Introduction

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 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 the 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, various benefactors and with large State Government assistance. 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.

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. New regulations were drafted and approved to govern the Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy degrees. The college board also redesignated the college's three schools into four departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Biology and Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice.

Nineteen ninety-five saw planning commence and university endorsement for extension of the Bachelor of Pharmacy course to four years from 1997, in line with practice overseas and with moves being made in other States.

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