NTEU to spend $1 million on election campaign to defend higher education _________________________________________________________________ 18 June 2013 | A special meeting of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) National Council has voted to spend $1 million during the election campaign to defend higher education in the September federal election. In announcing the move, NTEU president Jeannie Rea said: This is a watershed decision for our union. We are deeply concerned about the impact of an Coalition government on higher education, and the latest $2.3bn cuts by the Gillard Government to universities and student support left us no alternative. We feel compelled … [Read more...]
Not happy – UA
18/06/2013 by
Universities Australia launches regional campaign against cuts _____________________________________________________________ 18 June 2013 | Universities Australia has launched a print advertising campaign in over 80 regional and local areas around the country, aimed at informing residents of the potential consequences to local economies of the Government's $2.8 billion in cuts to university funding and student support measures. The regional and local advertising blitz forms part of Universities Australia's $5 million Smartest Investment Campaign which has been running nationally on TV, radio, print and online since the end of February. Universities Australia Chief … [Read more...]
Can aptitude tests pick the ‘right’ students for university?
18/06/2013 by
The Conversation | 15 June 2013 Since 2007, the Australian government has been evaluating a pilot aptitude test for future university students. The test is meant to help universities select students who might have the ability to undertake tertiary education but who got bad scores at the end of high school. The result is uniTEST which claims to evaluate quantitative, critical, verbal and plausible reasoning. Before looking at the results of the pilot, a quick explanation is required about supplementary tests and why universities use them. Why more tests? Supplementary tests, as the name suggests, help universities choose their students over and above other assessment … [Read more...]
The Scan Early Edition 18 June 2013 – #124
18/06/2013 by
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Not happy Universities launch regional ad campaign against cuts Universities Australia has launched a print advertising campaign in over 80 regional and local areas around the country, aimed at informing residents of the potential consequences to local economies of the Government's $2.8 billion in cuts to university funding and student support measures. The regional and local advertising blitz forms part of Universities Australia's $5 million Smartest Investment Campaign which has been running nationally on TV, radio, print and online since the end of February.....[READ MORE]..... Australian … [Read more...]
Swinburne non-union agreement withdrawn
18/06/2013 by
NTEU News | 14 June 2013 An attempt by Swinburne University to certify a non-union agreement with a small group of newly appointed staff at its subsidiary Swinburne College, which offers courses in Foundation Studies, Pathways, and English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students, has failed. The move was challenged by the National Tertiary Education Union, which described it as an attempt to slash working conditions, and Swinburne College ultimately withdrew the application. Swinburne College was ordered by Fair Work Commission Deputy President Smith to pay $33,655 in legal costs of the NTEU. Kamal Farouque, of prominent industrial law firm Maurice Blackburn, said … [Read more...]
Deakin launches “testbed” MOOC
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Australian Financial Review | 17 June 2013 In a move aimed at buttressing its position as a leader in online education, Deakin University launched its first massive open online course (MOOC) on 17 June and plans to use it as a test-bed for redeveloping its full learning environment. Unlike the MOOC offerings from most universities, Deakin’s free online course will be a taster designed to promote fee-paying courses and will offer students a pathway to earning academic credit. It will be free to all comers, but it also offers students a cheap way to study a unit for credit. For a fee of $495, students can be assessed and earn partial credit for acceptance into Deakin’s … [Read more...]
Time to replace stop-start funding
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UNSW News Room | 12 June 2013 Following federal elections some policy promises bear fruit, others vanish or, worse still, get in the way. During the 2010 election campaign, tertiary sector policies were strangely absent. In 2007, with its education revolution, Labor had a lot to offer. In the research policy arena, the big non-starter was hubs and spokes, a vision of research collaboration and engagement that we don't hear much about these days. Hubs and spokes had several features that were politically attractive. No university would miss out and no matter where you were, you could dream of being a hub but you could still be a spoke if that wasn't to be. The policy picked … [Read more...]
ASQA’s one in ten strike rate
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The Australian | 14 June 2013 A Senate estimates committee has been told that the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the national vocational training regulator, has deregistered or refused to re-register 127 providers since it commenced operations almost two years ago. This comprises about 8% of the 1600 Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) audited so far. Another 1000 RTOs are currently being assessed or have been “earmarked for audit”, chief commissioner Chris Robinson told the Senate Economics Legislation Committee. Of less than 300 RTOsaudited so far in Victoria – where ASQA regulates only about half of the providers – nine have had their registrations … [Read more...]
Carlton uni town connects to city
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The Age | 17 June 2013 A sprawling former hospital site in Carlton has been sold by the state government to Melbourne University for $37 million and is to be transformed into a ''living laboratory'' for sustainability research as part of the university's new precinct called Carlton Connect. Lord mayor Robert Doyle said a new ''university town'' is emerging from RMIT in the CBD to Melbourne University in Carlton and Parkville - “like a Boston … like a Harvard cluster” - which would have a transformative effect on the city. He said the new research area will add to the successful Parkville and Carlton medical research cluster. It is a very powerful extension of … [Read more...]
Can we accept imperfection and still strive for a better society?
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The Conversation | 13 June 2013 We can readily be forgiven for thinking that these are the worst of times: our collective institutions seem feeble in the face of our needs and hopes. The Christian churches – which were once powerful and noble in intent, look deranged and broken. Government seems preoccupied by short term advantage and factional squabbling; the capitalist economy is (in many parts of the world) in disrepair; the media is fragmenting, in financial trouble and driven downmarket. These troubles share an underlying logic. It is easy to imagine things going better, yet all plans to make them better run into the same obstacle. We can imagine a bank that puts people … [Read more...]
