Skills glass half empty?

14/11/2012 by
ABC photo

COAG Reform Council    |    14 November 2012 One of two COAG skills targets on track ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Australia looks set to achieve COAG’s target to double the number of diploma and advanced diploma completions by 2020. But the news is not as good for COAG’s target to halve the number of Australians without higher level qualification by 2020—despite a 3% drop since 2008, the figure is still sitting at almost 44%, a long way from the 23.6% target set by COAG. Greg Craven, the Council's deputy chair, says COAG’s approval of the new National Partnership Agreement for Skills Reform at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: COAG, Commonwealth policies, Qualifications, Schools, TAFE, universities Tagged With: , , , ,

“Bloated universities” must trim fat to perform better

14/11/2012 by
bureaucracy--large-msg-125245730164

The Australian    |    26 October 2012 Australian universities are bloated with superfluous staff that thwart lecturers' ability to teach and suck up funds that would be better spent on research, according to Adam Creighton in the business pages of The Australian. He says they are riddled with inefficiencies and perverse incentives that hobble their ability to produce rounded, competent graduates. Creighton cites the recent Ernst and Young report into the future of Australia's universities which showed "absurd administrative burdens"  are the norm. Only one of the Australian universities it examined had a ratio of support and administrative staff to academic staff of less than one.  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Commonwealth policies, Higher education policy, Uncategorized, universities, University reform, university staffing Tagged With: , , ,

UK middle-class pupils shun universities as fees rise

14/11/2012 by
pounds

The Observer   |     11 November 2012 University applications have fallen by almost a quarter in some parts of the England, including some of the most affluent regions. The demand for degree courses from British students has dropped by more than 50,000 – almost 9% – this year, with the University and College Admissions Service also concluding that there was evidence of a sharper fall in application rates for young people from wealthier backgrounds, compared with poorer teenagers. It is believed that demand among the middle classes has plummeted quicker than it has among applicants from poor families because they are not able to take advantage of a generous system of living grants … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Tagged With: , ,

How much unis spend on marketing – roughly

14/11/2012 by

15 November 2012 Analysis by The Australian of the 2011 university finance report recently released the Commonwealth department reveals that Swinburne University had a marketing budget of $13.3 million, the second highest budget after Deakin with $14,273. But with total higher education enrolments of 23,780 students, Swinburne’s spend seemingly topped the national per student average at $561 compared to Deakin's $351 per student (Deakin was 3rd, with Charles Drawin coming in 2nd  at $415 per student) . Wollongong University spent only $944, which worked out at a paltry $33.50 per student. Swinburne is, of course a dual sector university and it says the The Australian … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Swinburne University, TAFE, University budgets Tagged With: ,

University marketing spends

14/11/2012 by
Quote marks

The Australian    |    9 November 2012 UNIVERSITY MARKETING SPEND PER STUDENT MARKETING … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, University budgets Tagged With: , ,

Students to get right to sue dodgy providers

14/11/2012 by
Lawsuits

The Age    |    13 November 2012 Disgruntled students will be able to sue their training colleges for shoddy education under new laws to be introduced in Victoria. The state government hopes the new rules will prevent dodgy training providers from delivering substandard education.  The rules will apply to students whose vocational training was subsidised in part or full by the state government. An explanatory memorandum of the legislation says students could seek compensation for a college’s ”failure to deliver training”. The state government contracts training providers to deliver courses to students. An Education Department spokesman said students would soon have the right to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

US international enrolments growing strongly

14/11/2012 by
passports

Inside Higher Ed    |    12 November 2012 The number of international students in the United States increased by 5.7% in 2011-12, growing to a record high of 764,495, according to this year’s “Open Doors” data, published annually by the Institute of International Education. For the first time since 2000-01, the number of international undergraduates exceeds the number of foreign graduate students. International Students in the U.S. by Academic Level in 2011-12 Undergraduate Graduate Non-Degree Optional Practical Training Total 309,342 300,430 69,566 85,157 764,495 American colleges have stepped up their recruitment of international undergraduate students … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Tagged With: , ,

NUS survey reveals student concerns about the “uni experience”

14/11/2012 by

14 November 2012 Universities are at risk of becoming irrelevant in the face of proliferating Massive Open Online Courses unless they invest more in campus teaching, according to the National Union of Students (NUS). NUS says its 2012 quality survey highlights complaints about overcrowded tutorials, increasing reliance on group work, and insufficient feedback and validates its predictions about the consequences of insufficient funding . Despite overall high satisfaction, NUS president Donherra Walmsley said the survey confirmed fears that teaching quality would be hit as the Gillard government expanded places without significantly boosting per-student funding. We predicted … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Commonwealth policies, Uncategorized, universities Tagged With: , , ,
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