As the bitter dispute over international student caps continues, Phil Honeywood Xed in from Toulouse last Friday. The CEO of the International Education Association of Australia was there with top people from the Network of International Education Associations. “Really important that we meet together to share policy issues and concerns,” he said.
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TEQSA announces a “roundtable discussion with universities to help identify best practice which can protect student and staff safety and wellbeing.” It’s with regard to what the regulator describes as, “the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.” As to who will do the discussing and what come of the conversation, TEQSA is silent. It is invitation only and the agency “will share any outcomes with the sector in due course.”
Perhaps the agency will ask whoever is invited how their universities are meeting their obligations under the threshold standards (raised by TEQSA last month), notably, “ensuring a safe campus, including teaching and learning spaces.” Be good to know if the agency does and what are the replies.
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Jason Clare could be pleased with media speculation that foreigners who use student visas as cover for working in Australia will try to delay departure by appealing visa cancellations. It won’t be a problem for his proposed quotas – offshore applicants generally have no right of appeal but a rush of applications to stay in the country will make the Minister’s point that the education and training systems are being gamed. And a whole lot of gaming could quite possibly be going on. In the first two months of the current financial year, student cases are said to account for over half the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s migration matters.
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While not mentioning Lady Bracknell (to lose one vice chancellor … ), University of Canberra will win no current awards for leadership continuity. Lucy Johnston is out as Interim VC and Stephen Parker is in – yes the former VC, whose ambitious brand strategy for the university now looks like work from a past golden age, is back. Professor Johnston replaced Paddy Nixon who left in January – he is “taking a career break” for “personal reasons.” She was appointed to hold the fort until the VC job was filled. That is done, but present Labor cabinet minister Bill Shorten will not cross the lake from Parliament House until the start of the 2025 academic year. Until then Professor Parker is in the chair.
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The Feds will fund 500 more postgrad psychology places over four years. The program kicks off with 146 new places at 22 universities. Plus, there will be 681 12-month internships over four years. For people not watching closely, this might be confused with the practicum payment program, which now applies to teaching, nursing and social work students and which just about all health-related industry and student associations want extended.
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Bureaucracy abhors a vacuum, so the Skills Ministers minco has occupied the degree apprenticeship space. There’s a working group on regulation, funding and IR which will report in July. It will consult with employers and “employee representatives,” which presumably means unions. And there will be talks with “other key stakeholders” which could include the few universities in the space.
Plus their National Skills Plan includes, “implementing a suite of initiatives to drive tertiary harmonisation.” The minco mentions, “better student pathways between VET and higher education,” “improving regulatory approaches for dual‑sector providers and TAFEs, and piloting course accreditation “to select TAFEs.”
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The National Student Ombudsman is taking shape, recruiting for “various vacancies,” presumably across its five teams, functions cited are complaints, investigations, restorative engagement, resolution and reporting, strategic Investigations, and outreach and education. Mostly straightforward, although FC counts six distinct tasks and what “strategic investigations” will be is not clear. The words are not in the Bill, but the Ombudsman can, “conduct investigations into actions taken by higher education providers” on its own initiative. How fortunate government agencies never go on fishing expeditions.
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The Government is keen not to let the Greens have the last word on research and has responded to their dissenting recommendations in the Senate Committee report on legislation enacting the Sheil Review of ARC Act.
The Greens wanted:
- to remove the Ministerial veto of research on national security: the government said nothing doing, because “security, defence or international relations” are standard terms in legislation
- more money for research and researchers: to which the government responded it, “ understands the need for an appropriate approach to research investment”
- “democratic and representative” governance of research:” the government stated the ARC board was appointed in June.
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Uni Queensland did not join the chorus of Group of Eight complaint about international student quotas , despite taking a 15% hit on allowed enrolments – from 8,150 this year to 7,000 next year. Plus the university is delivering what the government wants, announcing 1,000 new campus beds for international and Australian students. Construction starts next month.
