A Report on Alignment of Masters of Risk Management Course to Student Needs and Industry Trends

A Report on Alignment of Masters of Risk Management Course to Student Needs and Industry Trends Project Number 3148, 12th March 2008 Prepared for: Norm Wall, Group Manager, Marketing and Recruitment, Faculty of Business & Economics, Monash University and Michael Vincent, Course Leader Project Manager: Lachlan Drummond, Director Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Contents 3 5 9 10 11 16 19 29 34 39 51 61 70 84 88 Background Objectives Research Approach & Sample Main Findings Growth in Risk Management Drivers of Growth Issues in Risk Management Education Provider Awareness and Positioning Drivers of Study Attitudes Towards Monash Course Overall Reaction to Individual Units Reaction to Possible Course Change Suggestions for Changes and Improvements Conclusions Recommendations Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Background Background Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Background Master of risk management: Risk management is a growth area in the Australian economy as businesses have become more sophisticated in recognising and planning for risk related issues. The Master of Risk Management at Monash University has experienced growth since 2002. The course provides education in the area of risk management and related topics appropriate for practitioners seeking to meet professional education requirements or update their skills in specific risk management areas. Need for research: Whilst the course is successful, it has grown organically and without a clear understanding as to the needs, expectations and satisfaction of prospective and current students. Consequently, Monash University approached Chant Link & Associates to propose research aimed at understanding these issues among others, so that the Master of Risk Management is optimised for the student experience and enrolments. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Research Objectives Overall objective: Determine the needs, expectations and overall attitudes among key stakeholders to the Master of Risk Management and to provide Monash with insights that enables it to make decisions to maximise the success of the program and manage its direction. Specific objectives: To meet the overall objective, the following specific objectives were identified: Industry and provider related: • Identify overall industry trends and growth areas in Risk Management and the extent to which higher education overall and Monash specifically is addressing these trends; • Understand the extent and quality of Monash-industry engagement; • Determine industry awareness of the Master of Risk Management at Monash and attitudes to it including suggestions for improving quality of relationship and communications between industry and Monash. Industry and provider related, continued… • Identify other major providers of Master of Risk Management programs and the relative standing of each, including: • Strengths, weaknesses, positioning, reputations and how Monash compares to other providers. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Research Objectives … continued Specific objectives … continued Course related: Determine attitudes to the Master of Risk Management course overall and the units offered including: • Determine attitudes to course structure including strengths, weaknesses, satisfaction and suggestions for improvements and underlying reasons; • Identify strengths and weaknesses of each unit and the relative importance attached to each. For example: • How appropriate and valued is each unit and why? • Determine whether the content of each unit is appropriate; • Identify gaps in course and unit content. Are there any specific units that should be offered that are not (that would meet needs and industry trends)? • Determine the quality of the student experience overall and drivers and detractors of this; Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Research Objectives … continued Specific objectives … continued Course-related … continued Determine the importance of and preferences for other factors that impact on attitudes including (but not limited to): • Student cohort (Including aptitude, appropriate career levels and domestic and international student ratios); • Attitudes to and appropriateness of assessment; • Extent to which the course equipped students in their careers; • Entry requirements; • Fees; • Staffing; (current, desired) • Course structure; • Communications; • Facilities; • Study modes Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Research Objectives … continued Specific objectives … continued Strategic objectives: • Determine awareness of and opinions on current marketing communications. Identify preferences and suggestions for improvements; • Understand optimum course configuration for attracting students and improving the overall positioning; • Make recommendations to guide course content and structure; • Identify industries of relevance for targeting of future students; • Provide Monash with a ‘road map’ which guides the future development of the Master of Risk management including course content, structure and units offered. • Understand reactions to a possible shift in alignment more towards a GSB positioning and possibly away from an Accounting and Finance positioning. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Research Approach & Sample Structure Research method: As the objectives of this project related to understanding attitudes and underlying reasons for these attitudes, a qualitative depth interview approach was selected. Sample structure: 21 interviewees were recruited from a list of approximately 50 current students, sessional lecturers, alumni and industry leaders supplied by Monash. Interviews of approximately 45 minutes were conducted with students and alumni included a an even mix of male, female, domestic and international students. The interviews were conducted in December 2007. The following table illustrates the final sample structure. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Industry Trends Main Findings: Evolution & Issues in Risk Management Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Growth in Risk Management Growth in risk management:Participants viewed risk management as a fast-growing area, which had evolved substantially in the last 20 to 30 years. They noted the following key changes: • Increased level of importance: Business was perceived to place more importance on risk management as it came to understand the benefits of good risk management practices (and the implications of failure). Many participants reported senior management and boards beginning to embrace risk management, which influenced corporate behaviour as risk practices filtered down through management levels to the rest of the employees. “Every dog has it’s day and this profession is at the top now. It is high on organisational prominence.” “Risk Management is the current flavour. It is in the growth phase of a product life cycle. You can see it in ads for workplace safety, cooling towers and Legionnaire's Disease through to food poisoning.” • Broadening focus: Where traditionally risk management had focused on finance, insurance and loss prevention, its focus was now broadening to include end-to-end business processes. “Risk Management is now a broad church.” [Industry Leader, Banking & Finance] Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Growth in Risk Management…continued • More strategic and integrated into end-to-end business practice: Risk management processes were starting to permeate all aspects of business activities. Risk management was now becoming a way of doing business as opposed to simply a function. Many interviewees made comments to this effect: “Risk management is becoming integrated into business processes. You now need a [risk management] framework which drives your policies … like, procurement risk should [now] be part of your procurement policy.” “It is a company wide process. It is not solely a finance issue.” “In the current market most companies look at risk management in terms of financial risk management. However risk management has much more of an operational role in the organisation. It’s about control and implementing procedures across the business to be able to avoid risks.” “Five years ago nobody knew what risk management was, let alone had heard of a person who specialised as a risk manager. Today there is much wider knowledge.” “I think one of the main things that will happen in the industry is that there will be a move to see risk management as not being solely about financial or insurance type risks. I think that the leading organisations will see risk management as an integrated procedure that touches all parts of the company.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Growth in Risk Management…continued • Risk Management accepted as a “profession”: In the past, risk managers tended to “fall” into the job; there was a view that almost anyone could do risk management. Today, risk managers are expected to liaise with all levels within a business (e.g. from the board level down), anticipate situations and take a proactive approach to managing risk. Consequently, risk management had moved from a more peripheral function to a central role. This has had positive implications on the perceived importance and maturity of the profession. “Most organisations only consider risk management as moderately important. Until it is seen in terms of its critical nature, it will sit outside the more traditional professions. Slowly though, it is moving to be perceived at a strategic level.” “Given the focus of much of risk management on financial risk, many of the people in the industry are at least accounting degree qualified. I think that there will be a move toward specialisation in terms of degree qualification for risk managers as a result of the role being integrated across the company.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Growth in Risk Management…continued • Increased importance of qualifications: With the growth of risk management has come the need for employers to identify and appoint more qualified risk managers. Participants noted that there was now greater importance placed on risk management qualifications and appropriate experience. “You see advertisements for jobs in finance that state that they are seeking a CPA for instance, we are not seeing that in risk management yet. But I think as the market [employers] becomes more educated about the importance of risk management and the type of qualifications that are available, then we may start to see job advertisements requesting specific qualifications.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Growth in Risk Management…continued • More proactive, less reactive: Business has moved from perceiving risk management as a discipline to a profession. Previously, many organisations had taken an “operational” risk management approach and preferred to wait until action was needed or forced upon it. A number of participants commented that this focus on losses resulted in many lost business opportunities. Risk management was now providing opportunities to improve reputation and increase profits. One example provided was Qantas, which had been able to capitalise on its safety record, which had strong appeal to air travelers, particularly after 9/11. “In our industry the traditional approach to risk has been for some regulator to come along and find something wrong, fine us, and then we fix it. Since I started in this job we have not had one fine, and we have not had one large exposure… in fact this year we expected a 30% increase in our insurance premiums and because of our risk management plans we actually received only about a 5% increase.” [Alumni, Racing Industry] “ … risk management became about how do you grasp opportunities. Suddenly risk was no longer negative risk, just doom and gloom, it had opportunity as well as protection from loss.“ [Industry Leader] Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Growth Drivers of risk management growth: As noted, risk management has experienced a period of strong growth. Participants noted a variety of reasons for the growth of risk management. The key drivers were: • High profile corporate failures: Widespread publicity of high profile failures in the late 1990s and early 2000s (e.g. WorldCom, Enron and HIH) had highlighted the possible impacts of poor risk management. Participants noted that the far reaching impacts of such failures (e.g. substantial financial losses, damage to reputation, and in some cases corporate collapses and criminal charges) provided a strong incentive to effectively manage risk. “This generated a whole focus of the community to stop businesses doing whatever they wanted to do!.. One example is Enron…” [Alumni, Banking & Finance] • Increasing litigation: There was also a general view that society was becoming more litigious, and organisations were taking steps to protect their businesses from harmful actions. • Strong global economic growth: General economic growth and boom meant that organisations had grown quickly and had to have processes in place to manage the increased levels of risk. Additionally, as organisations grew, there was more at stake should anything go wrong. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Growth … continued • Global risk: A perceived increase in terrorism had contributed to a greater awareness of risk and a broadening of the elements of risk to be considered. The risk of terrorism had made risk avoidance or mitigation much more critical, particularly as human lives and expensive assets were at stake (in addition to possible financial losses). • Increasing personal liability: There was a perception of an increased risk of executive liability. Where individuals perceived a personal risk, they were more likely to focus on and enforce risk management policies and process. “In the US hundreds of Directors have gone to jail. I know of a $10 million law suit from shareholders. These things scare boards into taking risk seriously.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Growth … continued • Regulatory drivers: Regulatory drivers were increasing, particularly as more legislation was introduced (e.g. Corporations Act in 2001). At the time of the fieldwork, some participants were implementing processes to comply with recently introduced Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) legislation, and this required a high level of expertise from Risk Managers in interpreting legislative requirements and rolling out new processes. Others also talked about risk being incorporated into Standards Australia and the Australian Stock Exchange Principles of Good Corporate Governance, all of which contributed to greater adoption in the private sector. “The government is the insurer of last resort and they don’t want to have to pick up the pieces and fund large losses.” “ … companies now have risk management committees, because they are required to by legislation…” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management Current issues confronting risk managers:Participants identified a number of key issues confronting risk management professionals, which they believed required specific skill sets, which possibly represented opportunities for providers of risk management education: • Climate change: A few participants were very passionate about the impact of climate change on business, and how important it was for risk managers to account for this. Businesses now needed to factor in risks associated with global temperature changes, drought, flooding just to being with. Some participants also noted that there were opportunities that astute businesses could take advantage of once the risk was identified (e.g. more efficient cars or cars which used renewable resources was a growth area). “The other thing that we need to look at is the role of risk management in planning for climate change and all the problems that go with that … now Emergency Management Australia and the Charles Sturt University have started to address that …” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued • Outcomes not always tangible: It was often difficult to sell the benefits of risk management to senior management, as the cost benefit to business was not always apparent. Risk Managers needed to understand how to effectively communicate with Boards (which some participants noted preferred quantifiable reporting methods). “I can’t tell people how may risks I prevented this year, which makes it difficult to sell internally. Risk Management is working well when nothing happens!” “There is that perception in industry that risk management is about sorting out lose ends… if I have my way, I’ll change that….” • Risk management a passing phase?: There remained a view in some businesses that risk management was a “buzz word” now, but that it would become less fashionable, thus there was limited benefit in investing in this area. Participants reported problems obtaining adequate resourcing as a result of this, and that it was a key skill required in top risk management to overcome this mind-set within management. “There is a perception out there that risk management is just a passing phase, which means that the risk management area is often very under resourced … just look at my organisation – it has 5,000 people, but I’m it [the only risk management resource]!” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued • Increased focus on IT: Businesses were more aware of the risks surrounding their information technology, particularly: • Legacy systems: Were complex and often not well documented, and there were skills shortages for maintenance staff; • New system implementations: Greater importance was now placed on project management and risk management methodology, particularly was government departments introduced more criteria (e.g. Department of Finance and Trade had introduced the Gateway Program). • Importance of corporate governance: Many participants had noticed an increase in corporate governance, brought on both by government legislation and better understanding from business as to how vital good governance was. This high focus on governance, particularly by senior management, was an excellent opening for Risk Managers to “sell” the importance of the organisations having an effective risk management framework. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued • Increasing compliance activities: A few participants commented that compliance activities were growing. While most spoke positively about this, they also noted that this required high levels of expertise from risk management areas and also had an impact on risk management resourcing (since compliance was often effort intensive, and mandatory). “In particular I think that compliance management is a huge, up and coming area. I have heard so much about it lately … “ Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued Risk Management Evolution: As already discussed, risk management has had a gradual evolution of the last 20-30 years. In summary, participants believed risk management in its early stages had a strong finance and insurance focus. Risk management was then more focused on “operational” activities, and tended to have a reactive approach. A number of drivers had resulted in today’s risk management having a broader vision, being integrated into business processes and being used to seek more business opportunities (i.e. it is more proactive). This raises the question of whether risk management will continue to grow or stabilise: • Continued growth?: Risk management may develop its proactive focus, integration and become even more prominent as corporate Australia recognises the importance and benefits of risk management, or … Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued Risk Management Evolution, continued… • Stabilisation?: Corporate Australia might lose interest in risk management, perceiving it as a cost (with limited tangible benefits) and an outcome of an overly risk averse society currently. If this was the case, risk management growth would stabilise (or even decline). And it might go the way of other management ‘fads’ such as TQM or even the Just-In-Time approach to logistics and inventory which went through a phase of popularity, before waning or being overtaken by other preferred models. Notably, a KPMG report of 2005 suggests: “…nearly half of our survey respondents believed that their organisations’ risk management strategies were not well aligned with business goals, suggests that the practice of strategic risk management has yet to be fully integrated into many organisations.” 1 Although some three years old, this does suggest that integration and acceptance of risk management still has some way to go. The antecedents and possible future for risk management is summarised in the following exhibit illustrates this evolution. 1 KPMG, Strategic Risk Management Survey, 2005. (sample size n=80 senior risk managers from Top 200 ASX / NZXS companies). Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued Future Now 1990s Growing profession - Qualifications mandatory - Integrated into core business - Senior management support - Part of business KPIs Continued growth: “A Profession” Growth Stabilisation - Remains reactive - Restricted to financial /Loss focus - RM treated as a phase - Viewed as a cost / burden - Terrorism; - Corporate Failures; - Increased Litigation; - Etc. Low profile: “Function” Stabilisation or Decline? Future Based on secondary data and the interviews, we would predict further growth. We do not believe that RM is a fad and instead will continue to be integrated into business processes. This is discussed further on the following page. • Today: A profession • - Qualifications / experience often • required; • - Gaining credibility; • - Emphasis on finance remains; • Still viewed as a cost (rather • than a benefit). • Hard to sell to management. • Past: A Function • - Anyone able to do role; • No qualifications required; • Strong Finance / insurance focus; • Ad hoc approach; • Non-strategic; • Limited resourcing. Drivers Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued The Future for Risk Management: The model on the previous page suggests that risk management may continue to grow or potentially stabilise / decline. Chant Link believes that it is unlikely to stabilise / decline and will instead continue to grow. There are several reasons for this conclusion: • The drivers of growth are likely to remain: The factors that have led to the growth in risk management are predicted to remain intact. For example, it would be unlikely that corporate failures will disappear (and therefore risk management processes to deal with this will continue to develop). In addition, it seems inevitable that new risks will develop for which risk management strategies will be required, such as environmental change, terrorism etc. Therefore it would seem reasonable to predict continued growth in risk management given the drivers. • Integrated into business processes: A further factor likely to drive continued growth in risk management is that it has become (and will continue to become) integrated across all facets of business processes (and all industry sectors). For this to occur it has necessitated a high level of organisation-wide commitment which suggests a high level of perceived importance and a reduced likelihood of ‘unwinding’ risk management. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Issues in Risk Management… continued The Future for Risk Management, continued… • Regulatory Commitment: Another factor that will continue to see risk management grow is government and regulatory commitment to the area. Through organisations such as Standards Australia, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and even the Risk Management Institution of Australasia, the likelihood of further development (i.e. further evolution of standards, greater government adoption, integration with law etc) seems assured. For example, the ASX in its document Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations, has as Principle 7: Recognise and Manage Risk. In summary, whilst it is possible that risk management as a discipline may stabilise or not be adopted by some sections of industry, this seems unlikely given its growth to date and that the causes of the growth are likely to remain. Consequently, we would predict further growth and integration of risk intra- and inter-business, though as might be expected, in some industries the take-up is likely to be slower. This augurs well for Monash, since with growth and complexity comes a need for education in this area. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Secondary Data on Risk Management Secondary Data Analysis: The primary data gathering has led to the development of the model on an earlier slide. In addition, Chant Link & Associates undertook a top-line analysis of secondary data on risk management aimed at confirming the primary data and identifying trends in risk management. • Employment trends: Based on figures including membership of RMIA (around 2,000) and the monthly circulation of Risk Management Magazine (has a circulation of around 10,000) as well as other data, we estimate that the number of people employed in roles directly related to risk management in Australia to be around 7,000. There is little data available on employment trends in this area, though anecdotally, there appears to be strong growth and probably around 5% per annum. • Continued integration of risk: Much of the literature available suggests that risk management as a profession is in high demand and becoming more integrated within business practices, which supports the primary data from this report. • Trends in risk: One area of growth in risk appears to be in the area of reputational risk management. A PWC study of 2004 study found that banks considered reputational risk the greatest threat to their market value. However, risk was clearly dominated by operational and financial risk. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Education Trends Main Findings: Education Provider Awareness and Positioning Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Education Provider Awareness and Positioning Growth in risk management education providers:Participants (particularly alumni) noted that at the time of the MRM’s introduction in 2002, there were limited risk management alternatives. Alumni were also unaware of other universities that offered risk management study by block mode at that time. Mixed levels of Awareness: Awareness of other risk management education providers wase mixed, even amongst industry leaders. The most commonly mentioned providers were Monash, the University of NSW, and Griffith University. Many of the current student participants had only investigated the Monash course, and a number still believed that this was the only course available. “I looked at ANU and a course in international economics but decided on Monash because it seemed to be the only one offering a Masters in Risk Management.” Provider positioning: The following comments were made about the risk management education providers mentioned: • University of NSW: Had its genesis in the OH&S area and specifically health and still had a a positioning in this area. It was quite well regarded, particularly by industry leaders. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Education Provider Awareness and Positioning • Griffith University: There appeared to be some confusion amongst participants about Griffith’s focus. Some viewed this as an OH&S focused course, while on the industry leaders (who worked in the Commonwealth Government) stated that it was known as a high quality degree with a public sector focus. Those that were aware of Griffith’s risk management offer (only about one quarter of the sample) believed it was well regarded. • Swinburne university: The risk management course was part of the engineering faculty, and had a strong engineering focus (indeed, some viewed it as too technical). “I completed one unit at Swinburne. It was terrible! All we did for the whole course was go into a tutorial room with a person from industry and each week he would sit down and say ‘OK, who has a story for today?’, then we would proceed to listen to his or other peoples stories… We learnt nothing, and I told them at the end of the course that it was terrible.” • Macquarie University: This course was biased towards finance and accounting, and had the greatest appeal to those who worked within financial services. • RMIT: Very few participants were aware of the RMIT course, but those that were thought it had a finance and accounting focus. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Education Provider Awareness and Positioning • Other universities: A number of other universities and TAFEs offered risk management as electives as part of different degrees (such as finance & accounting, MBAs, etc …). One participant spoke highly of Victoria University’s environmental sustainable risk management course offered as part of the summer school. • Monash University: In general, Monash was perceived to have an exceptional reputation and was generally viewed as an industry leader. Participants made the following observations about its positioning: • One of the first providers of a MRM in the market, although some participants wondered whether Monash had really capitalised on this position. “Monash hasn’t fully capitalised on its ‘first-horse-out-of-the-gate’ advantage. I think it could improve relationships with the Risk Management Association.” • Supported by industry (such as the Risk Management Institution of Australia), although some industry leaders believed that this relationship had weakened since the MRM’s reception. “ … well, RMIA’s predecessor actually put money into the [Monash] course when it was starting up.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Education Provider Awareness and Positioning • Monash University … continued • Most participants were extremely positive about Michael Vincent. Many argued that Michael was a drawcard for the course. “Michael is an amazing mind. If he were to leave Monash University, that would be an enormous loss to the University – his followers would follow Michael. Michael’s forward thinking matches academics and professors I talk to – he is strong, practical, broad and lateral thinker” • Some participants felt that Monash’s MRM had a finance and accounting positioning, and that this was not ideal. “I have spoken with a number of people who have considered [Monash’s MRM] course and then decided against it because of the Accounting and Finance focus. In fact I know of people who have started the course and then dropped it because they do not like that focus.” Further comments on Monash risk management appear later in this report under specific reactions. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers for Study Main Findings: Drivers of Study Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Study Reasons for studying risk management varied between students with no industry experience (industry entrants) and those currently employed in a risk management capacity (industry members). Industry entrants:Most of the industry entrant participants had commenced the MRM not long after completing their undergraduate degree. Industry entrants often stated that they needed a postgraduate qualification to increase their chances of employment in a well-paying and responsible role, although some specifically wanted to move into a risk management role at the advice of family, friends or undergraduate lectures. Their reasons for choosing to study an MRM are summarised in the following exhibit. Industry Entrants Accidental discovery: Had discovered a risk management course by chance and thought it looked “interesting” or “challenging”. Broad appeal and job prospects: Risk management would apply to many different industries & countries, thus had strong appeal to prospective employers. Encouragement from others: managers, friends who are MRM alumni, undergraduate lecturers or family. Desire for a ‘unique’ career: Considered a ‘new’ industry and probably had skills shortages resulting in high demand for suitably qualified people. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Study … continued Industry entrant quotations: “I was looking at finance [at Monash], and I just saw risk management there … it looked interesting …” “… finance or risk management … it’s not just limiting you to Australia, it has good scope outside of Australia, in the US, in the UK, everywhere.” “Risk Management is definitely a growth area. It is still developing in my country but knowing that there is work in this area motivated me to study.” [Current International Student] “I had no idea what risk management was about. I was told it would differentiate me and make me more employable. Thailand has to implement Basel II and I knew that because of this there would be lots of jobs available in risk management.” “I didn’t want to learn the typical things.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Study … continued Industry members:Those already in the industry generally had an undergraduate qualification that was unrelated to risk management, and wanted to upgrade their skills and qualifications. Some participants were risk managers who had recently taken roles in different industry sectors (e.g. they had been the risk manager within the health sector, and were now employed as a risk manager in banking and finance). The drivers for undertaking risk management study for these people included: • Industry Members • Broaden or enhance skills: As risk management methodology matured, participants felt a need to increase their own skills (or perhaps develop in new areas in order to change employers). • Enhance credibility: Having ‘fallen’ into risk management, some wanted to lend more credibility to their expertise. • Differentiate from colleagues and competitors: The number of employees increased inline with the industry’s profile, thus it became more important to standout. • Career progression: Qualifications were used for self promotion or as a stepping point to change organisations. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Drivers of Risk Management Study … continued Industry member quotations: “… that was going to be a way to show people that not only do I have the experience in this area, but I have a piece of paper that shows that I’m good at it. All these things are tickets to the game, you prove yourself later.” [Alumni and Industry Leader] “One of the reasons I have MRM (Monash) on my business card is to increase the awareness among people I am in contact with. Also it’s an important differentiator for my company, there is a similar company in Melbourne who decided to appoint a risk manager. Rather than advertise or find someone with experience, they just appointed a bit of an ‘odds and end’ person to the role. “ [Alumni, Racing Industry] Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Course Content Main Findings: Attitudes to Course Overall Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall Generally positive: Taken overall, most regarded the mix of units to be appropriate and to cover the key issues in risk management. There were a number of comments that the course tended to over-emphasise insurance and finance and used, in some cases, outdated examples. Risk management was a fast moving field thus it was important that material was kept up to date. “I really liked my course and people who taught me…” “… the whole course, not individual subjects, looked to me to be spot on, pretty much up the ally of the sort of thing you’d need to know to be competent in risk management.” “I have had a great time in the Masters of Risk Management course. I found it stimulating, creative, and motivating - especially when compared with my undergraduate study.” Drivers of positive attitudes: There were a range of reasons as to why the Monash MRM was well regarded. These included: • High quality and uniqueness: Many participants felt that the Monash MRM still maintained a unique position as one of the few providers which provided a high quality risk management qualification that was not too industry specific (e.g. other providers had a strong finance or OH&S focus), although other participants suggested that this could be broadened further. “I think Monash is a notch or two above the others.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued Drivers of positive attitudes… continued • One of the few to offer block mode: As might be expected, block mode appealed to students in full time employment, and for many, this had been a major drawcard to study at Monash. Block mode both provided an opportunity for full time workers to study (where they would not able to attend regular lectures, particularly during business hours), and also provided an opportunity for students to meet others working in different industries. “I really enjoyed the ability to be able to meet and mingle with people who had worked in industry before – this was great for me because I have not had any industry experience, coming straight from undergraduate studies. I really tried to associate with these students and learn as much as possible.” • Highly regarded lecturers and staff: The MRM had a number of excellent lecturers, who were particularly good at engaging their students. “ … it may just be his [the lecturer’s] style, but he was treating them [the students] like they were just sitting around having a conversation, and learning, and putting their bits and pieces in and contributing that way. What a great way to do things.” “The staff and the facilities that we had access to at Monash were all great… in particular the staff were always approachable and willing to help out with the most minor queries.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued Drivers of positive attitudes… continued • Broad offering: Multi-disciplinary risk management was an ideal model, as it provided higher value to the corporate world as well as increased employment opportunities for post graduates. “My knowledge was narrow and the course gave me a good overview of risk. My knowledge was in credit risk and so one of the core subjects changed my paradigm and introduced me to general risk principles.” [Current International Student] “ … it needs to be [multi-disciplinary], for all sorts of reasons. 1) for the longevity of the course from Monash’s point of view, and 2) for the needs of the real world.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM Detractors: A number of participants had encountered problems with the MRM, and some of these students had been sufficiently dissatisfied that they either stopped at the Graduate Diploma level or even without a qualification in one instance. • Insufficiently advanced, little specialisation offered: “A qualification is important to gain a specialised knowledge in a particular area – especially at Masters level. One thing I would say about the Monash course is that it was very general and covered a broad range of topics at a very basic level; I would have liked to be able to specialise and go into much more detail in a variety of topics. It would be good if you could specialise in an area of risk management, such as business, law, or finance…” • Too much emphasis on finance & insurance: A number of the alumni reported that the course was too oriented on finance and insurance, and thus missed some key areas such as business continuity and governance. “ … it was bordering on being too financial services centric, but then again, that [industry] is a big employer of risk management people. But risk management now … is not only in the financial services arena that that stuff crops up.” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM detractors … continued • Variable lecturer quality: Some lecturers were said to have poor presentation skills and were slow to respond to student queries about courses and which electives to choose. A number of alumni received little or no feedback on projects from some lecturers, although it seems likely that this has improved more recently, as no current students commented on this problem. “ … and there was very little scope for people to contribute their experiences in how things actually work. It was as if they were teaching first year undergrads, and that just got up my nose … they had no people skills.” “I rang the lecturer to seek some assistance … and he basically said ‘it’s all there, go away.” “I thought they were not very good at teaching, I thought they were not very good at listening to the questions that people asked, they weren’t very good at answering …” • Incorrect standards used?: Some believed that the online course brochure referred to an old Australian standard, and some of the alumni believed that there was too much focus on the American risk management standards. “… there was absolutely no acknowledgement of the Australian Standards in the subjects I did …” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM detractors… continued • Poor administrative support: The MRM was sometimes let down by poor administrative support from Monash. • Student cohort: Some believed that there were too many students with insufficient industry experience. This was particularly problematic in the more advanced core subjects which resulted in an inability of these people to contribute. “ … a few of my friends … had come from the IT background. It makes it difficult for them, and it’s not fair to put some students in our risk management [course] coming from an IT background … because information technology and risk management are completely different.” • Could be marketed better: Some participants noted that the MRM was not well known, and thought that while the course was likely to have strong appeal to both undergraduates and those already working in risk management roles, these people were largely unaware of the course. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM detractors… continued • Electives lacking structure: Although almost all participants were positive about the ability to select electives from different faculties, some had experienced difficulty with obtaining advice on the most appropriate electives, and others questioned the validity of the electives chosen by the their fellow students (it was suggested these were used to generate high marks rather than risk management expertise). This resulted in a concern that the MRM would lose credibility or be perceived as too broad in content by potential employers. “I think that there is a trap for some people to choose electives that are seen as easy pass courses though – so it might be best if the electives were tailored to each person’s particular specialised area of interest.” “It seems that they [course supervisors] don’t really know anything [about which subjects to choose] … But we need guidance and advice on what subjects to take – what areas are more / less popular in practice and what will give us jobs…” Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM detractors… continued • Too expensive: Some international students believed that Monash was more expensive than other Australian universities. These participants felt that the course did not always provide value for money, particularly relative to perceived weaknesses in administrative support and advice on electives. “ … I find that fees are comparatively very high. It’s not just risk management, it’s all of Monash, each and every unit, it’s very expensive in comparison to other universities.” • Relationships with Industry could be improved: Some of the industry leaders were concerned that the MRM’s previously strong relationship with industry may be deteriorating. While they believed that Michael Vincent was still highly regarded by the industry, they were concerned that more could be done to foster links with industry. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued MRM detractors… continued • International - domestic student mix: Whilst not a major issue it was clear that some found the integration of local and international students problematic. Problems around a lack of industry experience, and class contribution for international students were nominated as points of concern for local students. “The local people only make up 1/3 of the class – if this is a trend then it shows… but this would be more a trend of the University then the course itself.” “I think the university on the one hand accepts a high number of international students because they pay high fees, however on the other hand they often have a low level of industry experience – this job is about providing fearless advice, challenging the norm… without experience how can this be done?” “I really enjoyed the ability to be able to meet and mingle with people who had worked in industry before – this was great for me because I have not had any industry experience, coming straight from undergraduate studies. I really tried to associate with these students and learn as much as possible.” (International student) Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued Entry Standards: Student evaluations of postgraduate study is often influenced by the quality of the student cohort. To the extent that the student cohort has varying levels of work and study experience this can add or detract from the overall experience. Therefore, entry standards play a major role in determining the overall student experience since entry standards set minimum levels of work and study experience. It is difficult for Chant Link to advise Monash on suitable entry standards since this is a strategic decision impacted upon by factors unknown to Chant Link, such as enrolment predictions relative to standards that are set. However, we make the following observations: • Work experience +/- undergraduate degree: Work experience impacts ability to contribute and drives satisfaction, therefore the emphasis on entry standards should be on work experience. The downside of this approach is that it will be a barrier to some international students (especially those continuing directly on from undergraduate study with no experience). The extension of this approach is to accept students with work experience and no undergraduate qualification, which we would view as acceptable especially for some career public servants who have no undergraduate experience. The caveat to this argument would be to require a possible ‘bridging’ unit to be undertaken for those with no undergraduate qualification. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

Attitudes to Course Overall … continued Entry Standards, continued… • Pass degree only with work experience: This would be acceptable since work experience is important and it seems unlikely that a pass only qualification would dilute prestige of the course but would also ensure that an undergraduate standard is applied. • No work experience + credit average: Whilst it gives the appearance of a more ‘exclusive’ entry level it is less desirable, since it will encourage younger students to continue directly from undergraduate study with little familiarity with risk as a discipline and no work experience. This detracts from the student experience which ultimately leads to lower satisfaction and reputation. Communicating Entry points: The final comment we make on this issue is that we believe, based on the interviews, it is desirable to communicate the entry point for risk management as being at a range of levels (i.e. Executive Certificate or Graduate Certificate or Masters level rather than the alternative which is to only permit enrolment at Masters level and if one exits early then it is with an Executive Certificate or Graduate Certificate). This is because a Masters only entry point is potentially intimidating and off-putting and may exclude some of the market who want a ‘toe-in-the-water’ experience rather than committing to the Masters program intitally. Chant Link & Associates: 3148 Master of Risk Management Report

A Report on Alignment of Masters of Risk Management Course to Student Needs and Industry Trends