31 May 2015 US talk show host John Oliver on the beautiful game and how FIFA degrades it . ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The woman speaking on the exploitation of workers in the Middle East is Sharan Burrow, a former president of the ACTU, and now General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… XXX … [Read more...]
The Scan in May 2015
31/05/2015 by
31 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In May The Scan posted 60 items and published 3 editions (#168, #169 and #170) . Regulatory issues in the VET sector continue to attract most reader attention, led by the troubles of ASX-listed private training provider Vocation. There's more than one way to skin a cat and it seems that action under consumer protection laws may prove an increasingly useful way to deal with dodgy providers. The Victorian consumer protection authority successfully prosecuted one notoriously dodgy provider and the national agency has up to 10 providers in its sights for unethical conduct. May is, of course, budget month. Universities Australia's … [Read more...]
The Scan # 170 29 May 2015
29/05/2015 by
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ News __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Victorian unis "financially strong" 29 May 2015 | The Victorian Auditor General has reported that Victoria’s eight universities are in a strong financial position but he was critical of lax procedures governing travel expenditure. The eight universities, and their subsidiaries, generated a combined surplus of $537.1 million for the year ending 31 December 2014. This includes, however, audit adjustments … [Read more...]
Australia’s university system efficient but underfunded – UA
29/05/2015 by
Universities Australia | 21 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The latest Universitas 21 Report ranks Australia as one of the top countries for the efficiency of its higher education system despite disturbingly low levels of public investment compared with other countries, says Universities Australia. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Overall Australia's ranking declined from 8th position in 2013 to 9th position in 2014 and now to 10th position (out of 50 countries) in 2015. "This ranking confirms a concerning downward trend which reflects low levels of government funding compared with other countries", said Universities Australia's Chief … [Read more...]
VET numbers continue to drop
29/05/2015 by
The Australian | 27 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The number of publicly funded vocational education students has dropped for the second year running, just as open markets have been rolled out across the country to encourage more training. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Preliminary 2014 data shows the number of students fell 3.5% last year, on the back of a 3.6% fall in 2013. Australia trained 65,000 fewer publicly funded vocational students last year, with the open market pioneer states of South Australia and Victoria each losing more than 30,000 students. Victoria, which opened its training system to full private competition from … [Read more...]
Keeping public priorities in public universities
29/05/2015 by
The Conversation | 28 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The main purposes of Australian public universities — teaching, research and community engagement — are well established in law and practice. But differences of opinion exist on priorities, interpretation and accountability. A key tension is between academics as the strongest advocates of knowledge for its own sake, and government, students and the general public seeking practical uses for knowledge, writes Andrew Norton. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… For academics, passion for a field of study, opportunity to develop new knowledge, and autonomy in working life are among the most … [Read more...]
National Science and Research Priorities announced
29/05/2015 by
26 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Commonwealth government has announced new national Science and Research Priorities and corresponding Practical Research Challenges, designed “to increase investment in areas of immediate and critical importance to Australia and its place in the world.” …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The nine cross-disciplinary priorities are food, soil and water, transport, cybersecurity, energy, resources, advanced manufacturing, environmental change and health. The government notes that, like other countries, Australia’s capacity to support research is finite. With diverse investments in research across multiple agencies and … [Read more...]
