Accountability framework: the University's stakeholders
The University of Melbourne is accountable to all its stakeholders for the values it upholds, the mission it pursues and the goals and priorities it sets. It must also account for the quality of its policies, programs and academic performance, as well as for the financial well-being of the institution as a whole, and for maintaining the highest levels of probity in the conduct of its affairs.
The University accepts an overriding stewardship to future generations of students, scholars and other interested parties for the integrity of the institution as a place where the intellectual and cultural inheritance of humankind is valued, enriched, preserved and transmitted. As part of this stewardship, the University seeks to cherish and promote the general powers of the mind, and to uphold, question, criticise and advance the values of a just, liberal, diverse society.
This fundamental accountability transcends short-term exigencies of public opinion or public policy, requiring the University to be uncompromising in its adherence to he scholarly values of academic freedom, rational inquiry and unqualified respect for the truth. The University therefore prizes the institutional autonomy necessary to develop its own curricula, to determine its own standards for admission, progression and graduation, and to defend the freedom of scholars and students to advocate unpopular ideas and advance unconventional critiques of established beliefs, values, assumptions or paradigms. The University of Melbourne holds these profound responsibilities and accountabilities to define the very essence of a university.
The University also accepts more immediate responsibilities arising from its status as a major educational institution employing more than 6,000 staff, serving more than 40,000 students and, with an operating budget in excess of $1 billion, drawing on very considerable levels of public funding. These responsibilities involve regular and direct accountability to a range of interested parties, as set out below:
- 1.1 The University of Melbourne has a statutory accountability to the State of Victoria, including an obligation to report annually on its activities and performance.
- 1.2 It is accountable to the Federal Government, through the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) for the public funds it receives and compliance with the conditions on which they are allocated and for the implementation of any national higher education goals and priorities identified by the Commonwealth from time to time.
- 1.3 It is accountable to various Federal, State and municipal departments and regulatory agencies for a range of compliance requirements.
- 1.4 The University's international operations from time to time entail specific accountability obligations to governments and agencies outside Australia.
- 1.5 The University is accountable to all granting bodies, industry partners, sponsors, donors or other investors for the effective and timely discharge of any financial, contractual or other obligation entered into.
- 1.6 It is accountable to its graduates for the reputation and status of the awards they hold, and in consequence, for the overall strategic development of the University.
- 1.7 To its current students, the University must account for its responsibility to provide a rich teaching, leaning and research training environment in which support services and infrastructure are of the highest possible quality.
- 1.8 As an employer, it is accountable to its academic and general staff for creating the best possible working environment, promoting professional development and providing just rewards for their work.
- 1.9 It is accountable to the wider community, particularly in Melbourne and Victoria, but also nationally and internationally, for advancing the economic, social, educational and cultural welfare of society.