Monash U management is not vocal in lamenting reductions in international student numbers (whichever side forms the next government). Perhaps because it is getting on with building new markets. Its first student recruitment open day of the year is on tomorrow – at the Jakarta campus.
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Victoria U’s new no-fuss, no-muss, enterprise agreement is in place, without the industrial cage-fighting of previous VU negotiations.
Including pay rises already in place, there is an 18 % (flat) increase, from March 2024 – September ‘27, translating to 3.6% a year.
It was adopted by a thumping majority of staff voting (93% in favour), probably because it is a good deal in tough times and perhaps because they trust management to deliver without job cuts. Scoff not, it happened at Australian Catholic U in 2022, when management offered a 14% pay rise over three years and then three weeks later announced an 8% FTE professional staff reduction to balance the ’23 budget.
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UTS has a new recruitment campaign based on a line that reads like it comes from the creatives at Beige, Brown & Cardigan, “it’s not just a university. It’s UTS.”
But it is way better than that, doing what most universities don’t do well, using micro-cases to pitch the university as student-focused. There’s a bloke who abandons the office for textile design, “It’s not just a university: it’s a reawakening.” A young woman who wants to be a mechanical engineer finds “fuel for her fire” in a workshop. Another who “tracks when champions bleed,” is working on menstrual health among athletes. For a sports scientist the pitch is , “it’s not just a university, it’s blood, sweat and teamwork.”
“What can UTS be for you?” is the takeout. Great campaign.
But it would not be necessary if Government listens to the comrades at the Australia Institute (scroll down).
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The Coalition announces 20 new medicine places at James Cook U in Cairns. They presumably are part of the campaign commitment of 200 across the country and in this case intended to help the cause in the local seat of Leichhardt, where Warren Entsch has retired after holding it since Federation, or longer. Labor appears to think it is in with a chance in the seat, promising $27.5m for health and engineering infrastructure at CQU Cairns.
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The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes a new Payroll Remediation Guide for businesses worried they have stuffed up peoples’ pay. Universities would be wise to read it carefully. A FWO Ombudsman submission to a Senate committee inquiry in March detailed what universities have got wrong to the extent that it had recovered $176m for 80,000 staff who were not paid their correct pay across 2019-24 (Future Campus, March 11).
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Labor announces it will hike the cost of international student visa application from $1,600 to $2,000 if it is returned. Outrage was largely confined to lobbyists complaining among themselves. Perhaps this is because the increase is less than the Coalition proposes ($5,000 for applicants to Group of Eight members, $2,500 for others). Unless it is because they recognise further complaints are useless at this late date and that they have to start again on Monday.
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The Cyber Scam award for April goes to a parking ploy at Uni Wollongong. Management warns there is a bodgy fine notice circulating, with a QR code “leading to a suspicious website.” UoW states real fines are QR-free and have “relevant information” printed. This is very serious indeed – given the state of the books, the university needs the fine revenue.
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The ever-forensic Frank Larkins (Uni Melbourne) scrutinises the performance of Innovative Research Universities members 2014-23 in a new paper .
He finds their domestic undergraduate enrolments decreased across the decade, from 3.3% at Flinders U to 24 % at James Cook. And while international enrolments propped up student totals, IRU’s growth was 20% less than the all-university rate of increase. Western Sydney U (up 124% ) and Flinders U (up 85% ) are the only two in the IRU that got the hang of international recruiting.
Across the seven, only Western Sydney U improved its staff (down 6%) to student (up 5 %) ratio. James Cook U managed to address a decline in students (down 9 %) with staff numbers dropping at the same %age (8 % lower). Uni Canberra in not great contrast had a 20 % staff increase while student numbers lifted 0.9%. “The reasons for the mismatch between staff and student changes are complex, depending on the range of activities undertaken by each university,” Professor Larkins diplomatically states.
This study adds to his analysis earlier this year of the Australian Technology Network and he concludes overall, “the lack of growth in real terms in government assistance and the proposed reduction in international student numbers do not bode well for the quality of education delivery and the international competitiveness of Australian universities.”
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The Australia Institute is appalled by universities sacking staff while there is, “millions splashed on consultancies travel and advertising.” One solution is to stop them spending on student recruitment – which the Institute explains is easily sorted. “Universities should not need to buy expensive television advertising or pay sporting teams to wear their logo purely to attract a handful of domestic students in a shrinking national market.” If Labor’s proposed Australian Tertiary Education Commission is to “steward Australia’s tertiary education system”, it must “help manage student loads and demand fluctuations across the sector.” Cost-effective thinking – lobbying the commissars, sorry commissioners, at ATEC will be much cheaper than advertising in the marketplace.
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Tyrone Carlin is reappointed VC of Southern Cross U. But for how long, who knows? He “will continue to serve in an on-going role,” SCU states. Does this mean for the term of his natural, until he has had enough of SCU or until council has had enough of him? The university confirms there is no specified term.
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The Coalition announced election commitment costings late Thursday. Measures across the forward estimates include:
Savings: * $22.8m from the Australian Tertiary Education Commission not proceeding, (spokesperson Sarah Henderson announced this at the UA Conference). * Cancelling the proposed HELP debt waiver, $1bn. * Redirecting Fee Free TAFE from 2026-27, $431m. * “Modify” Commonwealth prac payments (presumably support for nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work placements) $556m. * “Two-tiered” student visa application charge, $3.09bn
Spending: * 12 technical colleges, $134m. * Reduced international student starts $482m, * Apprentice/trainee hiring incentive, $505m. * Anti-Semitism specialist at National Student Ombudsman (funded from internal savings). * Judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism at universities, $4m, * Higher education code to prevent/respond anti-Semitism, $17m, * “High quality” Grad Dips of Education, $249m *Teacher training accreditation board (funded internally)
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Andrew Norton, the nation’s unofficial education statistician in chief, reports what you will not read in industry deploreathons – that Q1 student visa data is “a complex picture.” Total visas grants are only slightly down on 2024 but that is due to a backlog of VET visas moving through the application process. The total of primary student visa holders was slightly down in March, when they expire but application numbers “suggest” some of those who have expired are now on bridging visas while they apply new student one.
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Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic (at least until tomorrow night) announced three new cooperative research centres last week, yes, while caretaker conventions applied. There was not a word on agency websites and Mr Husic’s announcement appeared on a plain sheet that carried his title. But his management appeared to anticipate questions, with the statement including “Cooperative Research Centres are an ongoing program. The Government’s investments in the CRC program have been reflected in prior budget updates. These CRCs were successful in receiving investment in the lead up to the caretaker period.”
Which is when they should have been announced.
Under Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Guidance on Caretaker Conventions when a decision is made matters. If Mr Husic signed-off before the election was called, his office is off the hook. But announcing funding for a CRC to “manufacture cures for cancer, heart diseases, arthritis” during the campaign is more than a bit rich. Voters who left their copy of the PM&C rules on the bus might think the funding depends on Labor being elected.
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The three new CRCs are; Care Economy (“to customise and commercialise”) – see separate story. Additive Manufacturing, (spanning the entire value chain”) and Smart CRC (cures for age-related ailments).