ANU is lamented in Canberra media for a “lowest-ever” overall position in the new Times Higher ranking. Long-standing criticism of the methodology underpinning the survey component aside, the decline was just four places to 73rd globally. This is insignificant given the way scores change from year to year and anything in the global top 100 is stellar. Problem is, ANU fell into the ratings trap by promoting a tiny lift in its teaching score, to global = 90th. Quoting some stats all but ensures journalists will look for the ones that are not promoted.
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There is a new edition to the genre of academics publishing photos of empty lecture theatres.
John Murrie, who lectures on aviation across the ditch, at Te Kura Whai Pakihi – Massey University posted the pic to LinkedIn, accompanied by a considered and self-aware commentary. “As a teacher I am deeply aware that my practice can contribute positively and negatively to student engagement, commitment and ultimately attendance. But there is a point where as a teacher you start to wonder just how much you have to do and what you have to do to get students to show up for the classes they are paying for,” he wrote.
And readers wondered plenty, in hundreds of constructive comments on how to fix the traditional teaching model – which assumes it can be changed in ways to bring students back to physical classes.
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The SA planning agency has approved new student accommodation in Adelaide city, including a 36 floor tower block (850 beds in 724 units) and a nearby refurb of a 22 level office block with 508 beds. Admirable optimism, given the CBD adjacent Adelaide U, which has a business strategy based on international growth, was down nearly half on planned first semester starts.
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ANU management is at maximum Micawber, moving slowly in enterprise bargaining in the hope something positive will turn up – two days of meetings last week went nowhere substantial. ANU observers suggest there is a reason for that – the university would struggle to fund the National Tertiary Education Union’s national 20% (flat) over three years pay demand without workforce savings. But even if the union would accept job cuts announced after pay rises were agreed (it has happened elsewhere), staff would not. Especially academics – they all escaped involuntary redundancies in the Renew ANU savings and will not want wear any now. In contrast, at Uni Canberra a deal is done, with the comrade negotiators recommending all staff approve the management-union agreement, which includes 14.5% over four years.
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The Australian Skills Quality Authority tells victims, sorry regulated training providers, the reason they got their annual invoice for registration late August instead of July 1 was the authority had to update systems. Good luck using the same excuse for paying the fee late.
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A full bench of the Federal Court has found that Commonwealth-funded HDR candidatures are not employment contracts under the Fair Work Act. The decision was on an appeal by Tristan Burt who completed a PhD at the University of Sydney and argued the scholarship reflected a contract of employment. However, the full bench found
Dr Burt completing his HDR, “was work to which he voluntarily committed as a student enrolled at a place of learning. To state a general proposition: school work and employment service are different things. In some instances, there might be scope for overlap; but not presently.”
The case appears to conclude a long-standing concern of Dr Burt, who was reported in The Australian (October 12 2021) as proposing a class action, which he commenced.
He has not been alone. In 2019 Queensland Workcover argued PhD students stipends were assessable as wages for injury compensation premiums. The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association countered, “PhD candidature does not involve the provision of labour for reward. It involves the provision of scholarly activity for the attainment of an educational qualification. The relationship is that of a student and educational institution, not that of employee and employer. It is a relationship of an entirely different character.”
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The other day, Uni Sydney Senate nixed a proposal to convene the ancient forum of Convocation (academic staff and graduates) to discuss the university’s links with Israel and free speech on campus. So that should be that. Expect there has also been talk of asking the university’s Alumni Council to call for a meet. It would not do any good, what Senate nixes stays nixed. VC Mark Scott has also commissioned an independent review as to how the Student Representative Council allowed a ticket called “Globalise the Intifada” to run in recent elections.
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The Group of Eight lobbied hard for Australia to become an associate of the EU’s Horizon Europe research funding program and kicked in A$20m or so to cover half the joining fee. Now it sets out how it hopes the government will engage with the Europeans, in a response to an August proposal from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (FC here ).
In a joint submission with the Euro-Australian Business Council, the Eight call for the association to be “treated as a strategic partnership platform” and agree there should be a “central coordination and intelligence hub” in DISR. They also want the Feds to fund “hybrid and cross-cutting” contact points organised to meet the Euro research models rather than on a States-Territories basis. Plus there should be a “permanent coordination presence” in Brussels.
But even if they get what is wanted, the Go8 counsels caution; “successful collaboration under Horizon Europe will be achieved over time.”
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Nick Schapowal (Universities Admission Centre) has the most erudite hobby ever – creating OA research tools for historians. There is an historiography map, “place each work on a timeline in the lane of the position it argues for, then draw who challenges, builds on, refines or synthesises whom.” Plus “source critique cards” to identify where a source’s evidence came from. And there is an evidence bank, “ flags claims resting on one source, and builds a list, grouped by archive and page, of everything you still need to verify.”
FC would have loved this when writing his history PhD 40 years ago – once, that is, he got his head around the possibility of a laptop computer.