University of New England Annual Report 2019 Letter of submission University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 April 2020 The Hon. Geoff Lee, Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education. c/o the Higher Education and Tertiary Policy Directorate NSW Department of Education Level 11, 1 Oxford Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Dear Minister, In accordance with the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984, and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, the University of New England Council presents to you the annual report of the proceedings of the University and its audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019. Mr James Harris Chancellor Brigid Heywood Vice-Chancellor and CEO Table of Contents MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR 2 VICE-CHANCELLOR'S YEAR IN REVIEW 3 ABOUT UNE 6 STUDENT NUMBERS 7 STRATEGIC PLAN 2016-2020: TOGETHER, WE CAN DO THIS 8 OPERATIONAL REPORT 9 GOVERNANCE 16 WORKPLACE 28 FINANCE 34 ACCESS ARRANGEMENTS 38 FINANCIAL REPORTS 39 Annual Report 2019 1 Message from the Chancellor ↑ James Harris It is my great pleasure to commend year in a row – a record unmatched by Chancellor to you the 2019 Annual Report of the any other Australian public university. UNE University of New England (UNE). Our engagement projects, such as the UNE It has been a tumultuous year for higher Boilerhouse Discovery Space, have enjoyed education with the sector experiencing strong support from the community and ongoing budget pressures, movement other benefactors throughout the year. towards performance-based funding as well as In late 2018, Vice-Chancellor Professor unprecedented environmental hardship brought Annabelle Duncan announced that she about by an ongoing drought and bushfires would be standing down in 2019. I extend my that have impacted so many of our students. thanks to her and the role she has played in However, amongst the chaos emerged leading the University during her tenure. opportunities such as the rise of lifelong learning After an extensive global search, UNE appointed and an ever-evolving job market. Through a new Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Professor our bespoke course offerings and flexible Brigid Heywood, in 2019. In the short time approach to learning UNE delivers education Professor Heywood has been at UNE, we have products that meet these emerging needs. experienced evidence of her strong leadership, The quality of our research was tested against capacity for innovation and passion for quality international standards under Excellence in education. I look forward to working closely Research for Australia, and we returned our with Professor Heywood in 2020 and beyond. best results yet. UNE has also experienced UNE continues to grow as an institution growth in research funding and impact, which and I thank Council and their committees, enabled us to deliver a positive impact to the senior management team, staff and the communities regionally, nationally and globally. University community whose persistent We continued to streamline our admission hard work have contributed to the positive processes and learning pedagogies, attracting outcomes detailed in this report. more students to our quality online education I look forward to the challenges and courses. The University again scored five opportunities that 2020 will bring. stars for student satisfaction, for the 14th 2 University of New England Vice-Chancellor's Year in Review ↑ Professor Brigid Heywood The University of New England (UNE) We will have a diverse funding Vice-Chancellor and CEO progressed through 2019 and achieved base in order to guarantee UNE significant outcomes despite a number excellence in teaching, learning, of impactful political, environmental research and innovation. and structural challenges. These successes are grounded in the recognised The commitment of directed effort to quality of our student support systems. The our strategic plan, Together we can do this national Good Universities Guide reported 2016-2020 has borne fruit with sustained UNE’s outstanding performance as a modern growth, progress with the progressive values-centred, outcomes-focused tertiary development of online provision and the education institution across all domains of advancement of our international portfolio. student support (including exemplary measures Student numbers saw measured growth for graduate outcomes, starting salaries, social with a 10% increase in enrolments. An equity teaching quality and learning resources). increase in Aboriginal and Torres Islander Data aggregated for the new Performance students candidates of 19% enhanced the Based Funding model introduced by the Federal diversity of our student community, while Government provided similar feedback. our international student recruitment grew Retention and progression remains an issue by 26%. UNE’s international student program with UNE ranked below standard benchmarks. grew in both inbound student numbers The diversity of our student community and and offshore registered students supported our relatively large distance cohort makes through partnering arrangements. retention a particular challenge for UNE. UNE successfully bid for funds to develop When coupled with the impact of our regional Destination Australia scholarships, with catchment and the unique challenges facing the Federal Government awarding us 59 rural, remote, and mature age students it is scholarships to attract more international and then clear we must advance our pedagogic domestic students to study in regional Australia. responses to the needs of these cohorts if we The first students graduated from our new are to meet our responsibility as an educator. bespoke degree programme and the number of full fee paying students has increased. Annual Report 2019 3 The outcomes of the 2018 Excellence in Research Napthine Review, which raised the agenda for Australia (ERA) exercise demonstrated the regional education, the Coaldrake Review which quality and impact of research at UNE. As a small opened up a new conversation about university regional university, our approach has been to status, and the introduction of Performance focus on research that is relevant to geography, Based Funding, all created challenges place and community. Our goal is to resolve real matched by new opportunities for UNE. problems and add value to Australia. The result, based on independent feedback from our peers, We will connect with our is that across all key knowledge domains UNE students for life. We will build rated at or above the applicable international enduring, global partnerships standards. Nationally, the impact of UNE’s with industry, professions, research and the quality of our knowledge business and government. transfer partnerships were highly rated. Growth in competitive grant funding and our success Our renewed engagement with the local in securing major research partnership funding community and the refresh of our relationships provide further testament to our growing with our civic partners in Armidale, Tamworth authority as a valued research partner. and Sydney was also a priority action in 2019. Our new ‘Town with Gown’ model is an important We will achieve international addition to the engagement strategy and distinction in research in our chosen allowed UNE to focus more effectively on fields, which will positively impact how we might best serve our communities. and strengthen our communities. The launch of the Resilient Armidale forum and proposals for a New England Learning Region As UNE faces the next decade, the renewal, were all a part of our own more focused upgrading, and development of our complex commitment to support the region. The physical infrastructure remain a priority. The ongoing success of the UNE SMART Regional development of a 10-year rolling capital master Incubator (SRI) offers another dimension. planning exercise was a significant milestone With the burden of the drought and significant in 2019. Progress with key infrastructure impact of rampaging bush fires, UNE met and projects to secure a sustainable campus responded to new and exceptional challenges with a low carbon footprint began with the in 2019. The Armidale campus suffered greatly installation of phase one of the new solar under the burden of persistent drought farm, additional energy saving infrastructure conditions – some buildings were rendered linked to the colleges, and a committed effort unusable and the sports facilities were severely to manage water usage and catchment. affected. The new swimming pool cannot be filled until such time as water restrictions We will ensure our long term ease. The bush fires have also taken their resilience by improving flexibility, toll. In addition to the material devastation responsiveness, efficiency and of land and buildings in the region, UNE has reliability and through adopting coped with the re-assignment of over 80 staff best practice in all things we do. providing support as reservists. This quantum As the new Vice-Chancellor joining half way of expertise being removed at short notice through the year, my immediate task was to has affected several business areas. All of our calibrate the current strategic objectives and staff, students and alumni have been affected map their functional progress against both as part of communities subjected to ongoing internal resources and external opportunities. environmental duress. This all sounds very The 2019 Voice Survey indicated significant dramatic and indeed, at times, it has been so. issues with staff morale and confidence. Work Through it all the UNE