CDU’s new suite of “quality assured” education courses

10/04/2013 by
CDU_logo_2010

CDU News    |    8 April 2013 Charles Darwin University says a suite of education programs its offering this semester is among the first in Australia to align with new national quality standards. Each of the five undergraduate courses underwent a rigorous evaluation process before being accredited by the Northern Territory Teacher Registration Board on behalf of the Australian Institute of Teachers and School Leaders. The new four-year programs include a Bachelor of Education (Primary), a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Health and Physical Education, a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Music, a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Charles Darwin University, COAG, Commonwealth policies, Teacher training Tagged With: , , , ,

TDA Newsletter 8 April 2013

08/04/2013 by

Business leaders among sacked TAFE chairs Despite the Victorian government’s claims that the recent removal of several of the state’s TAFE chairs was due to their inability to lead “a large and complex government business”, successful business owners and entrepreneurs are among those who have been removed from their positions. Among them is Chisholm Chair, David Willersdorf, and Holmesglen Chair, Jonathan Forster, both of whom run successful businesses with an annual turnover of approximately $400 million each. Prominent VET consultant and former Chisholm chair, Virginia Simmons, is highly critical of the sackings. “The Napthine Government's unceremonious sacking of more than half of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth policies, Higher education policy, International, International students, Qualifications, TAFE Directors Australia, Tertiary media, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Changing PhD

04/04/2013 by
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Group of Eight   |    March 2013 Are PhD graduates unemployable? Are we are producing too many PhDs? Does the public good of their research outweigh the public cost of their training?   These are some of the issues explored in a discussion paper by the Group of Eight - The Changing PhD- in  the context of a worldwide debate about the value and character of a PhD and identifies some possible  reforms emerging from this debate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Obtaining a PhD by research is the pinnacle of formal educational achievement and in principle PhD graduates have experienced an unrivalled opportunity to realise, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Group of 8, Qualifications, Research, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Millions wasted in education?

28/03/2013 by

 That's not what the evidence says, according to Andrew Vann 28 March 2013 Over recent years we have seen a wave of angst about Australia’s school education. The complex issue of teacher quality is, of course, part of the equation, but state governments are also concerned that too many people are being allowed to study education leading to an oversupply of graduates. The dots are perhaps too easily joined here – governments now see raising university entry scores as a way to deal with oversupply, the problem of lifting the status of the profession and lifting quality all at the same time. After all, it’s easy to assume that lifting entry scores would be a solution when … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Charles Sturt University, COAG, Commonwealth policies, Higher education policy, Scan Main Edition, Teacher training Tagged With: , , ,

Numbers that don’t add up

22/03/2013 by
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UNSW News Room    |  20 March 2013 With universities paying about $100,000 a year to employ full-time managers dedicated to liaising with ranking agencies  and "clever reporting", rather than a surge in knowledge, said to explain the surprisingly good results of the Excellence in Research for Australia quality audit,  dean of science at UNSW Merlin Crossley writes that the numbers used to measure performance in educational institutions create a lot of discussion - and angst - because of their obvious imperfections. National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy scores in schools don't measure creativity, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank cut-offs for university courses don't reflect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Higher education policy, Rankings, University of NSW Tagged With: , ,

Regulatory reviews

08/03/2013 by
regulatory-jigsaw

8 March 2013 The Higher Education Standards Panel, which advises and makes recommendations to the Commonwealth minister responsible for tertiary education and research on the Higher Education Standards Framework, has released draft course design and learning outcome standards for comment. The panel has drafted seven standards on course design and ten on learning outcomes. Once settled, the standards will be the measure against which the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency will register institutions and accredit their courses. It’s seeking feedback on the proposed format, including style, clarity and “pitch”. The closing date for comments is Tuesday 16 April … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Higher education policy, Higher Education Standards Panel, Quality audits, TEQSA, universities Tagged With: , , ,

The Australian Higher Education Supplement 20 February 2013

20/02/2013 by

This is The Australian‘s  own summary of lead items in its online edition.  As this is a subscription service,  you or your organisation will need to have a  subscription to The Australian to view the full article. Unis vow to fight teaching cut-off Julie Hare  A proposal to restrict enrolments in teacher education would be met with a constitutional challenge. Do the maths - MOOCs break the mould Jill Rowbotham  THE accelerating evolution of online teaching offers myriad possibilities the Australian sector can seize. Asian language pledge 'a delusion' Bernard Lane  LABOR'S promise of Asian language classes for every school student is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MOOCs, Uncategorized, universities, University of New Engalnd Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting some quality into the standards debate

18/10/2012 by
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18 October 2012 Over the last year governments have changed the names and role of their vocational and higher education regulators from assuring quality to maintaining standards. This minor change in terminology is meant to indicate a major change in role.  Quality is relative to goals which may be different and is somewhat subjective; standards are meant to be met by everyone and should be more objective.  This should result in much better regulation of vocational education.   However, there are at least 2 problems with current thinking about vocational education standards reflected in the Australian National Skills Standards Council’s consultation paper for its review of standards for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: TAFE, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Academics behaving badly? Universities and online reputations

29/09/2012 by
Twitter fail

The Conversation    |    29 September 2012 Trying to control your reputation online is a bit like trying to clean up wee in a toddler pool. You are much more likely to get your hands dirty than achieve any kind of meaningful damage control. Many universities in Australia are trying to define what is acceptable – and unacceptable – for their staff members to say online. Academics too, are exploring the boundaries between expression of academic freedom and the obligation to their institutions in an age when anything you say or write can be easily posted online. A number of high-profile cases of academic trouble in cyberspace has prompted universities to try and protect their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media Tagged With: , , , ,

…acceptable academic inquiry?

27/09/2012 by

The Australian     |    26 September 2012 An anti-vaccine campaigner doing her PhD at University of Wollongong has maintained her candidature despite implying the family of a child who died from whooping cough were liars.   Judy Wilyman has also linked autism with vaccines and recently questioned the value of the vaccine Gardasil in the fight against cervical cancer. The arts student's thesis, which she has been working on for more than four years, is titled "A critical analysis of the Australian government's rationale for its vaccination policy". On her website, Vaccine Decisions (which we have been unable to locate), she updates"news" and shares her thoughts on the "plausible … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Research, Society, University of Wollongong Tagged With: , , , ,
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