MGSE staff news

Messages from the Office of the Dean

Download the messages sent to all staff in the last fortnight that you may have missed:

1. 27/2/20 - OOTD#7 Conflict of Interest
2. 03/03/20- OOTD#8 Academic Promotion Round 2020
3. 04/03/20- OOTD#9 Covid-19 University Travel Advice to Staff
4. 06/03/20- OOTD#2 and 10 Reminder: MGSE International Women's Day Morning Tea
5. 09/03/20 - OOTD#11 Covid-19 Updated Advice on Travel
6. 09/03/20 - OOTD#12 Senior Leadership Opportunities at MGSE - Deputy Dean & Associate Dean Engagement
7. 11/03/20 - OOTD #13 All Welcome to the MGSE Footy Tipping Competition

COVID-19: Supporting students

In recognition of the impact experienced by some of our students affected by COVID-19 and associated travel restrictions, the University is offering a student support package to support students to commence or return to study. This includes support grants which are intended to help students with unanticipated expenses incurred as a result of the travel restrictions related to COVID-19. Eligible expenses include accommodation costs, fees associated with unrecoverable flight changes, additional costs associated with the 14-day self-isolation period, and upgrading technology to facilitate flexible learning. The total amount payable to each student will be determined based on their individual level of impact and actual costs incurred.

For more information on these grants and other support measures, see the student FAQs page.

Air conditioning in 100 Leicester Street

Following recent consultation with staff to collate feedback on air conditioning through all levels of 100 Leicester Street, a number of broad issues were identified with the building’s air conditioning systems.

After discussion with the University’s mechanical engineers and air conditioning mechanics, we will be taking a phased approach to rectify these issues. Firstly, changes have been made to air conditioning controls throughout the building. All manual control points have been disabled and locked to the University standard of 22 degrees, auto and low fan.

Systems will still utilise the thermostat to reach 22 degrees. This should balance systems across the floor and prevent fluctuations in temperature and air flow. Should staff continue to experience issues with air conditioning on their floor, a ticket should be logged with facilities using this form.

Secondly, after the systems have balanced the mechanics will investigate these issues, making a quick fix where possible or recommending a broader change to the design of the system. Where changes to system design are recommended, this will be reported to affected staff along with timelines for rectification.

To prevent fluctuations in temperature, manual control of units will not be re-instated. This will balance temperatures across spaces and is consistent with University practice. Please direct any further queries to mgse-resadmin@unimelb.edu.au.

MGSE Footy Tipping Competition

The footy tipping competition will run again this year in order to have some fun, frivolity and friendly banter.  Join the competition by visiting: footytips.com.au/ and click on the 'I want to join a competition' tab then search for the competition 'MGSE' and join.

If you were involved last year and you can't remember your log in and password, you can reset them at the Footy Tipping page.

It costs $25 to join, please deposit the fee into the following account:

Account name: Footy Tipping
BSB: 063157
Account Number: 1074 1520

When depositing the money please include your name and avoid nicknaming the deposit 'Footy tipping' as it will not be clear who deposited the money.

There will be money prizes for the best tipper every few weeks. At the end of the season, the top three tippers will also receive money. Once the season has started organiser James Vassilopolos will update all competitors in the MGSE newsletter.

Feel free to pass on this message to invite family, friends or anyone part of the broader MGSE community.

Join the MGSE Go Green team

MGSE Go Green is currently recruiting new team members for the Green Impact Initiative in 2020. This initiative is a behavior change and engagement program that supports staff and students, in teams, to become more sustainable in their workplace. Whether you have a lot or a little time, Green Impact is for you. If you think you can contribute a little bit (or a lot) to make MGSE more sustainable, please reach out and join the team in 2020. MGSE Go Green has achieved Bronze and Silver levels in 2018 and 2019 and is aiming to smash the Gold level in 2020. For more information, check out the Green Impact page and see what’s involved. To join please email Pian Zhang at pian.zhang@unimelb.edu.au before Friday 13 March.

Applications for the 2020 UoM Excellence Awards now open

The University of Melbourne Excellence Awards are back with applications now open. The awards recognise the outstanding achievements of academic and professional staff in the key areas of research, teaching, engagement, professional excellence and strategic priorities. Applications will remain open until Monday 18 May and information about the awards is available on the Melbourne CSHE website. For any queries email Nina Grange or call 8344 1121.

Significant delays in the delivery of new computers

Supply chain disruptions from chip supplier Intel, compounded by the COVID-19 impact on Chinese manufacturers, continues to affect the delivery of new computers to the University. The supply of computers in Australia is contracting and orders for new computers are severely affected, with uncertain supply timelines. Staff are advised that orders could take up to three months to fulfil until the supply-chain normalises. This is so the University can retain stock and allocate it to those most in need, including new starters and replacing non-functional computers.

Staff are still encouraged to place orders for new computers as they need them, so stock can be managed and allocated as the situation develops. Contact the Service Centre by submitting a ticket or calling 8344 0888.

A Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, in collaboration with the Assessment Research Centre, has developed a Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics. The Guide and associated professional learning modules are accessible to all teachers. These materials will support teachers to integrate formative assessment practices and identify what students know and can do, and what they are ready to learn next.

Pam Robertson and Narelle English directed the formative assessment work for the Authority, supported by Dr Jason Pietzner and Dr Jane Strickland.

New initiative: Global scholarships and fellowships

A selection of the world's leading scholarship and fellowship opportunities are being promoted as part of a new initiative by the Scholarships Office in collaboration with Chancellery Research and Enterprise. The awards are offered by major funding organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, and include the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions, Australia to USA Education scholarships, Rhodes scholarships and David Phillips fellowships.

Over 30 awards are featured with application dates, key eligibility criteria and benefits. These prestigious funding opportunities are appropriate to all levels of research and cover all areas of academic enquiry offered by the University. Explore the potential for a global experience working within academic communities at the forefront of research, funded by major sponsors and donors.

Join the Strong Women Network at MU Sport

Melbourne University Sport is currently recruiting mentors to be part of the Strong Women Network in 2020. The Strong Women Network is an exciting mentoring program which will match current women student-athletes with women from the University community. The Network will enable women student-athletes to develop crucial leadership and vocational skills, networks and career pathway opportunities through mentorship and professional workshops held at the University. University staff with experience in sport are encouraged to apply. For any enquiries contact: strong-women@unimelb.edu.au

Myki Commuter Club

The Myki Commuter Club new application period has now opened: Sunday 1 March - Saturday 14 March. Visit the Transport Knowledge Base article for more information. For any further enquiries call Campus Services on 8344 6000 or email myki-commuterclub@unimelb.edu.au

Free digital subscription to Herald Sun and The Australian

The University's newspaper collection now includes digital access to The Australian and the Herald Sun. This includes on and off campus unrestricted digital access to the Herald Sun and The Australian, editorial newsletters for updates throughout the day (including The Australian's Higher Education newsletter), email alerts for breaking news, and a custom curated monthly newsletter for UoM subscribers from The Australian.

Using eTextbooks in subjects

You can now enable students to easily buy eTextbooks through your LMS subject. Two platforms which enable this  – VitalSource and Perusall – are available for academics to use. Perusall has the extra benefit of additional collaborative reading functionality to enhance your teaching.  Please visit the eTextbook webpage for more information.

Canvas: Preparing your subject for students affected by travel restrictions

The Learning Environments team has developed a self-paced learning module for staff wanting to enhance their Canvas subjects to meet the needs of students affected by travel restrictions. You can access this module by enrolling in 'Canvas: Learn at your own pace' and clicking on the module 'Canvas: Preparing your subject for students affected by travel restrictions'.

New fee payment sanctions in Canvas (LMS)

From May 2020, the University will be reporting student data to the Federal Government on a fortnightly basis to meet the new TCSI reporting requirements. To ensure student data is ready for reporting, the TCSI project team has been working with key stakeholders to implement new fee sanctions in Canvas (LMS) to encourage students to pay their fees on time. From March 2020 when Canvas is implemented for Semester 1, the following fee sanctions will appear when fees are due or overdue:

• Warning sanction - After the fee payment due date a warning sanction will appear in Canvas (LMS). This warning sanction will notify students they have fees owing and to please pay them immediately. This sanction will not restrict access to enrolment or content in Canvas.
• Block sanction (CSP) - If fees remain unpaid by three days after the census date, Commonwealth supported students (CSP) who are required to pay upfront will receive a block sanction, applied to each unpaid subject in Canvas. The block sanction will be removed if the fees are paid within nine days after the census date. If fees are not paid within nine days after the census date, students will be withdrawn from any unpaid subjects. As per the current process, a student's enrolment will be cancelled (due to an incomplete enrolment) if they are no longer enrolled in any subjects.
• Block sanction (international students) - The block sanction will be applied to each unpaid subject in Canvas 20 working days after the payment due date and will be removed if fees are paid within 14 days. If fees are not paid within 14 days after the block sanction is applied the student's enrolment will be cancelled.

Please note: A solution to ensure these new measures do not apply to students who are unable to arrive on campus due to the Australian Government's current travel restrictions from China is being considered. More information about key activities and timelines for the implementation of the TCSI reporting requirements is available on the TCSI Project website.

Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is about to be introduced in phases to all University of Melbourne staff and students. MFA is a response to the significant increase in cyber-crime globally and will act as an additional layer of protection when logging into key University applications. MFA will help protect user accounts against compromises and potential data loss or identity theft.

This type of security is widely used, and you may have already experienced it when accessing online banking or government services. With a pilot successfully completed, the University has rolled-out the deployment of the next group of staff-facing applications. These applications include: Thycotic Secret Server, Salesforce Portal (staff only), PageUp, Cisco AnyConnect VPN (administrators only) and Travel Portal.

As of 2 March, the first change users of these applications will see is a new login page. The username and password fields will not be pre-filled, so users will need to type them in. This will be followed with the gradual introduction of MFA to a small cohort of users of these applications. Once MFA is turned on, users will need to verify their identity the first time they login. From there, they will be prompted to confirm their identity as required. To be ready for MFA, we recommend you pre-enrol your smartphone by following these directions.

Detailed instructions are available on Knowledge Base article KB0021449. If you have any problems enrolling for MFA or logging into an application, please contact the Service Centre on 40888.

Works on a world-class Parkville student precinct have commenced

The Project includes nine buildings and will deliver 37,300m of new or refurbished internal and external building and landscape space. A signature project of the University’s Reconciliation Action Plan 3, the Project will deliver on a number of key University strategies including the Sustainability Plan 2016 – 2020 and Food and Retail Strategy. Uniquely, the Project has also benefited from the contributions of over 15,000 students who have influenced the direction of the Precinct through our co-creation approach.

The Precinct has been designed by a consortium of architects and landscape designers, led by Lyons Architecture. Kane Constructions has been appointed to build the Precinct, with construction commencing in February 2020:

March 2020 – September 2020 Refurbishment of 1888 Building (January 2020 Graduate Student Association relocated to Doug McDonell building)

April 2020 Demolition of Alice Hoy Building.  Optometry and Vision Sciences to relocate out of Alice Hoy prior to Easter break.

28 June 2020 – September 2021 Eastern Resource Centre inaccessible due to redevelopment.  Essential resources for Semester 2 2020, Semester 1 and 2 2021 will be located and accessible to students in other libraries on Parkville campus.  Scholarly Services staff will communicate with subject coordinators to ensure that all prescribed and recommended text books, readings, and other resources are easily accessible by students during this period.  All other ERC resources will be located in off-site storage and accessible via request to all staff and students.  Specific information will be channelled to affected faculties, schools, departments as project proceeds.  

July 2020 – November 2021 construction of new Arts and Culture Centre

July 2020 – July 2021 construction new Student Pavilion.