Decoding roles and rankings

Chancellor

THE chancellor’s position is an honorary one, but university business expenses are reimbursed. A chancellor confers degrees and diplomas, chairs senate, council or board of governors meetings, and consults and advises the vice-chancellor. The chancellor is nominated from the university community and elected by the senate, council, or board of governors.

Pro chancellor

A pro chancellor will stand in for the chancellor, and is the equivalent of a deputy chair. The pro chancellor is a senator, councillor or governor, elected by members of the senate, council or board of governors.

Vice-chancellor

A university vice-chancellor is the equivalent of a chief executive officer, appointed on merit. The vice-chancellor holds ultimate responsibility for university development and for promoting its strategic direction. The vice-chancellor is responsible to the senate, council or board of governors for the effective management of the university.

For UWA, the vice-chancellor’s annual remuneration package (including fees, salaries, superannuation and other benefits) is usually between $550,000 and $559,999.

Deputy vice-chancellor

A university may appoint several deputy vice-chancellors, to be responsible for matters such as staffing, general policy development, planning and budgeting, and teaching and learning.

A UWA deputy vice-chancellor can earn between $320,000 and $329,999 annually.

Pro vice-chancellor

A pro vice-chancellor is a senior executive, but deemed less senior than a vice-chancellor. The pro vice-chancellor is responsible for university activities such as those relating to community development or industry research links.

Pro vice-chancellor remuneration at UWA ranges between $220,000 and $299,999 annually.

Executive director

An executive director, also known as an executive general manager, is a non-academic, appointed to manage finance, infrastructure and academic administration functions.

For UWA, remuneration usually ranges between $220,000 and $259,999 annually.

Provost

A provost chairs key university academic committees, and reports directly to the vice-chancellor. The position also includes the promotion and development of a university’s mission and goals.

Executive dean

An executive dean heads a regional campus or specific academic division within a university. Curtin University of Technology has six executive deans – one for the Curtin Business School, one for the Sarawak campus, and one each for the university’s four academic divisions.