Adelaide Uni to be is recruiting for its inaugural VC, a position that could be covered by Jacqui Lambie’s proposed $430,000 salary cap on vice chancellors’ pay (separate story on FC this morning). That’s less than a third of what is speculated will be on the table for preferred candidates. Perhaps the package includes danger money – merging two universities is a vast task. Stuffing it up in the bedding down years would be career-ending.
***
The Reserve Bank warns that in the September Quarter “education exports were weaker than expected due to a tightening in student visa requirements and an unexpected decline in the average expenditure of international students.” Cue outrage from the Group of Eight which claims, “capping all parts of the international education sector is a blunt instrument … because it concurrently limits the high-quality segments of Australia’s international education sector.”
Certainly, it seems the Government has successfully used the migration system to lower new student numbers off pandemic-heightened peaks and can demonstrate it is acting on (nonsense) claims that internationals drive housing shortages and (correct) community concerns that bad-actors in voced give immigrants cover to masquerade as students.
But the Go8 calls both the political and policy successes an “unforced error;” apparently assuming that what is good for them is good for its members is good for the country.
“The Go8 Universities will continue to work in the national interest as the vehicle for the best international students to contribute to Australia’s long-term prosperity,” the lobby assured everybody yesterday.
***
Yes, it is only February, but FC’s acronym of the year award goes to Fernando Marmolejo-Ra (Flinders U) and colleagues for WEIRD (as in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic). Scroll down for more.
***
For profit journal giant Elsevier had a good 2024, according to the annual report of owner RELX. The company’s scientific, technical and medical division, which includes publishing and data analytics, had flat revenue at £3.051bn but underlying profit was up by 5% to stg £1.172bn – for a 38.4% margin.
Print products continue to shrink, but there is “volume growth” in research, with “with article submissions growing very strongly across the portfolio, particularly in pay-to-publish.”
Very strongly indeed – in Australian dollars profit was $3.52bn. A number for the Australasian Council of University Librarians to mention if Elsevier cries poor in the next round of price negotiations.
***
After a full menu of media leaks critical of VC Zlatko Skrbis, it might have taken Australian Catholic U management some time to recognise good news. But ratings agency Moody’s has left the university’s credit rating unchanged (at Aa2) stating it is “well-positioned to navigate the uncertain policy environment.”
***
There is a correlation between statistical literacy and not trusting algorithms with important decisions. The old are also suspicious. Fernando Marmolejo-Ra (ex Uni SA now Flinders U) and colleagues established this by asking 3,200 people across 20 countries whether they use AI for inconsequential decisions (choosing a restaurant) and/or important ones (say medical matters). People in developed economies are especially sceptical – the Japanese are not having a bar of AI advising them on anything.
So (and don’t tell FC you didn’t see this coming) what would SA Premier Peter Malinauskas have done if he followed AI advice on merging the universities of Adelaide and South Australia? Google Gemini recommended no merger now but maybe after five years of collaboration.
***
Charles Darwin U is discounting course prices for domestic alumni, “to encourage lifelong learning.” There’s 10% off masters including business administration, clinical audiology, occupational therapy, engineering, specialist education and project management. But be quick, the offer is time-limited to First Semester starts. Will anybody who commenced last year raise this with the new Student Ombudsman?
***
It is back to the talking board at Uni Southern Queensland, with the Fair Work Commission recommending management consult widely with employees “throughout the regrettable and expected upheaval in 2025.” Management has warned for months, “given the significant reduction in revenue, additional cost-saving measures are required.” The university argues that there is not one big change proposal, but a bunch of small ones, generally involving two people at most. The campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union says they are part of a global plan and management is avoiding agreement-required consultation by, “artificially dividing its major change proposal into a number of smaller proposals.” To which Commissioner Hunt responds, “it is not appropriate for the university to discuss with up to two employees in one work area the potential of making them redundant, when it is having approximate or relatively contemporaneous discussions with up to two employees in another work area … It is clear that the university is faced with significant issues and many of its employees will be affected by its decisions in 2025.”
***
Details of voluntary redundancies at ANU open Tuesday, in pursuit of management’s $100m target for staff savings. Perhaps they hope that the more people leave of their own accord, the less attention there will be when the sackings start. If so, the timing could not be worse. The National Tertiary Education Union’s confidence vote in Chancellor Julie Bishop and VC Genevieve Bell opens next week. And ANU is scheduled to appear at Senate Estimates, again, on Thursday.
***
The NZ Government makes plain what it thinks of the higher education establishment. Last year it barred the humanities from the Marsden research funding program. Now it announces an applied doctorate programme. “New Zealand’s PhD programs are excellent at preparing students for a career in academia. What they are not doing is giving students the skills to use that cutting-edge science to grow Kiwi businesses,” Minister for Universities, Shane Reti says.
***
Melbourne policy shop, the Grattan Institute is open in Sydney, with an office at UTS. “We believe in free access to good information” is Grattan’s pitch. Just not this time. It made a point of announcing the launch of its UTS partnership this week was invitation only.
