The Scan Main Edition 21 June 2013 # 125

21/06/2013 by
Jane den Hollander

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Craven calls for remaking TEQSA Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University and one of the architects of the higher education regulatory framework told a policy seminar  that the problems with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency have resulted from significant flaws in design and process during the formulation of the legislation, rather than problems with the agency itself.  The one-size fits all approach of the legislation failed to recognise the "special" characteristics of universities that underpin their greater autonomy compared with other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

New visa charges will do “incalculable damage”

21/06/2013 by

The Australian    |     21 June 2013 The tourism and international student sectors are warning export revenue will be hit by a new $700 levy on visitors applying for a visa onshore for the second time, calling it a revenue grab. Sue Blundell, head of English language college peak body English Australia, says If these charges remain, they will do incalculable damage to international education, which is only now starting to recover, and to local tourism. As well as the monetary impact, they present Australia as less welcoming, at a time when government policy should be about engaging our neighbours. TAFE Directors Australia called the new fee a "disaster", with  TDA director Peter … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth policies, International, International students, TAFE Directors Australia, universities Tagged With: ,

Sunshine Coast scores EIF funding

21/06/2013 by
Sunshine Coast TAFE

The Australian    |    21 June 2013 The Sunshine Coast TAFE has been awarded almost $47 million from the federal government's Education Investment Fund to help build a new centre for health training. The centre is expected to double the TAFE's student capacity, with an extra 950 people undertaking studies there in its first three years. Skills minister Craig Emerson said building the health and wellbeing training precinct would create 320 construction jobs in the region. The  announcement was the first grant to go to a TAFE since the government started drip-feeding announcements from the regional priorities round of the EIF last November, an approach that has been strongly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: TAFE Tagged With: , ,

13 Australian unis in top 100 “young unis”

21/06/2013 by

IRU News    |    20 June 2013 Innovative Research University members have cemented their position in the Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s top 100 universities under 50 years old, with all participating IRU members listed.  According to Barney Glover, IRU hair and Vice-Chancellor, Charles Darwin University that six IRU members and  seven other Australian universities are among the world’s top 100 universities under 50 years shows the benefit of the investment from Australian Governments in open and competitive research funding. Open competition keeps pressure on universities with longer track records, rewarding all universities which improve research outcomes.   It creates a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Innovative Research Universities, IRU, QUT, Rankings Tagged With: ,

Craven calls for remaking TEQSA

21/06/2013 by

The Australian    |    20 June 2013 Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University and one of the architects of the higher education regulatory framework told a policy seminar  that the problems with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency have resulted from significant flaws in design and process during the formulation of the legislation, rather than problems with the agency itself. The one-size fits all approach of the legislation failed to recognise the "special" characteristics of universities that underpin their greater autonomy compared with other providers. He said the "negative tone" and "negative psychology" of the legislation encouraged an "almost … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Australian Catholic University, Higher education policy, LH Martin Institute, TEQSA, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Nano research to advance optical IT

21/06/2013 by
Petabyte

Swinburne Media Centre    |    20 June 2013 A research team at Swinburne University of Technology has overcome a fundamental law of optical science that could lead to faster and more energy-efficient optical computing. It would allow Petabyte storage on a single disc or the equivalent of 10.6 years of compressed HD-TV video. “The new technique produces a focal spot that is 1 ten thousandth of a human hair, enabling more data to be written to disc,” Director of the Centre for Micro-Photonics at Swinburne, Professor Min Gu said. The team – Professor Gu, PhD student Zongsong Gan and Dr Yaoyu Cao from the Centre for Micro-Photonics, and Professor Richard Evans from CSIRO – has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Research, Science, Swinburne University Tagged With: , ,

Deakin & Gordon target Melbourne’s west

21/06/2013 by
Gordon

Wyndham Weekly    via TAFE in Victoria |      12 June 2013 Deakin University and Gordon Institute of TAFE (Geelong) have unveiled plans to offer dozens of tertiary and training courses in Wyndham and Werribee in Melbourne's western suburbs by the start of next year.   Deakin has confirmed it is looking for properties to rent or buy in Werribee and Hoppers Crossing.   Vice-chancellor Jane den Hollander said the university is establishing a presence in Wyndham so it can bring higher education options to the area’s rapidly growing population. The south-west of Melbourne is increasing its demand for higher education with a 30% increase in students enrolling in university over the last … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Deakin, TAFE, universities Tagged With: , , , ,

Not happy 3

21/06/2013 by
Melb

NTEU's $1m "Greens splash" drives division in ranks ______________________________________________ 20   June 2013    |     Online news service Crikey reports that a $1 million “cash splash” by the National Tertiary Education Union to “help struggling federal Greens MPs” to hold their seats in September has split both the party and the union and led to claims of favouritism as fissures threaten to muddy the deal before a dollar has even been spent. The decision was brokered this week at a fiery meeting of the NTEU's 150-member national council in Canberra against the backdrop of a meeting of minds over Labor's $2.3 billion in cuts to the sector to help pay for its Gonski reforms. But … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Higher education policy, National Tertiary Education Union Tagged With: , , ,