SUMMARY

Masaryk University presents its seventh annual report on its activities in the past calendar and fiscal year, that is for the year 2000. The structure of the report corresponds to that of the previous years, with modifications applied in the 1999 report in an effort to fulfil the requirements of Higher Education Act 111/1998 Sb.

Research and Development

In its five sessions in 2000, the Academic Council of Masaryk University discussed thirty nominations to confer the degree of full professor, proposals to award honorary academic degrees, the Large Gold, Gold and Silver medals of Masaryk University, one nomination to confer the degree of associate professor, proposals to accredit and extend PhD. study programmes, associate- and full-professorship disciplines, and, last but not least, qualitatively new proposals for Research Centres. It also bestowed two degrees of Doctor of Mathematics and Physics, and one of Doctor of Science of Arts.

In 2000 there was a significant increase in the number of successful professorship appointment procedures, although the average age of professors is far from ideal. The staff of MU comprises of 11 % full professors, 25.5% associate professors, 33 % senior lecturers II (with PhDs), 19 % senior lecturers I (without PhDs), and 3 % assistant lecturers. The lingering problem is the relatively large number of senior lecturers without PhDs, and the fact that the number of associate professors also includes those who were simply appointed without a thesis. 

The number of Ph.D. (full-time as well as combined study programme) students continues to grow, and the number of international students is also encouraging. Compared with last year there was only a minor increase in the proportion of graduates, i.e. the student-graduate ratio in doctoral studies remains unfavourable.

Institutionalised financing of research and development enhanced the dynamics of the process at the faculties. The number of grants awarded to Masaryk University, especially the amount of financial resources involved, increased in comparison with 1999. There are still marked differences between the productivity of individual faculties (the best results per teaching staff member were achieved at the Faculty of Science, the School of Social Studies, and the Faculty of Informatics, as far as the grants which could be included in the budget are concerned). Grants were received from many sources; so far the number of grants from abroad is low. Overall, MU has considerable reserves in this respect. 

Studies

In the entrance procedure in 2000, the number of applicants (a total of 34,625) was again several times higher than the university's capacities (which, however, also increased). The number of applicants increased by 7.1 % compared to 1999, i.e. by 4875 students. It was made possible by the fact that MU responded to increased demand for study by accrediting new study disciplines. The number of MU students in 2000 was 21,014, i.e. over 8 % of an increase compared with 1999. Emphasis was placed on the development of Bachelor's studies (in line with the principles of the Bologna Declaration) and inter-disciplinary studies. The number of international students also increased to a total of 834, making up about 4 % of all full-time students (only 3 % in 1999). The study conditions for disabled students improved, and the range of courses and supplementary studies of the Life-long Education Programme expanded significantly.

The Information System was used to the benefit of all faculty, students, and administration staff of the faculties, and its functionality was fully tested in 2000. The credit system of individual faculties was significantly improved, in some cases satisfying ETCS standards.

International Co-operation and Public Relations

Two specialised institutes set up in 2000, i.e. the Centre for International Studies and the Public Relations Office, helped intensify work in this broad field.

Student participation in the SOCRATES-ERASMUS programme continued to grow steadily (with a proportional increase in the number of international students arriving with this programme), while the teacher exchange programme probably reached its current maximum. The ERASMUS programme also included international syllabus projects. MU participated in another eighteen international programmes and projects. Co-operation with traditional partner universities was extended when new bilateral agreements were concluded (Paris XII, Toronto, Linz). The quality and capacity of MU foreign language programmes showed an increase (CESP, TESOL TE, Central European Music, MU – Ohio University Global Learning Community), although their range remains limited. In addition to its participation in the Utrecht Network and the Compostela Group of Universities, MU also joined the Báthory Collegium East European network.

The role of MU in public relations was enhanced by its participation in a joint project of Brno universities called Brno – City of Universities. Its most important output was an international conference Universities and the Bologna Declaration – Strategy of Changes (November 2000). The office of Public Relations Office is also responsible for the new MU Congress Centre at the Faculty of Medicine (a total of 20 events were organised there from September to December). The UNESCO Chair for Museology and World Heritage worked within this organisation until the end of 2000. It organised two important museological events in Brno in December.

Student Welfare and Publishing Activities

Compared with last year, the university was relatively more successful in meeting student demand for accommodation in it halls of residence (a total of 4371 beds), and in spite of the fast growing number of MU students, 29 % of the student body, or 68 % of residence applicants were housed by the university. For the academic year 2000/2001, unified criteria for the housing of students were adopted. The halls of residence were gradually refurnished, and Internet services were introduced. 

While in the past interest for cafeteria meal plans decreased, in 2000 there was a slight increase in the number of meals served. Moreover, residence and cafeteria administration endeavoured to bring its services to its users at the faculties.

On the basis of scholarship regulations of MU and individual faculties, scholarships were awarded to students of all types of accredited programmes. They were mainly one-time awards (i.e. not involving repeated payments) for merit, creative achievement, social reasons, to doctoral and international students (for a total of 1371 students of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral study programmes).

In 2000, the Masaryk University Press published a total of 282 non-periodical titles, 53% of which were teaching texts, 47 % scholarly publications, which accounts for a slight increase compared to 1999, making Masaryk University Press marginally profitable. The MU Consultancy Centre focused on academic, career-related, legal, and psychological counselling services. In the first two areas services were provided to 978 clients, and psychological counselling to 150 clients, demonstrating an increase in interest in these services.

Management

The year 2000 marked a turning point because in that year the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Physical Education adopted a new system for granting basic normative subsidies and introduced a system of subsidy allocations for teaching via study programmes. The total volume of operational funds fell below the mark and the re-allocation patterns within the university had to be changed (all faculties were required to balance their budgets through their own activities). Because the original subsidy allocation statement showed a deficit of about 50 million CZK, the MU year-end statement for the year 2000, although showing a loss of 2.236 million CZK, could be considered a relative success. In the most complicated cases, however, the deficit was covered from the reserves set up by MU management.

The year 2000, although critical, also marked the first signs of changes in the behaviour of a number of faculties. A particularly important result was the annual increase in operational funds (63 million CZK) gained from specific projects, reaching a total of 163 million CZK. What remains a significant problem is the fact that the development of university infrastructure leads to relatively high depreciation rates that MU, as a non-profit institution, needs to cover mainly from operational funds. The key task for the future, therefore, is to reduce costs and increase revenue.

If we view 1990 as the year that completes the decade of the new era of MU development, we can state that there has been considerable development. The number of students has more than doubled and the student/staff ratio has grown from 4.46 to 8.29 (which is definitive proof of greater educational effectiveness).

In the year 2000, the capital investment plan was fulfilled in terms of the number of projects. The most significant success was the beginning  of construction work in Bohunice. The urban planning and architectural competition for the university campus was also concluded successfully. In December 2000, MU and the city of Brno signed an agreement for the construction of technical infrastructure in Bohunice worth 300 million CZK. In November of that year, the Minister of Education reconfirmed the priority of the university campus construction and the commitment to finance it through a long-term loan that would be paid by the Ministry of Education.

MU Academic Senate

After implementing faculty legislative changes, the Academic Senate sought to create a new vision for its activities and cooperation with MU management. The senate met at regular monthly intervals (except during vacations) and established several new commissions (for MU development, university didactics, and social issues). The Financial Commission initiated a number of procedures, e.g. to analyse the management effectiveness of centrally allocated resources, and resolving issues concerning inter-faculty study programmes.

MU Archives

The archive materials are organised into 165 collections based on the activities of the university and its constituents, and the activities of individuals and societies with historical links with MU. As a new development, the archives took over student files from the faculties. The development of the archive was greatly enhanced by the fact that it moved (together with the archives exhibition hall) to new premises in the recently reconstructed Faculty of Medicine building. In the year 2000, the MU archive co-organised a number of important exhibitions (such as Masaryk University in Documents, Insignia, Archive Documents of Brno Universities). 

Centre for Further Education

In its catalogue, the centre offered 36 accredited courses to schools (2762 participants). A total of 1062 people participated in retraining courses for state administration. The centre co-operated extensively with institutions from abroad (German and Austrian lecturers at multi-day seminars, all year study programmes, and the preparation of methodological materials). The centre's activities were significantly enhanced by the fact that in the year 2000 the centre was moved to the Faculty of Medicine building, which allowed for a substantial increase in educational activities.

Department of Foreign Languages

In the seven sections of the department, teachers and foreign lecturers are responsible for teaching English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian. The department also provided for the teaching of Czech to foreign students. An important component of the department is the multi-media language laboratory that allows students and faculty to independently study foreign languages outside of course requisites. The laboratory was extended and modernised in the year 2000 thanks to a grant from FRVS.

The MU Department of Physical Education

The department provides physical education courses at the faculties through its faculty departments, and it is also responsible for the activities of the MU University Sports Club (21 teams, making up 1860 members in 2000). Different activities are offered at individual faculties and students can choose from a broad range of disciplines.

Important sporting events include the International Academic Championships of the Czech Republic organised as a part of the UNI/FIS European Cup in Alpine Skiing, the Academic Championships of the Czech Republic with international participation in classical skiing, and the Academic Championships of the Czech Republic in table tennis, golf, and beach volleyball.

Institute of Computer Science

The basic MU administrative database is made up of three independent central databases run on three different servers and under different database machines: the financial, personnel, and payroll database; the MU Internet pages; the study programme and publications database. The first two databases have been integrated and the study programme and publication database integration was started and tested in the year 2000.

The year 2000 marked a step towards opening the MU Internet pages to users of mobile phones. The computer centre for the whole university commenced operations in the Medical Faculty building where over 100 PC's are available around the clock (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Over 2600 computers over the whole university were operating in the university computer network.

International Institute for Political Studies

In the year 2000 conference and publishing activities increased with the substantial assistance of foreign foundations (Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Het Parool Foundation). Seminars, conferences and workshops primarily focused on Czech membership in NATO, issues of ethnic minorities, the integration of the Czech Republic in the EU, and human rights. The First National Congress of Politologists in the Czech Republic was held here to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the institute. The institute also sponsored thematic publications and periodicals (Journal of Political Science and Politics in the Czech Republic).

Institute of Strategic Studies

The institute published the monthly Analyses and Studies. It established contacts with universities in Dresden and Krakow (as a part of a long-term project of the Central European Foreign for Security and Co-operation), and focused on preparations for the international conference of the project to be held in the year 2001 in Brno.

Masaryk University Information System

The development of the system (is.muni.cz) was started in late 1998, and officially launched in 1999. In the year 2000, it was further developed to the extent that it was accessible to 14,000 users (or up to 18,000 people on an irregular basis). Thanks to the introduction of new technologies, it was possible to meet the steep increase in the demand on the server. In 2000, there were 14,493,632 log-ins. Over the year the following applications were installed: Subject Catalogue, Seminar Group Agendas, Faculty Records, My Studies, Personnel Agendas, Study Records, Research and Development, Contacts, and Presentations. Most of the students and faculty started using the system regularly.    

The Faculties of Masaryk University 

Each of the eight faculties of Masaryk University had to deal with specific problems of a financial nature (greater economising, more grants, etc.), as well as fundamental issues of study programme organisation and modernisation (increasing the number of students, including foreign students, refining the credit system, enhancing the Bachelor's study programmes).

The Faculty of Law finished the reconstruction of its study plans for the Master's Study Program in Law. An external credit system was introduced that allows students from other faculties to enrol in individual subjects. The faculty's international ties were significantly extended and intensified. 

One of the Faculty of Medicine’s main projects was the construction of the new Institute of Anatomy (Brno, Kamenice 3). The faculty management also prepared documents for the building of new clinics. Publication activity and grant participation increased. The proportion of involvement of the faculty in grant projects, however, was distorted by the fact that they also participated in projects at teaching hospitals, which fall under the Ministry of Health. Teaching quality was further enhanced when the original premises at Komenského Square were reopened after reconstruction.

The Faculty of Science paid particular attention to the development of doctorate studies. In the year 2000, the faculty was involved in over half of all MU grant projects and they were also successful in getting foreign grants. Conferences organized by faculty departments usually met with exceptional foreign recognition. The Faculty of Science Botanical Garden had a high public profile.

The Faculty of Arts endeavoured to broaden its international contacts and get more grants. It also continued to refine its credit system and the transfer to a two-stage model of study programmes (enhancing the role of Bachelor's programmes).

The Faculty of Education successfully developed international exchanges of students began preparations for its two-stage model of study programmes. It negotiated far-reaching programmes of co-operation with the Faculties of Arts and Science aimed at improving study programme content. 

The Faculty of Economics and Administration, "the oldest of the youngest MU faculties", entered the tenth year of its operation in the year 2000. The experimental stage of the French Public Administration Studies (in co-operation with the University of Rennes 1), where the accreditation of the studies as a study discipline was prepared, was successfully concluded.  

In 2000, the Faculty of Informatics harmonised its study programmes with the conclusions of the Bologna Declarations, setting up three core long-term projects. It continued in its successful conference activities and placed new emphasis on the development of doctoral studies.   

The School of Social Studies implemented two important priority research projects and significantly broadened its international contacts in research and student exchange. The extension of combined studies and the introduction of new discipline combinations made the studies of this faculty even more attractive. At present, the number of Bachelor's students clearly dominates.