Griffith U’s long-discussed move to the CBD is happening, with the purchase of what was the Treasury Casino – that’s the building name, not a government strategy to reduce the State debt. The university is silent on what it paid, but building owner Star Entertainment states it sold for $60.7m net. It’s a big part of a long-in-place plan. In 2019, Griffith U announced it wanted a “major new campus,” “where engagement with key players in the CBD will enhance the student experience and research partnerships.” IT and law will also move in.
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Jason Clare’s second reading speech on the Student Ombudsman Bill explained why university’s management of sexual harassment and assault made it necessary. There had been “a protracted failure of the higher education sector, and of government, to do anything,” he said. And he added that it would address a range of other issues, where a student is subjected to homophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of racism or discrimination on campus.” The Ombudsman’s purpose is to “make sure that student welfare is at the centre.” The clear message is that while universities have been left to their own devices, it hasn’t.
The Ombudsman will not be an office to ignore. The Bill empowers it with “information-gathering and investigatory powers to ensure it can effectively deal with student complaints and investigate actions of higher education providers, including powers to make inquiries to determine how to deal with a complaint or whether a matter should be investigated; require a person to provide relevant information, documents or other records; and enter the premises of a higher education provider for the purposes of an investigation.”
Plus, Mr Clare proposes a new unit of the Department of Education will “regulate the standards and support for universities to achieve better outcomes for students.” This sits outside the bill and is still at consultation stage. But as envisaged by DoE, it would be the second of a double whammy for institutions that irritate the Ombudsman. The Department proposes it will have powers for “monitoring, assessment and enforcement for compliance when a serious issue is identified.”
Mr Clare told Sky News it would “have the same sort of coercive powers that a royal commission has to go into universities to get documents.” Which will be the government’s explanation why there won’t be the commission of inquiry into antisemitism on campus Liberal education shadow Sarah Henderson wants.
Universities Australia responded to the Ombudsman Bill Wednesday, saying “we can and must do better to improve the whole university experience for our students and that means delivering in the classroom and across campus – this is what our students deserve.”
The lobby may not like the new oversight of its members, but this week was not the time to mention autonomy.
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The international sell for Adelaide U is underway, with a Kuala Lumpur event hosted by Uni Adelaide DVC Jessica Gallagher and Uni SA chancellor John Hill. Apparently Adel U will “will offer a transformative learning experience to students around the world in an idyllic Australian setting.” Ah, North Terrace in the Spring.
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Universities used to present marching-band parades when rankings came out, playing up results that signified sod all, but this year not so much, for which FC cannot account. For example, the as-methodologically-coherent-as-many National Taiwan University discipline rankings by citation are largely ignored. As far as FC can hear, the only blowing of its own trumpet is by Uni Queensland, which is number four in Australia, but other than that, crickets. Maybe it’s because the Group of Eight don’t want to be boastful, lest they attract extra ire from Jason Clare. Or perhaps the Eight’s bands are practising for the Times Higher awards next month.
Whatever the reason, this year’s Australian top ten from Taiwan is much the same as any others, Uni Melbourne, Uni Sydney, Monash U, Uni Queensland, UNSW, UWA, Uni Adelaide, ANU, UTS and Curtin U.
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Universities made a big contribution to the House of Reps committee inquiry into AI in education – it shows in the report, tabled this week. While the emphasis was on schools, HE specific recommendations include,
- the national government “encourage consistent guidance and uptake of GenAI, in higher ed by updating the HE threshold standards and recognising TEQSA’s “leadership role and effort”
- universities and TAFEs “embed GenAI competencies and skills across all courses and degrees”
- “universities provide pre-service teachers with training in AI literacy in their degrees, including built-in industry-practice”
- providers work with TEQSA to create research and academic integrity standards for AI
- the feds fund research and development on applying GenAI in education plus create a CRC-style Centre for Digital Educational Excellence, to be a thought-leader across all education
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Google is trialling Illuminate – audio clips abstracting research papers, created and voiced by AI. Explaining actually, Illuminate translates article text into conversational English. The format is an interview with a generic American-accent bot-bloke asking a woman-voice to report what’s in a paper – likely making plain what the original text written in academic language doesn’t.
Good for researchers without time to read everything they need to, although citing article content on the basis of Illuminate would be another issue.
Great for social media comms people who want to expand research-promotion content, especially if Illuminate improves and they can create their own AI identities to do the interviewing and build their own platforms.
And brilliant for journal publishers who could add an AI interview to the increased cost of an article processing charge.
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Jobs and Skills Australia adds evidence to the Accord argument that education and skills expand the economy but they don’t have to be in HE. JSA’s June Labour Market Update reports employment in occupations commensurate with Certificates II or III grew 5 per cent. Jobs associated with an undergraduate degree or higher were up 3.1 per cent. The overall message is clear, “the shift towards higher skill levels in recent years is a continuation of a long-term trend, as the workforce has become more highly educated and employment has transitioned towards services-based industries.”
