The school is housed in two wings of the campus: the 2W and 1E buildings. The school office is room 2W283, and staff there can direct inquiries to the appropriate areas within the school if necessary.
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences employs approximately sixty staff, including full-time, part-time and sessional staff. In 1994 about 1090 students were enrolled in undergraduate programs taught by the school, with a further 140 undertaking graduate study. Of these, around 400 are enrolled on-campus, with in excess of 700 students studying part-time by distance education from a variety of locations within Australia and overseas.
Within the school there are five sections: English/Mass Communications, History-Politics, Social Research, Sociology and Social Welfare. Each section has a head of section who is responsible for administrative and academic issues relating to the one or more disciplines taught by section staff.
In addition to the sections, the school has two centres: the Centre for Gippsland Studies and the Gippsland Centre for Koorie Studies. The Centre for Gippsland Studies has a large archive of information on Gippsland, maintained by the executive officer, which is accessible to anyone researching issues related to Gippsland. The Gippsland Centre for Koorie Studies, headed by a director, serves to promote increased participation in tertiary education by members of the Koorie community and also has involvement in research in areas related to Koorie studies and the Koorie community generally.
The main business of running the school is the responsibility of the school board, which meets at least seven times throughout the year and reports to the faculty board where necessary. The school board comprises most academic and general staff within the school, a representative of another school and two student representatives.
Students wishing to bring matters to the attention of the school board should feel free to discuss them with the student representatives, who may be contacted via the student union.
The organisation of teaching and research in particular disciplines rests with the relevant head of section, whereas the school board is concerned with issues affecting more than one section, including new developments within the school. The school board has certain committees which have the power to act on behalf of the school board on particular issues as specified in their terms of reference. These committees include:
(1) the Undergraduate Committee, which advises the board on all matters relating to undergraduate students as they arise (including questions of student workload and matters concerned with assessment), acts for the board in cases involving use of discretionary powers conferred on the school by the degree regulations, and considers proposals for the introduction of new subjects;
(2) the Honours Committee, which advises the board on all matters relating to the fourth-year honours program, including the admission of students, the consideration of proposals for the introduction of new subjects, and the awarding of the honours degree;
(3) the Postgraduate Committee, which advises the school on all matters relating to the admission of candidates for higher degrees and graduate courses, and the awarding of higher degrees and graduate awards;
(4) the Unsatisfactory Progress Committee, which acts as a subcommittee of the Undergraduate Committee to consider cases of students who become liable to be excluded for unsatisfactory progress;
(5) the Research Committee which advises the board on all matters relating to the conduct of research within the school, including policies, grants, and ethics.