The Victorian College of Pharmacy was established in 1881 as the School of
the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria. That society had itself been founded in
1857 by early immigrant British pharmacists to control and develop the
professional aspects of pharmacy in the rapidly developing colony. The college
was founded on similar lines to those existing at the London School of
Pharmacy, which in turn was owned and operated by the Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain.
The college was initially established in the Melbourne Technological Museum,
moved to Fitzroy for a short period, and was ultimately housed in the County
Court building at 360 Swanston Street. The Pharmaceutical Society had purchased
the building in 1882 and had carried out adequate renovations to commence
classes at that site in 1884.
The first classes were established under an apprenticeship system which
involved attendance at the college for tuition in chemistry, botany, materia
medica and pharmacy. Students could enter the course at any date and pursue
an independent course of study leading to a registration examination conducted
by the Pharmacy Board of Victoria. A compulsory syllabus was formalised within
the Medical Act 1915 and subsequently led to a four-year apprenticeship and
study requirement for registration.
In 1960, great changes took place in pharmacy education. The college, still as
the School of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria, moved to new premises in
Parkville. In the same year the Pharmacy Board approved a full-time three-year
course in pharmacy and abandoned the apprenticeship system of training.
The college affiliated with the Victoria Institute of Colleges in 1966 and was
granted permission to award the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in 1967. The
college thus became the first non-university school in Australia to offer a
bachelors degree. A Master of Pharmacy degree followed in 1970.
Prior to 1967, the college had been run as a private institution. It was funded
primarily from student fees with some government assistance and the generosity
of benefactors. In 1967, by an agreement between the federal and state
governments, the college received its first appreciable government financial
assistance which supplemented student fees. In 1974, the Federal Government
abolished fees in tertiary institutions and took over full responsibility for
funding post-secondary education.
The Swanston Street building and the original development at Parkville were
funded by the Pharmaceutical Society through the generosity of its members, the
pharmaceutical industry and various benefactors. A new laboratory block on the
Parkville site was opened in 1971. Although built from government funds, it was
furnished and equipped by the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria by way of an
appeal to its members and to the pharmaceutical and allied industries.
In accordance with Government requirements, the college became an independent
organisation in 1977. It became a company limited by guarantee, the Victorian
College of Pharmacy Ltd, and operated under the Companies Act. The academic
activities of the college were governed by the Medical Act, the Pharmacists Act
and the Victoria Institute of Colleges Act.
Through the repeal of the Victoria Institute of Colleges Act in 1980, the
college was then accountable to the Victorian Post-Secondary Education
Commission and required to operate in accordance with the Post-Secondary
Education Act 1978. In 1984, the college became a 'declared institution' and
was able to accredit its full range of courses through a process similar to
that adopted by universities.
A major restructuring commenced in 1988 in the wake of the Commonwealth
Government's white paper on higher education. Essentially the so-called binary
system of having separate but parallel sectors of universities and colleges of
advanced education was abolished. Several of the larger institutes of higher
education were upgraded to university status. Smaller colleges such as the
Victorian College of Pharmacy were encouraged to amalgamate with larger
institutions. A new unified national system of higher education emerged.
Initially, the college explored the possibility of a link with the University
of Melbourne, through affiliation in 1988 and a heads of agreement in 1989.
Amalgamation negotiations between the two institutions broke down in 1990,
however, in the face of unresolved difficulties.
Later in 1990 discussions were commenced with Monash University. An affiliation
agreement and heads of agreement were entered into as the first steps towards
amalgamation.
Government approval was given to the merger with Monash University in 1990. The
assets and liabilities of the Victorian College of Pharmacy (Monash University)
Ltd were transferred to Monash University on 1 July 1992. This was achieved by
the successful passage through the Victorian Parliament of the Monash
University (Pharmacy College) Act 1992. The college was managed by an Interim
Management Committee pending the liquidation of the college company being
completed and pending the making of appropriate legislation by the Monash
University Council.
In December 1992 and February 1993, the Victorian College of Pharmacy Statute
and Regulations were made by the university Council. This legislation
established the college as the equivalent of a faculty of Monash University and
provided for its academic affairs to be governed by a college board chaired by
the dean. New regulations to govern the Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of
Pharmacy degrees were approved by the college board late in 1994 and made by
the university Council early in 1995.
In 1994, the honours degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy was commenced as a direct
entry into the college's graduate research programs and a revised and retitled
Graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy was introduced in 1995. The college board
also redesignated the college's three schools into four departments of
Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Biology and Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics,
and Pharmacy Practice.
Planning commenced in 1995 for extension of the Bachelor of Pharmacy course to
four years, in line with practice overseas and with moves being made in other
states. University approval was granted for the four-year course in 1996, for
introduction in 1997. Approval was also granted for the Master in Computational
Chemistry degree to commence in 1997 and a joint Bachelor of Pharmacy/Bachelor
of Commerce degree program to commence in 1998. 1996 also saw the redesignation
of the honours degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy as the
honours degree of Pharmaceutical Science and Master of Pharmaceutical Science
respectively.
A new wing was added to the Sissons Building in 1996 as well as a new suite of
six tutorial rooms, marking the first major building activity on campus since
the Manning Building was completed in 1971. This work was completed by
extensive landscaping in 1998 which greatly enhanced the amenity of the
campus.
In 1998, the college established the Centre for Continuing Education to provide
a coherent selection of continuing professional learning opportunities for the
pharmacy and allied health professions.
Clinical pharmacy was introduced into the curriculum of the Bachelor of
Pharmacy course in 1999 with the offering of the introductory and advanced
practical experience programs in community pharmacies, hospitals and the
pharmaceutical industry; the IPE and APE programs form the backbone of the
third and fourth years respectively of the expanded pharmacy course.
The year 2000 saw the commencement of the new three-year Bachelor of
Formulation Science course at the college, bringing the total student
population at the Parkville campus to around 650. At the end of the year, the
first cohort of 135 students completed the new four-year pharmacy program.
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