ANU needs to recreate itself : Schmidt

Brian Schmidt4

The Canberra Times     |    20 October  2013 Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt says the Australian National University must cut student numbers and change its admissions process in order to recreate itself as a prestigious university in the style of Harvard and Oxford. He has also called for increased funding by the federal government to ensure a change from ''pumping degrees out by the masses''. Schmidt said the ANU had a successful past, creating ''three of Australia's six Nobel prizes'', but there were concerns for its future. I am concerned that we are no longer different.  We're essentially funded exactly the same way. Our relationship with the federal government is not that … [Read more...]

The Scan 13 August 2013

Grant Sutherland

#133 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ VCs doing OK An analysis  by the National Tertiary Education Union of the 2012 Annual reports of Australia’s 37 public universities shows that their vice -chancellors (VCs) were well financially rewarded for their efforts. In total the VCs received remuneration packages worth close to $30m.   Only one V-C is paid less that the Prime Minister, with most getting considerably more.... [READ MORE] ..... Employers losing faith in training system A  Victorian government-commissioned survey has found that employers are losing faith in the quality … [Read more...]

Why open access to universities works and should be left alone

Grattan Institute     |    12    August   2013 The demand-driven higher education funding system is a bold public policy experiment. Yet at barely 18 months of age its existence is in question. Encouraged by university leaders, the government is considering re-controlling Commonwealth- supported student numbers. This re-evaluation is not occurring because the demand-driven system is failing. Rather, it is too successful in its goal of increasing student numbers. There are 150,000 more Commonwealth-supported student places (CSPs) this year than in 2007. With expenditure on higher education rising while anticipated tax revenues fell, in April the government announced a $300 … [Read more...]

Campus Review 12 August 2013

This is Campus Review's own summary of lead items in its online edition. As Campus Review is a subscription service, you or your organisation need to have a subscription to Campus Review to view the full article. All non subscribers to Campus Review can have access to a free online trial offer provides free online access to the website for 28 days. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Caps have backwards look A new report from The Grattan Institute has found it would be a “policy tragedy” to recap university places. The government is considering ending the demand-driven system by limiting public university enrolments, which would cut … [Read more...]

Keep the caps off: Grattan Institute

Grattan Institute     |    7   August 2013 The latest report from Grattan Institute’s Higher Education Program, Keep the caps off! Student access and choice in higher education, urges the Commonwealth Government to reconsider any plan to end its university open access policy. Higher education minister Kim Carr has raised the prospect of limiting public university enrolments.   Some university leaders support such a change. Yet the open access policy, initiated by the current government, has been a major success.  More university applicants are getting into their preferred course, enrolment growth is strong in areas of labour market shortage and the number of students from … [Read more...]

Why the caps should remain off

Grattan Institute     |     7 August 2013 Higher education minister Kim Carr has raised the prospect of limiting public university enrolments through re-imposing some form of cap on enrolments, a move which would be supported by some university leaders, notably in the Group of Eight. In a just published report -  Keep the caps off!  - The Grattan Institute's Andrew Norton argues that this would  undo a major success in higher education.  The open access policy, initiated by the current government, has seen more university applicants  getting into their preferred course, strong enrolment growth  in areas of labour market shortage and the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds … [Read more...]

Don’t rush reform – UA

The Australian    |     24 July 2013 Major policy reform of the demand-driven system cannot be rushed in just 72 hours and needs further consultation to avoid unintended consequences, according to Sandra Harding, chair of Universities Australia. At a recent meeting with vice-chancellors, higher education Minister Kim Carr asked them for advice on possible budget-neutral alternatives to the $900 million university funding cuts announced in the May budget, possibly by reining in growth in student places. While UA hasn't developed an alternative proposal, Harding said it had advised the minister of potential issues arising from any changes to the uncapped system.  She said new places … [Read more...]

Campus Review 21 July 2013

This is Campus Review's own summary of lead items in its online edition. As Campus Review is a subscription service, you or your organisation need to have a subscription to Campus Review to view the full article. All non subscribers to Campus Review can have access to a free online trial offer provides free online access to the website for 28 days. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Make teacher quality a main priority Universities that perform better in research do not necessarily provide better teaching, a new report by the Grattan Institute argues. The report, taking university teaching seriously, says that as higher education … [Read more...]

Uni teaching needs to be taken seriously: Grattan

andrew_norton

Grattan Institute    |     21 July 2013 The Commonwealth Government should create teaching- focused positions in universities as part of a national effort to raise the quality of teaching in higher education, a new Grattan Institute report proposes.  Taking university teaching seriously argues that as higher education enrolments expand toward 40% of young people, much more attention needs to be given to how students learn. According to the report, student surveys suggest that Australian students rate the quality of university teaching less highly than do their American counterparts.   Australians rarely report being pushed to do their best work, are often not actively participating … [Read more...]

UNSW to impose minimum ATAR of 80 for entry

UNSW Logo2

UNSW Newsroom    |      19 July 2013 Which is about what an aspiring UNSW student needs anyway __________________________________________________________ In what has the hallmarks of a political stunt, University of NSW will require a minimum an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of 80 or above to enrol in any of its courses next year. Vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer told staff in a video announcement he was concerned that the quality of degrees may be slipping as universities rushed to enrol as many undergraduates as they could take in order to maximise government funding.  Hilmer said We have given a lot of thought to where we're heading with enrolments.  Over the last few years we … [Read more...]

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