Looming debate on uni fees

22/05/2012 By
$ sign

The Australian   22 May 2012 An apparently internal discussion paper distributed at a recent Universities Australia meeting in Adelaide canvasses a range of contentious issues including setting minimum entry limits on certain degrees and some degree of fee deregulation.  Public comments of vice-chancellors indicate mixed support for fee deregulation. Monash v-c Ed Byrnes is broadly supportive arguing that it would help boost resources to the sector, drive differentiation, and allow universities with weaker brands to compete on price.  Speaking at a higher education conference,  he warned that any fee deregulation would need to be measured and orderly, pointing to the "shambolic" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monash, Universities Australia, University of Ballarat Tagged With: , , , ,

The Scan 22 March 2012

21/03/2012 By
A brick wall

Control and click headlines and highlights to link to articles, Links may not work unless you or your organisation is a paid subscriber to the originating media outlet.  Check with your communications people about subscriptions. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Commonwealth unveils multi-billion dollar skills plan The Commonwealth government has elevated skills training to be a key economic driver by promising that all Australians would be entitled to government-funded training if the states and territories sign up to a new federal government plan.  And the onus is clearly on the states to ensure … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ASQA, Commonwealth-State relations, General, Quality audits, TEQSA, universities, University reform, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

College living improves academic life

05/03/2012 By
Ormond College Melbourne

The Australian 3 March 2012 A study by La Trobe University’s Laura Burge found all students, but particularly first years, living in on-campus colleges outperformed those in share accommodation or living at home.  Not only did they receive higher marks, they were 50% less likely to fail a subject and about 15% less likely to drop out.  She said the study proved it was not enough just to give non-traditional students access to higher education.  “We need to ensure the availability and quality of continuing support programs to enable success,” Ms Burge said. Go to NewsEXTRA Desk for all current entries. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: universities Tagged With: , , , ,

The Scan 23 February 2012

22/02/2012 By
michael-spence- leaning

Redundancies at Sydney Uni Last week, University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence was guaranteeing no staff will be forced to take redundancy ahead of a final staff plan and that any deals between staff and line managers which are not covered by the university's enterprise agreement are off.  There's obviously now a final plan because this week the university announced plans to  sack staff to fund new projects and restore ageing infrastructure, while using budget cuts to repair a $51 million drop in projected student fee income last year and this year.  Under Dr Spence's plan, 100 academics who have not met the university's new mandatory minimum of three research … [Read more...]

Filed Under: TEQSA, Uncategorized, universities, University of Melbourne, University reform, university staffing, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Turn on, tune in, don’t drop out

17/02/2012 By
THE

Times Higher Education  16 February 2012 The first year of higher education is "critical" for laying the foundations of academic study, the UK's Quality Assurance Agency says, and a key time for "learning how to cope with the demands of a new environment and personal responsibilities".  A large body of research evidence backs this up.  John Gardner, president of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, is often credited with being the first higher education professional to advocate a focus on the first-year experience in the US sector. One of the main reasons why he has argued for its importance is because it is the period when dropout rates are highest. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality audits Tagged With: , , , , ,
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