This paper considers the continued utility of the concept of the University Visitor as an effective means of dispute resolution and as a desirable mechanism of university governance in Australia. This concept of medieval ecclesiastical law has recently experienced a revival of interest and popularity in Australia which has, paradoxically, also generated a movement for its abolition. This paper considers the ancient origins and rationale of the concept of the Visitor, and focuses on the ambiguities and uncertainties currently associated with the practical operation of this jurisdiction. In advocating that the concept of the Visitor should be preserved, this paper also suggests how the Visitor's role and function might usefully be clarified and redefined to overcome current ambiguities and concerns, thereby allowing this office once again to promote institutional accountability and good governance.
Most people when asked which is the most effective means of communication will invariably answer — ‘by word of month’. Not a day goes by when some kind of verbal communication does not take place and consequently it could be thought that because the art was continually practised that some high degree of success would be achieved in transmitting messages, in such a way that the meaning is clearly understood. It is however patently obvious if some time is taken to listen to others' conversations, or even to analyse the results of our own verbal transactions, that making oneself understood, by the transmission of a verbal message, is a most difficult thing to achieve.
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