[UMA-SRE-19990014] Registrar's Correspondence

Description

IdentifierUMA-SRE-19990014Extent953 boxesLinear Meterage135.41Scope and ContentThe material in the Registrar's correspondence covers an enormous variety of the University's services and administrative practices and is mostly in the form of letters, memoranda,some newspaper clippings, reports, published extracts and brochures and programs.
Material relates to subjects and services such as: Accommodation and buildings maintenance; accounts including fees and rates payable and receivable; Calendar; Council; matriculation and arrangements for examinations; schools, academic departments and subject details; regulations and statutes; personal files of senior academic staff; awards, scholarships, fellowships and prizes; lecturers reports from visits; conference details; Governor's address; cultural events and special lectures; insurance; finance; clubs and societies; organisation and administration of general departments, affiliates, hospitals and University colleges including annual reports; notices of other organisations and Universities; funds, donations, gifts and bequests; administration of libraries; committees correspondence; student loans; appointment of chair appointments; salaries and payroll arrangements; annual leave; patents; international visitors; appeals; grants.
Later correspondence can be found in series UMA-SR-000001777, see succeeding series.ArrangementThe original method used to organise the records was by the use of inwards correspondence registers with a system of outgoing letters of acknowledgment recorded in an outwards letter book. Incoming correspondence was allocated an annual single number (next available number) and placed into its own jacket/pocket. Inwards and outwards correspondence was filed separately. It is believed the above-mentioned practice of annual single number letter registration continued until and beyond 1912.
However in the period between 1902 and 1912 there began a subtle shift towards subject-based arrangement (this may also be attributable to the advent of carbon copies). It is believed, and there is evidence to suggest, that there was a move towards subject-based arrangement as early as 1879 with the grouping of like items together. Evidence of blue crayon annotations from the Vice-Chancellor on dockets dated 1882 confirms this as does file 1891/28 in which like material has been brought together.
The annual single number registration series was used as a base until 1966 with some changes. In the period between 1902 to 1912, a letter jacket was completed for each letter , with a subject allocated to the correspondence. The jackets were then arranged alphabetically by the initial letter of the given subject. The shift towards subject-based registration as mentioned above was becoming apparent. In 1913, the jacket/docket was replaced by a white cover. By the 1920's the individual letter registration system was phased out with groups of letters being predominantly filed in one cover as opposed to each letter and the system by the 1930's was a full correspondence series with incoming and outgoing correspondence being maintained. A published history of the University was begun in the 1920's. Registrar A.W Greig and Stanley Addison, and later Professor Ernest Scott at various times, prepared this. Due to this, certain items relating to the Medical, Law and Engineering schools were removed from the sequence.
Items relating to University statistics between 1933 and 1967 have also been removed. The arrangement became one of an annual alphabetical and numerical control. The system of carrying files forward each year was part of the registration policy and not conducted in an adhoc manner. The system of yearly series was criticised in 1965. In 1965 personal staff files were carried forward and out of the system. 1966 saw the creation of the staff branch which came under the administration of the Vice-Principal. 1967 saw the establishment of a subject-based multiple numbering system in the Central Registry, see succeeding series.Archival HistoryThis series was extracted from a much larger body of records on which extensive arrangement, description and conservation was undertaken in the 1980's. A number of series were discerned as part of this project (see Related Series) however UMA-SRE-19990014 is the largest and most comprehensive, representing a large portion the activities of the University's Central Administration over two centuries.Collection CategoryUniversity, officialAccess StatusAccess restrictions apply for some itemsAccess Conditions

Files dated prior to 1950 are Open and may be requested by unit. Files post 1950 require access examination and must be requested by file.

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Provenance

CreatorOffice Of The Registrar (University Of Melbourne)

Dates

Date1871-1966

Description Control

Previous System ID1999.0014Records Services IDUM312State of ListFully listed

Relationships

Controlling Series[UMA-SR-000001775] Index to the Registrar's correspondenceFeature CollectionPublic records of the University of MelbourneRecords of the University of Melbourne

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[UMA-SRE-19990014] Registrar's Correspondence