higher education news summary for september 2010: australia, new zealand focus

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand

Higher education news summary • September 2010


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Higher education news summary for September 2010 Uni fees legislation likely to pass House of Reps Student union fees to return Govt reintroduces student fees bill Walk a mile in students' shoes The numbers are out - and they're not pretty Quality conflict deemed unlikely Voluntary student membership a step closer Government Funding Fails To Keep Pace With University Costs High marks for tertiary finances Labor to bring back compulsory university amenities fees Labor reintroduces student fees bill Labor moves to reverse Howard's student-union laws Parity call for VET students Improved access needs on-campus support UOW enrolment slump to cost region $9 mil Labor has second shot at student services levy I'm barely surviving Students see the option of nonprofit jobs during career fair on campus Minister meets WA’s tertiary education leaders National Fails To Listen To Mainstream Students fail to insure belongings Uncertainty for student leaders Australia's Chancellors Turn to New Government as Foreign Enrollments Drop Title bout, but Oz academy has bigger fights ahead Last year's grades may affect loan access No gain without paying Student membership Bill nears end of debate From where I sit - Logos do not deliver popularity Shergold to Head Advisory Group on Gambling A vision for the future of the RMIT Quarter First modular student housing stacks up at ANU Group of Eight to boost standards with external examiners Lecturers face up to post operatives Text theft variously punished Rumblings about the business of ranking US stars lift UTS to the top Regional unis must be community partners Franchise deals only a short-term fix Principles allow global assessment of postgrad degrees Transgressing the boundaries Tertiary regulator TEQSA stands alone Call for mandatory 'green' study UQ welcomes Japanese immersion students Ministerial mess for higher education Barbarians breach the halls of learning The Macquarie University 2010 Vice-Chancellor's Annual Debate: 'Australia is producing too many

university graduates' Murdoch University wields axe to find $20m savings Union affiliation ‘to fire up’ student activism in city How to save money on textbooks–rent them Students Prefer Printed College Newspapers over Online Adam Bandt launches social enterprise forum Commercial pressures 'will shut a UK university' Vale higher education






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Higher Education conference attacks rankings Change in Victoria's funding system Blurred sector seeking clarity Universities welcome portfolio backflip $20 million but no promise of a uni campus Julia Gillard bows to unis, adds Tertiary Education to Chris Evans' title Ranking shock has no impact Word up as sector gets full portfolio in Labor government Know thy students Binge drinking, blackouts an increasing problem among college students Gillard defends dismantling of portfolio We need elite education at all levels of learning The portfolio that dare not say its name True measure? Rating the rankings ritual Gillard rejects unis' complaint over failure to appoint education minister Unis puzzled at PM's 'education' ditch Unis hit Gillard cabinet changes Fears higher education at risk of being devalued Vice-chancellors relieved by Labor win Gillard defends splitting up education portfolio Australia: Policy paralysis will be costly Editorial: Education is not a commodity Setting Quality Standards in Higher Ed From where I sit - Hanging in the balance Australian Unis on a downward slide? Aussies take one silver and three bronze at world uni champs Graduates can afford to top up funding Universities slide down world ranks Staff levels at unis blamed for drop in world rankings Independents win support for regions Australian Universities Quality Agency gives Melbourne model a pass Australia leads on foreign students Int'l Journal of the First Year in Higher Education - submissions open Student recruitment drive denied Departure of overseas students will cost dearly, warn university chiefs The decline of studying Does Australia need to aim higher in higher education? Immigration cuts would hit University funds Students Head To Singapore And New Zealand On ANZ Scholarships Call for clarity as TAFE-uni lines blur NSW TAFE steps up to plate Australia’s Real Deficit is in Higher Education: Finance Expert eBooks: All In The Delivery Farmers markets hit university campuses Politics wanes on the digital campus Talking up regional revolution Graduate wage gap widens Untangle web of qualifications Macquarie University Gets A$450 Million of Financing Universities expect to over-enrol on a large scale






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Uni fees legislation likely to pass House of Reps ABC News September 29 2010 The Federal Government is already targeting regional Australia, as the new Parliament gets down to business today. The Government has reintroduced a bill to give universities the option of charging students compulsory fees for campus services….. Full article: http://bit.ly/93N4jI Student union fees to return The Age September 30 2010 THE Gillard government appears set to overturn laws that banned universities from charging compulsory student union fees. Five years after the Howard government's so-called voluntary student unionism laws outlawed compulsory non-academic fees, universities appear likely to win the right to charge fees to fund….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9Pp42S Govt reintroduces student fees bill The Sydney Morning Herald September 29 2010 The federal government is once again trying to reinstate compulsory service fees for university students. Higher Education Minister Chris Evans announced Labor would reintroduce draft laws setting up the levy to parliament….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9jhu0j Walk a mile in students' shoes The Australian September 29 2010 VCs could learn much from spending a week as 'customers', says Joseph Gora. RECENTLY I was greatly impressed by the highly unpopular Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, who in an effort to learn more about life on the job (as it were), decided to do a spell as….. Full article: http://bit.ly/c8ilYv The numbers are out - and they're not pretty Simon Marginson in The Age September 28 2010

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THE Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released the 2010 edition of Education at a Glance. The report compares education in Australia with other countries in 2007-08, just after 11 years of the Howard government, and has four….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aew6it Quality conflict deemed unlikely The Australian September 29 2010 VICE-CHANCELLORS have been assured there is no conflict between the new tertiary regulator and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Universities Australia's chairman Peter Coaldrake emailed members after an article in last week's HES touched a nerve….. Full article: http://bit.ly/btPmeg Voluntary student membership a step closer The Otago Daily Times September 25 2010 Student association representatives are "appalled" that voluntary student membership has come a step closer due to a select committee recommendation yesterday. Parliament's Education and Science select committee reported back to Parliament yesterday, recommending the Act New Zealand-sponsored Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill proceed with….. Full article: http://bit.ly/93D8ib Government Funding Fails To Keep Pace With University Costs Voxy, New Zealand September 28 2010 Figures released by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) today comparing the financial information of tertiary institutions between 2007 and 2009 are a testament to the sound financial management shown by our nation's eight universities. However, the increase in student numbers at our universities combined with the increase in university costs….. Full article: http://bit.ly/abM2LU High marks for tertiary finances The New Zealand Herald September 29 2010 The Government says tertiary funds are fine; institutions say the cost is student places.

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The Government says New Zealand's universities and polytechnics are financially strong - but universities say funding pressures mean they will be turning away record numbers of students….. Full article: http://bit.ly/94RLtn Labor to bring back compulsory university amenities fees The Australian September 29 2010 THE Gillard government will introduce legislation today to restore compulsory student amenities fees at Australian universities. Minister for Tertiary Education Minister, Senator Chris Evans, appealed today to the new parliament to support the bill, saying he wanted it to be….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cRDary Labor reintroduces student fees bill SBS.com.au September 29 2010 Higher Education Minister Chris Evans announced Labor would reintroduce draft laws setting up the levy to parliament. The federal government is once again trying to reinstate compulsory service fees for university students….. Full article: http://bit.ly/c4w7BT Labor moves to reverse Howard's student-union laws The Sydney Morning Herald September 29 2010 Howard-era laws that banned universities from charging compulsory student union fees are set to be overturned. Five years after the Howard Government's so-called Voluntary Student Unionism laws outlawed compulsory non-academic fees, universities appear likely to win the right to….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aILJSW Parity call for VET students The Australian September 29 2010 THE Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has backed the thrust of Victoria's skills reforms. The OECD has recommended that Australia adopt a student entitlement system for vocational education and training in which students can choose….. Full article: http://bit.ly/995VNR

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Improved access needs on-campus support The Australian September 29 2010 RECRUITMENT finds the students; what happens after that determines how successful they will be. US equity guru Vincent Tinto has it right when he argues in relation to non-traditional students that, without support, access to university is….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cr52WN UOW enrolment slump to cost region $9 mil The Illawarra Mercury September 27 2010 The region is set to lose more than $9 million in student spending next year, as the University of Wollongong prepares for a dramatic drop in international student enrolments. UOW is predicting a 15 per cent decrease in commencing international students, which it says is a direct result of changes to skilled migration visa rules brought in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9Xi56y Labor has second shot at student services levy The Sydney Morning Herald September 27 2010 Labor will make another attempt this week to change the law to allow universities to charge students compulsory fees to fund campus services such as sports facilities, health clinics and counselling. Last year Labor proposed legislation to allow universities to levy annual fees of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/am6eDb I'm barely surviving The Age September 27 2010 "I am a uni student and am seriously stressed about money. I have two part-time jobs but am barely surviving and am behind with my uni work." YOUR situation is very common among university students. Recent research involving almost 19,000 Australian students, in which I was involved, found that more than 70 per cent of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/dwxAAH

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Students see the option of nonprofit jobs during career fair on campus The Eastern Echo, Michigan September 26 2010 More than 200 Eastern Michigan University students took advantage of last Wednesday’s Nonprofit Volunteer Career Fair in the Student Center Ballroom. “[I attended the fair] to see what organizations are out there, so I can get involved in the EMU community,” EMU junior Jessica Horne said. More than 20 organizations took part in this event, which was open to the public and….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bq9WP3 Minister meets WA’s tertiary education leaders Media Release: Senator the Hon Christopher Evans September 17 2010 The Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, today met Western Australian University Vice-Chancellors and the State Minister for Education, Dr Liz Constable, to discuss the future direction of Australia’s higher education sector. Attending a meeting of the Western Australian Higher Education Council at….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bl2Dfo National Fails To Listen To Mainstream Voxy, New Zealand September 24 2010 Students are slamming today's Select Committee recommendation that the Act Party's Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill go forward. The recommendation ignores the 98% of submissions against it and is putting students' services, representation, and the quality of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/c61XEb Students fail to insure belongings UK Press Association September 25 2010 The typical student takes more than £2,000-worth of belongings to university but less than half of these are insured, a survey has suggested. The average student has possessions worth £2,076 with them at university, according to….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cBt3d0

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Uncertainty for student leaders The Otago Daily Times, NZ September 24 2010 Between them, the Otago University Students' Association and the Otago Polytechnic Students' Association collected more than $3.7 million this year from almost 30,000 members, but their revenue base could dry up overnight if Act New Zealand's Voluntary Student Membership Bill is passed. Tertiary education reporter Allison Rudd investigates whether the associations would….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9mdYjL Australia's Chancellors Turn to New Government as Foreign Enrollments Drop The Chronicle of Higher Education September 22 2010 Universities are asking her to help curb the decline in international students.Enlarge Image With a newly elected Labor government in Australia, the country's universities are looking for federal help to fix a pressing problem: the sharp decline in international students. Enrollment of overseas students has dropped in recent months because of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bXEXJC Title bout, but Oz academy has bigger fights ahead Times Higher Education, UK September 23 2010 Ministerial 'bungle' distracts attention from sector's major problems. Simon Baker writes University leaders in Australia are attempting to move on from a row with the new Labor government that has hindered efforts to pressure politicians into tackling the urgent problems facing….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bJ1lrn Last year's grades may affect loan access TVNZ September 22 2010 University and polytech students say they are shocked to find out that last year's grades could determine their access to student loans next year. In May, the government announced that those students who failed half their courses would not get….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cmtkUV No gain without paying The Australian September 22 2010

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CORPORATE rip-offs mean students get slugged extra even for basics. A FRIEND of mine who happens to be a single parent, visually disabled and battling serious illness, contacted me recently to vent her spleen. Through a volley of choice expletives she told of a contagious disease that has infected the university….. Full article: http://bit.ly/c9tXsh Student membership Bill nears end of debate Tertiary Education Union, New Zealand September 23 2010 The Education and Science Select Committee is due to report back to Parliament next week on the ACT Party’s Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill which would impose voluntary student membership on students’ associations around New Zealand. The Committee received more than 4400 submissions, with an overwhelming….. Full article: http://bit.ly/c0Ui48 From where I sit - Logos do not deliver popularity Times Higher Education, UK September 23 2010 I bumped into a colleague the other day who expressed her relief at the outcome of the Australian election. The result had hung in the balance for two weeks and could have gone either way before Labor's eventual….. Full article: http://bit.ly/ad7KD5 Shergold to Head Advisory Group on Gambling ProBonoAustralia.com.au September 22 2010 Former Howard Government Department head and current CEO of the Centre for Social Impact, Prof Peter Shergold is to lead a new advisory group on poker machines. The Ministerial Advisory Group on Gambling has been set up as part of an agreement between the Labor Government and Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie as part of the discussions after….. Full article: http://bit.ly/dxjASB A vision for the future of the RMIT Quarter RMIT News September 22 2010 RMIT University has unveiled its vision for the northern end of Melbourne's CBD, in a stunning animated preview that comes as works begin on the landmark Swanston Academic Building. The University last week appointed Brookfield Multiplex as the contractor for the pioneering $200-plus million development, which will wrap around the historic Oxford Scholar hotel on….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bYZErW

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First modular student housing stacks up at ANU ANU News September 22 2010 Australia’s first medium rise, modular accommodation for students has been officially opened at The Australian National University. “The Laurus Wing of Ursula Hall will provide purpose-built accommodation for 213 students, with….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cxaLNy Group of Eight to boost standards with external examiners The Australian September 22 2010 THE Group of Eight universities plans to up the ante in the standards debate by establishing Australia's first system of external examiners. Richard Henry, who serves on the revamped Go8 academic policy committee, said the group hoped the initiative would help the new regulator stay true to its promise of "light-touch" supervision. "So when [the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency] talks about….. Full article: http://bit.ly/d5k0KQ Lecturers face up to post operatives The Australian September 22 2010 MY Lecturer, a new website for students to rate their teachers, began as Facebook banter and draws inspiration from toilet graffiti. This will come as no surprise to those who say Australia is in for a tawdry rerun of the US site Rate My Professors, where….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bzcYFC Text theft variously punished The Australian September 22 2010 AN estimated 10,000 students a year are subjected to disciplinary action across Australia's universities, most of them for plagiarism allegations. The research, published in Australian Universities Review, found wide variations in rates of plagiarism cases between universities, pointing to inconsistencies about what constitutes plagiarism when….. Full article: http://bit.ly/diDBEB

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Rumblings about the business of ranking The Australian September 22 2010 CHANGES to a university are like turning around the Titanic. THE mood in the Australian higher education sector towards university league tables has shifted gear, from resigned acceptance to increasing resentment. It has been a contentious few weeks as three key international rankings were released along with….. Full article: http://bit.ly/8ZUT13 US stars lift UTS to the top The Australian September 22 2010 THE University of Technology, Sydney has emerged as an economics powerhouse thanks to star recruits. The RePEc ranking is primarily based on citations THE University of Technology, Sydney has emerged as an economics powerhouse thanks to….. Full article: http://bit.ly/d2xBZd Regional unis must be community partners The Australian September 22 2010 CAMPUSES outside the metropolitan area can play a broader role in engaging with their regions. THE wind has shifted and we are all regional now. To date, the main focus of the debate about regional universities since the Bradley report has been on what to do about the significantly lower participation of regional populations in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9A5dZy Franchise deals only a short-term fix The Australian September 22 2010 EXPANDING higher education through franchising deals between universities and TAFE colleges is a short-term fix rather than a long-term strategy.. Gareth Parry, professor of education at Sheffield University and an authority on relations between English universities and further education colleges, said the weakness of franchising was that it tended to subordinate the….. Full article: http://bit.ly/col84J

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Principles allow global assessment of postgrad degrees The Australian September 22 2010 HIGHER education leaders from 17 countries last week agreed to a set of principles for assessing the quality of postgraduate education and research training. Employment skills, research supervision structures, student experience, research impact and communication, and interdisciplinary and global research experiences underpin the new….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aPtxOG Transgressing the boundaries The Australian September 22 2010 UNIVERSITIES are increasingly crossing over into the previously TAFE-only field of vocational training. THE expansion of degrees offered by TAFE institutes and private vocational colleges has attracted attention recently, but the expansion of universities into vocational education and training has….. Full article: http://bit.ly/du6QPl Tertiary regulator TEQSA stands alone The Australian September 22 2010 DENISE Bradley, interim chairwoman of TEQSA, has distanced the new regulator from an attempt to pioneer an academic standards system. Some have seen this project, run by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, as a precursor to a TEQSA system for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9vAXn4 Call for mandatory 'green' study The Sydney Morning Herald September 20 2010 University students would be required to undertake ''environmental literacy'' subjects covering basic climate science and how their chosen field of study contributes to climate change under a proposal from the National Tertiary Education Union. The union, which represents academics and other university staff, says students are not….. Full article: http://bit.ly/beADqW UQ welcomes Japanese immersion students UQ News September 20 2010 Seven students from Wakayama University in Japan recently toured UQ as part of a two-week immersion course in Australian education and culture.

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The tech-savvy group visited UQ's School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies (SLCCS) as part of a longstanding agreement between….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aLhHVv Ministerial mess for higher education University World News September 19 2010 For a brief time last week, Australia was without a federal Minister of Education. It was yet another weird byproduct of the most bizarre election in Australian history and media commentators pointed to the peculiarity of Australia joining Canada as the only two countries that had universities in the top 100 rankings but no….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9CSDxZ Barbarians breach the halls of learning The Australian September 18 2010 Do we undervalue education when we regard its ends to be skills and jobs? THERE was a time when government ministries possessed a certain grandeur. Call me old-fashioned but I rather liked it when ministers didn't have long and inelegant job titles; when they were simply responsible for the treasury, war, interior, or external….. Full article: http://bit.ly/dvOzmL The Macquarie University 2010 Vice-Chancellor's Annual Debate: 'Australia is producing too many university graduates' Higher education has never been so popular. Around the world young people are flocking to universities in the hope that a degree will propel them into the best jobs available. It is has been estimated that over the next 30 years Australia will need to build around 24 new universities and recruit some 26,000 extra academic staff in order to cope with the demand for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bihlXe Murdoch University wields axe to find $20m savings The Australian September 15 2010 MURDOCH University will cut its faculties, set a minimum size for schools and reduce salary budgets to find $20 million in savings as it gears up for tougher competition in the sector. But in his email to staff last week endorsing the outcome of an academic review, vice-chancellor John Yovich said he believed "significant staff losses" would….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cGvPYS

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Union affiliation ‘to fire up’ student activism in city The Bellarine Independent September 16 2010 DEAKIN University students are set to put up “more of a fight” over campus issues after their representative body affiliated with Australia’s National Student Union, according to a representative. Deakin University Student Association (DUSA) has joined National Union of Students (NUS) for the first time in 10 years after….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aW5iDY How to save money on textbooks–rent them Macleans.ca, Canada September 15 2010 Textbook rentals have stormed onto Canadian campuses, but not without some opposition Shocked by the nearly $1,000 you dropped on textbooks this fall? Maybe it’s time to rent. Big business at American universities, textbook rentals have stormed onto Canadian campuses, but not without a little opposition. While the idea may prove popular with some students, a limited number of titles available for rent could see the program….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9sWE1g Students Prefer Printed College Newspapers over Online Poynter.org September 14 2010 Students have returned to college campuses armed with laptops, smart phones and countless other electronic gadgets. Yet most still turn to a print newspaper for their campus news. The printed versions of college newspapers continue to thrive, with students grabbing copies as they go from one class to another. It's not unusual to see students reading about the latest campus news while….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bVy1LP Adam Bandt launches social enterprise forum RMIT News September 13 2010 Adam Bandt, the newly elected Greens member for Melbourne, launched a forum at the State Library of Victoria (SLV) to explore a collaboration between SLV and RMIT University that aims to foster socially driven programs across….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bMx5rC

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Commercial pressures 'will shut a UK university' BBC, UK September 14 2010 There are fears about the financial future of some UK universities Nine out of 10 university leaders believe a UK university will shut down because of financial pressures in the next decade, suggests a survey. Researchers examined deputy vice chancellors' views about an increasingly competitive commercial environment in….. Full article: http://bbc.in/bxipQg Vale higher education Steven Schwartz, VC Macquarie University September 14 2010 Remember the Federal Government's education revolution? It now appears the revolution has taken a peculiar postmodernist turn: the word "education" has disappeared to be replaced by others such as skills, research, and innovation. For the first time in many years no Australian federal minister has "education" in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/djw2TW Higher Education conference attacks rankings University World News September 14 2010 With the international university rankings season underway, higher education policy-makers and leaders have criticised league tables for distorting university priorities during a major global recession. Delegates speaking at a three-day OECD conference in Paris said rankings did not help. Vice-chancellor of California State University, Charles Reed, caused a stir when he described….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cNr91j Change in Victoria's funding system The Australian September 15 2010 VICTORIA'S Education Minister Bronwyn Pike yesterday flagged significant changes to the state's market-demand driven system. A pending independent review of changes to how TAFE operates in the state is expected to address concerns that some groups, such as mature-age students, will be disadvantaged, especially in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cUHaZ7

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Blurred sector seeking clarity The Australian September 15 2010 UNIVERSITIES may complain that commonwealth funding doesn't cover the cost of teaching, but the chairman of TAFE Directors Australia believes the funding rate is "pretty reasonable". The comments at the TAFE Directors Australia conference in Melbourne this week highlight the lower cost structures of TAFEs that don't offer….. Full article: http://bit.ly/coi3NJ Universities welcome portfolio backflip The Age September 14 2010 Universities have welcomed the federal government's decision to change the name of one of its portfolios to acknowledge the higher education sector. But, they say, it's still not clear which minister will be in charge of postgraduate….. Full article: http://bit.ly/94zayG $20 million but no promise of a uni campus Port Macquarie News September 13 2010 THE $20 million set aside for a multi-partner university campus on the Mid-North Coast does not guarantee a new campus will be built. A campus is one of several options being explored in a feasibility study now underway. Other possibilities include an expansion of Port Macquarie’s existing TAFE campus with….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9ED5V1 Julia Gillard bows to unis, adds Tertiary Education to Chris Evans' title The Australian September 14 2010 JULIA Gillard has been forced to make four changes to her ministers' titles since naming her team on Saturday. Ms Gillard bowed to pressure today from the higher education sector and added Tertiary Education to Senator Chris Evans' job title of Jobs, Skills and Workplace Relations Minister….. Full article: http://bit.ly/94BcRU

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Ranking shock has no impact The Australian September 15 2010 AUSTRALIAN universities have responded with a deafening silence to their contentious downgrading in last week's Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. Seventeen of the 25 Australian institutions that made QS's top 500 were downgraded from the previous year, with La Trobe and Queensland University of Technology each….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cf6ETS Word up as sector gets full portfolio in Labor government The Australian September 15 2010 CHRIS Evans, the new minister with responsibility for the university sector, had his portfolio title changed yesterday just hours before being sworn in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce. The alteration, which added tertiary education to the previous portfolio of jobs, skills and workplace relations, came less than 48 hours after….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bnEuD7 Know thy students The Australian September 15 2010 AROUND my campus I often hear that students aren't what they used to be. This is, of course, true. And it has always been true. As an undergraduate in the early 1980s, I heard lecturers making the same comment, and my father reports he encountered the same thing as an undergraduate two decades earlier. There are even records of it being said in the 30s. It seems that every generation feels….. Full article: http://bit.ly/b0MQ84 Binge drinking, blackouts an increasing problem among college students Ball State University, USA September 14 2010 Despite Ball State’s efforts to curb binge alcohol use, heavy drinking remains a problem for some students, a problem bigger than just the next day’s hangover. “We see a lot of people with physical injuries, broken bones, bruises or sprains and cuts ... from falling and hurting themselves while they’re intoxicated,” Dr. Kent Bullis, medical director of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9nKaMf

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Gillard defends dismantling of portfolio The Australian September 14 2010 JULIA Gillard's office has denied that the failure to appoint a minister for education was designed to change the focus of the portfolio. Universities have attacked the decision not to have a minister for education, forcing….. Full article: http://bit.ly/b4jEmI We need elite education at all levels of learning The Australian September 14 2010 A FIRST-CLASS education system for Australia requires elite skills training as well as an elite university sector - not an undifferentiated combination of the two. Julia Gillard's rather odd decision to govern without an education minister and to split schools, TAFE, undergraduate and postgraduate responsibilities three ways is not necessarily a blueprint for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9rElF2 The portfolio that dare not say its name The Age September 14 2010 FOR the first time in living memory, Australia is without a federal Minister of Education. In yet another weird byproduct of the most bizarre election in recent history, the nation now has a former pop star as Minister for Schools but no one with responsibility for the entire $33 billion-a-year education system, with its vast matrix of preschools, schools, TAFE institutes and universities. Did it slip Prime Minister Julia Gillard's mind when she was working on….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cVhrgZ True measure? Rating the rankings ritual The Age September 14 2010 EINSTEIN once said: "Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." Who knows what the genius would have made of the 21st-century emergence of world university rankings? Perhaps, like many of his academic successors, he would accept that in an era of unprecedented student mobility and global competition for talent, rankings are….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9GtnBn

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Gillard rejects unis' complaint over failure to appoint education minister The Australian September 13 2010 UNIVERSITIES have attacked the failure to appoint an education minister in Julia Gillard's ministerial shake-up, forcing the Prime Minister to defend the changes today. While several cabinet level ministers will retain responsibility for education, responsibilities for schools, universities and postrgraduate studies will be split between….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cg2c3E Unis puzzled at PM's 'education' ditch The Sydney Morning Herald September 13 2010 The universities sector is puzzled by Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to drop the word education from her new-look cabinet. Higher education, which previously came under the education portfolio, will fall under a skills ministry that Senator Chris Evans will oversee along with….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cmGspu Unis hit Gillard cabinet changes The Age September 13 2010 TOP universities have blasted Julia Gillard's cabinet reshuffle, saying her decision to place higher education under the skills portfolio - and not have ''education'' in any minister's title - devalued the importance of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/98leAR Fears higher education at risk of being devalued The Australian September 13 2010 UNIVERSITIES yesterday warned higher learning risked being devalued. The warning came after the ministry shake-up dropped "education" and put higher education in the skills portfolio….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aPeMnN Vice-chancellors relieved by Labor win University World News September 12 2010 "When it comes to elections there are odd results, strange results and bizarre results; Australia has just managed to achieve the surreal," wrote Professor Greg Craven last week. The vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University was commenting in the Melbourne Age newspaper on the outcome of the Australian election - nearly three weeks after….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aFb6J7

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Gillard defends splitting up education portfolio ABC News September 12 2010 Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Senator Chris Evans have defended the decision to split up the Education portfolio between two ministers in yesterday's Cabinet shake-up. Ms Gillard has scrapped the title of education minister and appointed Peter Garrett as the Minister for Schools, Early Childhood and Youth, while Chris Evans becomes Minister for Jobs, Skills and….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bFK8mp Australia: Policy paralysis will be costly University World News September 12 2010 After an unedifying election, with a vacuous flogging-to-death of fragmented pop-policy positions, we face a compromised government that will be on a re-election footing from its outset. Coherent policy ideas are not likely to emanate from that cauldron. Courageous policy, never an easy thing, will be back-burnered by….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cGLN46 Editorial: Education is not a commodity The New Zealand Herald September 12 2010 Given the funding environment in which our universities operate, it is remarkable how little they have fallen in the latest international survey. The highly regarded QS World University rankings this week showed that all New Zealand universities had….. Full article: http://bit.ly/9iOmqt Setting Quality Standards in Higher Ed InsideHigherEd.com September 09 2010 The growing chorus of criticism of U.S. higher education is focusing on quality, and rightly so. Quality is or should be the central issue in the higher education enterprise. It is too often overlooked in the quest for reform and change in other important areas such as cost containment, expansion, accessibility and higher graduation rates. We should always be on the lookout for ways to improve….. Full article: http://bit.ly/avcMVC From where I sit - Hanging in the balance Simon Marginson in Times Higher Education September 09 2010 The federal election in Australia on 21 August left the country with a hung Parliament and three independents from rural electorates holding the balance of power.

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The election result also left the higher education system in limbo at a more than usually crucial time, with a long list of unanswered questions and a funding base in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aI5C3c Australian Unis on a downward slide? The Age September 09 2010 University chiefs are relying on independent MPs to pressure the government to boost public funding of universities. Among rural independent, Rob Oakeshott's gripes was the "crisis in regional education". It was a reference to cuts the Coalition had….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aEJXaX Aussies take one silver and three bronze at world uni champs Australian University Sport September 01 2010 Australia’s university championship medal tally has been boosted once again with the addition of one silver and three bronze following the World University Championship Sprint Canoe in Poznan….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bZzucc Graduates can afford to top up funding Andrew Norton in The Australian September 08 2010 THE new government faces the same old problem: too many demands, too little money. In higher education, the key issue of funding rate per student remains unresolved. When it reports in 2011, the promised review of base funding levels will almost certainly recommend higher rates for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/ao4lGy Universities slide down world ranks New Zealand Herald September 08 2010 New Zealand universities have all dropped places in a major international poll, with the University of Auckland the only one in the top 100. The survey of the world's top educational institutions ranked the University of Auckland in 68th place - a fall of seven spots from last year. The university, which has 38,500 students, peaked at….. Full article: http://bit.ly/a5QsxL

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Staff levels at unis blamed for drop in world rankings The Sydney Morning Herald September 08 2010 MOST of Australia's universities have lost ground in world rankings, putting pressure on them to improve their ratios of staff to students to remain internationally competitive. Of the 25 Australian universities placed in the top 500 internationally, 18 have fallen in the international comparisons since….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cZsLFG Independents win support for regions The Australian September 08 2010 LABOR'S new minority government will deliver a better and more certain outcome for the Bradley reform agenda. "It means stability and continuity because the government's higher education reform package is a known quantity," said Peter Coaldrake, chairman of Universities Australia….. Full article: http://bit.ly/amBPdG Australian Universities Quality Agency gives Melbourne model a pass The Australian September 08 2010 THE University of Melbourne has been commended by the national quality assurance agency for monitoring and improving its new Melbourne model but was also cautioned that there needs to be greater attention to ensuring schools and employers are aware of its aims and outcomes. "While the implementation of the model is proceeding, the university's success in achieving its desired outcomes will not be apparent for some years," the Australian Universities Quality Agency said….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cwjSQ9 Australia leads on foreign students The Age September 08 2010 AUSTRALIA has the highest proportion of international students enrolled in its tertiary institutions in the world, according to an international study. The OECD's Education at a Glance report, released last night, found one in five students in tertiary education in Australia in 2008 was from overseas. Australia was ahead of Austria, which had 15.5 per cent foreign students….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aLhdMH

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Int'l Journal of the First Year in Higher Education - submissions open September 07 2010 The call for submissions for Volume 2, Issue 1 of The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education (Int J FYHE) is now open. Submissions will close on October 18, 2010 and Volume 2, Issue 1 will be published in February, 2011. The Int J FYHE is hosted by the First Year in Higher Education virtual centre and….. Full article: http://bit.ly/929hRI Student recruitment drive denied ABC News September 07 2010 The Skills Institute says teachers have productivity targets, but they are not expected to recruit students. (ABC News) There is concern Tasmania's Skills Institute could soon be competing with the Polytechnic for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cMHPfn Departure of overseas students will cost dearly, warn university chiefs The Age September 07 2010 MONASH University vice-chancellor Ed Byrne has warned that continuing decline in the number of overseas students will endanger universities, and seriously harm higher education. The comments came as the vice-chancellors of Australia's top research universities wrote to….. Full article: http://bit.ly/93EYMo The decline of studying Macleans.ca, Canada September 05 2010 How university students are spending less time hitting the books while earning better grades than ever In 2006, Philip Babcock, a labour economist at the University of California, was surfing online when he came across a survey on the time use of undergraduate students at his school that shocked him. He noticed students were reporting perplexingly low studying times. Comparing his own university experience to his teaching experience over the past five years, Babcock had….. Full article: http://bit.ly/blTmoZ

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Does Australia need to aim higher in higher education? The Drum, ABC September 06 2010 The recent election campaign saw few new ideas from either the Government or Opposition in the area of higher education. And while a lot of change has occurred in the sector over the last three years to improve equity access and the number of available places, we must be mindful that other countries are implementing their own initiatives that pose a threat to Australia's ability to have an internationally competitive workforce in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/d1yonS Immigration cuts would hit University funds The Sydney Morning Herald September 04 2010 THE appalling bipartisan consensus on immigration that emerged during the federal election campaign could combine with subdued markets to produce a cash flow crisis in Australia's universities. The business model they adopted in response to reduced government support sees them source….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cqVUbP Students Head To Singapore And New Zealand On ANZ Scholarships Voxy.co.nz September 02 2010 ANZ today announced two New Zealand university students will head to Singapore and two Singapore university students will come to New Zealand after being awarded new ANZ scholarships….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cahM3G Call for clarity as TAFE-uni lines blur The Australian September 01 2010 AUSTRALIA needs an independent classification body to make tough decisions on "what is what" and "who is who" as the lines blur between universities and TAFE institutes, education policy expert Simon Marginson has urged. Speaking at a University of Melbourne seminar last week, Professor Marginson said….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cujajA NSW TAFE steps up to plate The Australian September 01 2010 THE monolithic NSW TAFE system will deliver higher education qualifications from next year, starting with a few niche degrees in high-demand areas.

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But its main focus will be on working with universities to develop pathways into higher education via associate degrees, particularly in areas identified for….. Full article: http://bit.ly/bKbEDb Australia’s Real Deficit is in Higher Education: Finance Expert UWA News August 19 2010 Forget the budget deficit. Forget the current account deficit. Australia's real problem, says The University of Western Australia Business School Accounting and Finance Professor Ray da Silva Rosa, is a brains deficit. It wasn't so long ago that politicians were talking about a creative economy, a knowledge nation, a country founded on innovation. In the 2001 election campaign….. Full article: http://bit.ly/beA6bz eBooks: All In The Delivery InsideHigherEd.com August 31 2010 With another summer ending, the time has come to ask the perennial question: Could this be the year higher education finally embraces the e-book? Some think that developments since the last buying cycle, particularly the arrival of Apple's iPad computing tablet, might foreshadow an especially good year for the electronic texts. CourseSmart, the e-textbook consortium comprising five major publishers, says it has sold four times more e-textbooks in 2009-10 than ….. Full article: http://bit.ly/ar0IUF Farmers markets hit university campuses Macleans.ca, Canada August 27 2010 From Halifax to Vancouver fresh food and vegetables are being brought to students Fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables and other artisanal products are turning up on Canadian campuses as students embrace the trend of shopping at farmers markets. McMaster University in Hamilton has just launched a market, the result of student Mary Koziol’s passion for local food. It runs every Thursday in….. Full article: http://bit.ly/dCh3zi Politics wanes on the digital campus The Age August 31 2010 Everyone says uni life isn't what it used to be. Liz Porter, a student in the so-called golden age 40 years ago, returns to Monash - and feels pangs of envy.

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I STAND at the base of the Ming Wing, as we used to call the 11-storey Robert Menzies humanities building, and look across at the bland, sand-coloured facade of Monash University's Campus Centre….. Full article: http://bit.ly/adAflA Talking up regional revolution The Australian September 01 2010 A MINI-EDUCATION revolution talked up by independent MP Rob Oakeshott could be tried elsewhere in regional Australia. Mr Oakeshott has championed regional development that places tertiary education at its centre for the mid-north coast of….. Full article: http://bit.ly/d6B4Lf Graduate wage gap widens The Australian September 01 2010 THE wage gap between male and female graduates widened in the three years to last year. Women are earning $7200 less a year than their male counterparts. In the first study of how graduates fared three years after leaving university, the gender wage gap for full-time employed graduates blew out from 6 per cent to….. Full article: http://bit.ly/cyDxW3 Untangle web of qualifications The Australian September 01 2010 IN the next decade tertiary education in Australia will be transformed. About three-quarters of the Australian population will have a tertiary qualification. This is occurring while tertiary education is becoming globalised. International benchmarks for university quality are becoming more important and prevalent; international flows of students moving to study continue to expand; and the Bologna process to ensure that European qualifications are….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aLyaB1 Macquarie University Gets A$450 Million of Financing Bloomberg August 31 2010 Macquarie University, a college in Australia’s biggest city, got A$450 million ($400 million) of financing from loans and a debut bond sale to help pay for upgrading its campus.

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The university sold A$250 million of 10-year bonds priced to yield 170 basis points more than the swap rate, according to an e-mailed statement from Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., which….. Full article: http://bit.ly/ceC0hc Universities expect to over-enrol on a large scale The Australian September 01 2010 ALMOST half of Australia's universities expect to over-enrol this year, to the point where they have substantial numbers of students who do not bring in any federal teaching subsidy. On early figures, 18 institutions have told the federal Education Department they expect to go above the 10 per cent funding cap, meaning they are recruiting….. Full article: http://bit.ly/aD45vC

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higher education news summary for september 2010: australia, new zealand focus

Documents

student fees bill labor

student activism

student membership bill

higher education barbarians

australia abn

tertiary finances labor

modular student housing

new government