A quiet revolution in teaching

07/11/2013 by
Professor Margaret Gardner

At a time of some debate about the quality of university education, RMIT vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner says there has been a 'quiet revolution' in university teaching which has seen a steady but significant improvement since the mid-1990s. There has been much recent comment about the quality of university education and it is a topic worthy of more debate.  As we debate, we should recognise that a quiet revolution has occurred in Australian universities beneath the publicity about MOOCS and world rankings. This revolution is seen in the steady but significant improvement in university teaching since the mid-1990s. There have been improvements in various measures, ranging from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: RMIT, Teaching & learning Tagged With: , ,

Guess who defines ‘waste’ in ARC-funded research

06/09/2013 by
Not all pursuits can have their worthiness calculated in dollars and cents. epSos.de

The Conversation    |   5 September 2013 By Rod Lamberts (ANU) I doubt anyone truly believes governments are infinitely resourced. Even the most rabid, single-issue monomaniac can appreciate that to take public money from bucket X, it must come from bucket Y. So it’s perfectly understandable the Coalition, like any party, must prioritise government spending of taxpayer money. The question is, how to prioritise. What are the criteria for good spending versus bad spending? More specifically, what constitutes wasted spending? When it comes to research funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) at least, it seems the Coalition has it all worked out. In a Daily … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Australian Research Council, Budget, Coalition policies, NHMRC, Research, RMIT, universities Tagged With: , , ,

Group of Eight Newsletter August 2013

05/08/2013 by

Increasing Equity, Compacting Quantity Demand-driven funding of university places is not primarily about equity.  Most of the explosive growth of the last few years has been in enrolments from outside identified equity groups.  If demand-driven funding were an equity measure, it would be a very inefficient one.   Since uncapping places has wiped out unmet demand, Mike Teece argues that a more targeted approach to future growth is needed to further equity and maintain quality.  Compacts could be the mechanism. Click here for more. A Clarion Call for Science and Research Is it possible for political leaders to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ALP policies, Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Conferences, Government, Group of 8, Higher education policy, International, RMIT, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Scan Main Edition 1 August 2013

01/08/2013 by
Tim S

# 131 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Industrial action intensifies Industrial conflict rages across the sector as the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) battles it out with universities over the terms of a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.  An application by Monash University to suspend bans on releasing assessment results was effectively thrown out by the Fair Work Commission but a similar application by Swinburne University succeeded.   Industrial action is intensifying at James Cook University, ANU and RMIT....[READ MORE]..... BCA plan to deregulate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACPET, ANU, Australian Academy of Social Sciences, Commonwealth policies, Government, Industrial relations, LH Martin Institute, Life & stuff, National Tertiary Education Union, Notices, Research, RMIT, Scan Main Edition, Schools, Science, Swinburne University, TAFE, Tertiary media, Uncategorized, Universities Australia, University of Canberra, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Industrial despatches

01/08/2013 by
NTEU banner

Industrial conflict rages across the sector as the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) battles it out with universities over the terms of a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. The NTEU scored a tactical victory on 28 July over an application by Monash University to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the suspension of protected industrial action, notably the withholding of assessment results, on the grounds that it endangered the health or  welfare of students.   FWC Vice President Lawler found that the results ban did not pose a significant threat to student health or welfare as the NTEU exemptions process operates to prevent such harm. He decided on a nominal one hour suspension in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ANU, Industrial relations, James Cook University, Monash, National Tertiary Education Union, RMIT, Swinburne University Tagged With: , , ,

The Scan Main Edition 14 June 2013 # 123

14/06/2013 by
Conor King2

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Sydney sets research priorities Following an extensive independent review, Sydney University is set to focus its health and medical research on four priority health and medical priority areas -  obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health and neuroscience and infectious diseases.   The Health and Medical Research Strategic Review, chaired by  Peter Wills AC, was commissioned by vice-chancellor Michael Spence to assist the university "to strategically position itself over the next decade amidst changes to the health and medical research sector in Australia and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ALP policies, Budget, Campus Review, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy, Industrial relations, Innovative Research Universities, International, IRU, LH Martin Institute, Monash, National Tertiary Education Union, NCVER, Regional, Research, RMIT, Scan Main Edition, Swinburne University, TAFE, Uncategorized, University of Sydney, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RMIT sets up in Barcelona

14/06/2013 by
RMIT Barcelona

RMIT News     |      11 June 2013 RMIT University is expanding its presence to Europe by establishing a site in Barcelona, Spain, to build its European education, research and student mobility activities. RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, said the decision to establish a centre in Barcelona was to extend and deepen RMIT's collaborative partnerships in Europe and to strengthen the global orientation and reach of RMIT's education and research. "The excellence of Barcelona in design and technology was very significant in our choice to deepen our partnerships there; and indeed, the high quality of technology and design in Europe has led RMIT to seek … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International, RMIT Tagged With: , ,

RMIT reinstates professor

14/06/2013 by
RMIT

The Australian     |      14 June 2013 RMIT University has reinstated a professor, in line with a Federal Court order, after deciding not to appeal a judgement upholding claims she had been unfairly dismissed. Judith Bessant, professor of sociology and youth studies, had been dismissed after raising various complaints against her supervisor, including bullying allegations. She was reinstated last Friday. In a judgment last month, Federal Court Justice Peter Gray had warned that Professor Bessant could have been entitled to compensation of up to almost $2 million if she wasn't reinstated after finding the university had breached the Fair Work Act.    RMIT chief operating officer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Industrial relations, RMIT Tagged With:

The Scan Early Edition 21 May 2013

21/05/2013 by

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ATARs for uni admission drop marginally 21 May 2013  | Universities are continuing to lower entry scores to maintain expanding numbers, sparking warnings that school inequality is to blame as regional and poor students get left behind. Commonwealth student applications and offer data for this year also show that universities are continuing to recruit into teaching degrees a rising proportion of school leavers with Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks of 50 or less. The proportion of university offers to school leavers with ATARs of 50 or below has doubled over the last two years to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: AEU, ALP, Budget, Campus Review, Commonwealth policies, Early edition, General, Government, Higher education policy, LH Martin, National Tertiary Education Union, RMIT, Schools, Society, TAFE, Teacher training, Tertiary media, Uncategorized, Universities Australia Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RMIT slammed over “sham redundancy”

21/05/2013 by
$ image

The Age     |    20 May 2013 Employers have been warned against using redundancy programs to get rid of ''undesired employees'', after RMIT University was fined $37,000 by the Federal Court for breaking workplace laws, and ordered to re-hire one of its professors. RMIT sacked youth studies and sociology professor Judith Bessant last April, claiming the redundancy was for financial reasons alone. But in a decision handed down last week, Justice Peter Gray found the university had likely fired Bessant after she made allegations of bullying and intimidation against another professor. Justice Gray said his ruling would vindicate Professor Bessant's decision to make a complaint, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Industrial relations, National Tertiary Education Union, RMIT Tagged With: , ,
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