion Paper on ABC Radio, to listen, click here

As always, comments welcomed below and at facebook.com/savevca

Glyn Davis and PM Kevin Rudd

Save VCA campaigner and VCA Music Theatre Alumni Scott Dawkins corrects the UoM “correction”

See the article in full here 09-09-11 Crikey.pdf

Hear the 06/11/09 Glyn Davis / Jon Faine (mentioned in the Crikey article) here

Elizabeth Bare - Head of University Services

Crikey.com reveal Elizabeth Baré, the head of university services, will call time on her 20-year career at the institution, as controversy rages over her implementation of “responsible division management”.

Crikey

Crikey also reveal VCA staff survey showed 40% of VCA staff would quit their positions rather than deal with further rationalisation directives from new dean Sharman Pretty. At the same meeting, 84% per cent of staff expressed a vote of no-confidence in Pretty.

Articles can be found as follows:

Was Melbourne Model stoush behind the Law dean’s departure?

Ill will across Melbourne uni claims another victim

Front Page of the Industry Document

In a response to frequent requests for detailed information about the status of VCA particularly from Arts Businesses, SAVE VCA have produced a document which gives readers “the full story” all in one place. Indeed many VCA staff and students will find some of the information new, such is the difficulty in getting detailed information from the University of Melbourne and from Dean Sharman Pretty. If you don’t have time to read the whole document, there is a two page Executive Summary (in the PDF below).

You will find a full copy of this document here > SaveVCA Information for the Arts

The seven-metre-high King Kong being built by CTC at a workshop in West Melbourne. The finished creature will be controlled by 70 motors.

The company employs 32 full- time staff and has had 14 VCA graduates working in its puppet fabrication department. The company expects to employ 60 people on its King Kong project by next year.

But Mr Tilders said the company’s future in Melbourne and Australia was ”potentially capped” by the lack of talented creative staff it could draw on. ”This is one of our biggest issues; we need people with the skills and practical experience, but also the sensitivity to this genre,” Mr Tilders said. Read on…

From “Brumby spurns calls for financial help to VCA“, The Age Newspaper 27-08-09

THE State Government has rejected calls to provide a financial lifeline to the Victorian College of the Arts in the face of growing opposition to its merger with Melbourne University.

With a high-profile delegation of former arts ministers to meet the university’s vice-chancellor Glyn Davis tomorrow to voice their concerns, Jeff Kennett has called for Premier John Brumby to step in. Read on…