August 2011 higher education news summary: Australia, New Zealand

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011 When student debt blows out Universities spread the net far and wide Students fear merger may result in 'TAFE degrees' Varsity, polytech top tables again VET market reform rumbles on Red tape cuts US plan for Adelaide 'university city' Business and universities: Essential partnership for a successful knowledge economy Sandstone universities draw so-so scores for teaching quality We need to go deeper on teaching Fill the campus gap with polytechnics Breaking ranks Uni plan to slash Australia course Time to raise the standard Students 'risk dropping out' if bill passed State premiers look at plan to give foreign students special visas New Zealand to streamline student visas Commissioners appointed to new tertiary education quality agency Graduates divided by two-speed economy All is not quite right in the hallowed halls of academe OUSA president pummelled in pie-faced protest New powers to recoup student loans Services suffer under VSM: Auckland University students' union Dave Crampton: Students losing control over university services they fund Minimum qualification for VET teachers threatens to become the maximum Carr hails success as Australian unis join the global elite Leading Indigenous identity to present Lingiari lecture Students to protest against Bill US merger takes Canberra to new degree University of Melbourne moves up global rankings Speaking up for the humanities Carol Nicoll to lead higher education regulator University of Queensland into the world top 100 Sydney Uni slips, Melbourne leaps to top of rankings NZ Universities consider shorter Masters degrees NZ Student membership bill will cost staff NZ International Education Excellence award winners announced CDU Common Unit Program wins national acclaim CSU worth $160m to Border Queensland govt approves dual-sector Students rage against voluntary union bill New entrance standards will boost student success NZQA raises uni entrance requirements Unified salary scales evolve at Charles Darwin Go8 universities warn on uncapping of places Standing can drive quality of students More merger pain ahead in Canberra Funding dilemma for VET courses OUSA looks at ways to cut costs $16m geothermal cooling plan collapses Why overseas postgrads should be encouraged to stay $150,000 in community grants Casual approach to academic skills Uni attainment target well in sights University of Sydney and FoodBank partner to tackle hunger in Australia ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

New regulator to improve quality in higher education UC, CIT staff fear job losses after review Students flock to Canada instead of Australia Navitas delivers robust result after SAE acquisition Navitas profits up more than 20 per cent Price of engagement Higher education news resources from ACUMA Incorporated When student debt blows out The Australian (blog) August 25 2011 The next time a vice-chancellor explains the need for higher student fees to fund their education consider what is occurring in the US, where student debt is through the roof. Yes I know the systems are different, yes I know the established universities there blame everything on for-profit institutions, yes I know a quality education costs.

But the American experience offers salutary examples of what occurs when universities can safely jack up their fees because government carries the risk of default. According to Federal Reserve of....

Full article: http://goo.gl/5XYyx Universities spread the net far and wide The Sydney Morning Herald August 27 2011 More students are graduating without setting foot on campus, write Andrew Stevenson and Jen Rosenberg.

First there was sandstone; then brick and concrete; soon, perhaps, a bank of servers. Welcome to the university of the future, in which 80 per cent of students around the world learn online. Turning up to graduate would be an optional extra.

In Australia, the move is already under way. While longer-established universities continue to thumb their nose at online courses, students - particularly mature-age ones - are voting with their feet with enrolments surging at those universities with extensive online offerings....

Full article: http://goo.gl/guZbA Students fear merger may result in 'TAFE degrees' The Canberra Times August 26 2011 Students at the University of Canberra fear a merger with CIT will damage their job prospects.

The Canberra Times has been contacted by a number of students concerned the merger will knock public confidence in their degrees....

Full article: http://goo.gl/RtvCi Varsity, polytech top tables again ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Otago Daily Times August 26 2011 Dunedin tertiary institutes have topped the tables again, their students ranked as having the highest completion rate of degree-level qualifications in New Zealand.

The Tertiary Education Commission released its 2010 performance information tables yesterday, which placed Otago first among New Zealand universities for the completion of courses, qualifications, degrees, and for the retention of students in study....

Full article: http://goo.gl/mjvhS VET market reform rumbles on The Australian August 26 2011 COAG VET reform plans: "too vague to suggest much more than a continuation of current policy trends".

NSW remains the unknown quantity in a nationwide push for a fully contestable VET system, after the eight jurisdictions last week agreed to consider "a new national framework" early next year.

In language reminiscent of the last two federal budgets, which have foreshadowed two different demand-driven models for the sector, last Friday’s Council of Australian Governments agreed....

Full article: http://goo.gl/MnYzE Red tape cuts US plan for Adelaide 'university city' The Australian August 26 2011 KAPLAN, the education arm of The Washington Post, has dumped plans to establish a university in Adelaide, blaming complex regulatory approvals in Australia and the US. The decision is a setback for departing Premier Mike Rann's ambition to make Adelaide a "university city".

However, rival US group Laureate International Universities is pursuing its own bid to establish a university in the South Australian capital....

Full article: http://goo.gl/LbcnZ Business and universities: Essential partnership for a successful knowledge economy AsianCorrespondent.com August 25 2011

By Michael J Andrew, Australian Chairman, KPMG and Monash University Vice Chancellor, Professor Ed Byrne.

Universities and industry have always been reliant upon each other for success.

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

While universities pursue new frontiers in research and cultivate our best and brightest minds, industry require a well educated workforce to apply new thinking and develop innovative products to bring to market....

Full article: http://goo.gl/pqoBf Sandstone universities draw so-so scores for teaching quality The Australian August 24 2011 AUSTRALIA'S sandstone universities receive lukewarm ratings for the quality of their teaching, despite being the institutions of choice for top school students.

In the latest edition of the Good Universities Guide, each of the Group of Eight institutions received the highest five-star rating for student demand....

Full article: http://goo.gl/mHZt6 We need to go deeper on teaching The Australian August 24 2011 THE final hurrah of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council at the Sydney Opera House last week was a bittersweet experience for most who attended.

The closure of the ALTC is an enormous loss to the higher education sector, and everyone knows it, whether they are saying so publicly or directly or not....

Full article: http://goo.gl/a0Fcb Fill the campus gap with polytechnics The Australian August 24 2011 AUSTRALIA needs a new kind of tertiary institution, delivering a curriculum that blends vocational and higher learning in ways our society and its economy will want in the future.

This new institution can harness two trends that have been in place for several years.

The first is the workplace learning movement. Unlike Britain, where the foundation degree promotes partnerships between colleges of further education and universities, Australia has no clear institutional device at present to make best use of work-integrated learning....

Full article: http://goo.gl/mjiwr Breaking ranks The Age August 23 2011

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

BY HAPPY coincidence, just at the time the Shanghai Jiao Tong University academic world rankings came out, I caught a radio interview with the always rational and strategic Heather Ridout, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group.

Ridout, who is certainly no enemy of competition, noted that the Australian states had reverted recently to the kind of rivalry that revs up the testosterone levels of state premiers but does little to serve the national interest. Indeed, in Ridout's view, such rivalry works against the interests of Australia as a whole....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Gx3s1 Uni plan to slash Australia course The Age August 23 2011 MELBOURNE University is preparing to slash its Australian studies program after a review called for it to be scrapped because of dwindling enrolments and budget troubles.

Under the planned restructure, the Australian Centre would be reduced to just two staff - down from 12 teaching and research staff and four administrative staff - and would no longer offer undergraduate subjects but collaborate with other departments on ''breadth'' subjects under the Melbourne Model....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Aqopf Time to raise the standard The Age August 23 2011 What minimum standard should year 12 students achieve to gain entry to Australian universities?

Like Third Degree, you probably don’t know. That’s because Australia’s 39 universities set their own standards. There is no common prescribed minimum entrance standard for all universities....

Full article: http://goo.gl/DSNES Students 'risk dropping out' if bill passed Stuff.co.nz August 20 2011 Hundreds of students could have dropped out of university last year without help from students' associations, which are now under threat from a parliamentary bill, the national students' organisation says.

Today is the two-year anniversary since ACT MP Heather Roy's contentious Voluntary Student Membership Bill was drawn in a ballot....

Full article: http://goo.gl/TIobg State premiers look at plan to give foreign students special visas The Sydney Morning Herald ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

August 20 2011 FOREIGN students who graduate with a university degree or equivalent vocational qualification could be offered three-year work visas to stay in Australia, under a proposal by the states and territories put forward at yesterday's Council of Australian Governments meeting.

The three-year visa would apply to graduates in areas where skills shortages exist....

Full article: http://goo.gl/1rFXc New Zealand to streamline student visas The Australian August 19 2011 NZ-bound students could get there faster, so long as they're with a reliable provider. Source: Supplied HIGH quality New Zealand tertiary education institutions will be able to get their hands on international students much more easily than their low-quality counterparts, under risk management reforms being considered on the other side of the Tasman....

Full article: http://goo.gl/oqeeT Commissioners appointed to new tertiary education quality agency Media release: Senator the Hon Christopher Evans August 16 2011 Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, today announced the appointment of a new Chief Commissioner and several other high profile appointments to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).

Dr Carol Nicoll has been appointed TEQSA’s Chief Commissioner and head of the new $70 million agency. TEQSA will ensure that the expansion of the higher education system is underpinned by robust quality arrangements....

Full article: http://goo.gl/dtMGK Graduates divided by two-speed economy The Australian August 17 2011 THE two-speed economy appears to have hit students, with work outcomes for graduates in booming Perth among the worst in the country, according to the latest 'Good Universities Guide'.

But Western Australian university leaders say the data reflects the outcomes of people who graduated during 2008 and 2009, when the economy was at a low point. And they say talk of a WA ‘boom’ has been exaggerated, with some industries effectively bypassed....

Full article: http://goo.gl/zywL9 All is not quite right in the hallowed halls of academe ABC Radio National ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Former Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of New South Wales, Adrian Lee, believes that universities are too focussed on research rather than teaching. Whilst research productivity increases the prestige of a university, it is critical that teaching excellence should not be ignored. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2011/3295851.htm http://goo.gl/ODjRp OUSA president pummelled in pie-faced protest Otago Daily Times August 17 2011 A shaving-cream pie-covered Logan Edgar, president of the Otago University Students' Association, holds masks of Steven Joyce (left) and John Key, at a demonstration inside the University Union yesterday.

Cream pies were on the menu at the University Union yesterday, where people were encouraged to hurl the "delicacy" at a student association president dressed up as Prime Minister John Key....

Full article: http://goo.gl/EZAOR New powers to recoup student loans Stuff.co.nz August 17 2011 Millions of dollars in overdue student debt is being voluntarily repaid, but the Government has given itself new legal powers to recall millions more from some who refuse....

Full article: http://goo.gl/9H6xw Services suffer under VSM: Auckland University students' union Stuff.co.nz August 17 2011 Auckland University students' union says its poor services are an example of why the voluntary student membership bill will not work.

This afternoon students met in their quad to protest the Government's support of the proposed legislation, officially known as the Freedom of Association Bill, which was drafted by Act MP Heather Roy....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Yj9c8 Dave Crampton: Students losing control over university services they fund New Zealand Herald August 17 2011 Concern is growing among students and tertiary institutions after the National Party's decision to actively support legislation to impose voluntary membership of students' associations, and to front another bill that will allow the Tertiary Education Minister to control the mix of student-funded services provided by tertiary institutions....

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Full article: http://goo.gl/QfuDL Minimum qualification for VET teachers threatens to become the maximum The Australian August 17 2011 THE minimum qualification for VET teachers, the certificate IV in training and education, threatens to become the de facto maximum because of an obsession with "compliance to minima" rather than ongoing learning.

A new National Centre for Vocational Education Research report argues that VET trainers can't professionalise without a better balance between "a sound beginning and a lifelong commitment to continuing development"....

Full article: http://goo.gl/253gS Carr hails success as Australian unis join the global elite The Australian August 17 2011 Kim Carr says 'the federal government fulfilled its end of the bargain'. Picture: Ray Strange. Source: The Australian RESEARCH Minister Kim Carr has claimed the performance of Australian universities in this week's world rankings is a victory for his strategy to reorient higher education culture towards global competitiveness....

Full article: http://goo.gl/nkehd Leading Indigenous identity to present Lingiari lecture CDU News August 16 2011 Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, Professor Marcia Langton will present the 2011 Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture One of Australia's leading Indigenous scholars will present the 2011 Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at Charles Darwin University this week....

Full article: http://goo.gl/TDCqw Students to protest against Bill Otago Daily Times August 17 2011 University of Otago students striving to retain student associations in the face of a proposed law change are planning a protest on campus today as part of a national day of action.

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

The Freedom of Association Bill, which was first put before Parliament by Act New Zealand MP Heather Roy about two years ago has faced stalling tactics by the Labour Party in a bid to delay a third reading and vote until after the election....

Full article: http://goo.gl/aFj1B US merger takes Canberra to new degree The Canberra Times August 15 2011 Merging the University of Canberra with the Canberra Institute of Technology would be a massive change to Canberra's education landscape. And it would be change that is sought not for any immediate reason, but rather in preparation for something that may or may not happen in the longer term.

When the ACT Government commissioned higher education expert and the author of the Federal Government's 2008 university review, Professor Denise Bradley, to consider the futures of the UC and CIT, it was not because either institution was in crisis. In fact, both could argue the opposite. CIT is....

Full article: http://goo.gl/zIASg University of Melbourne moves up global rankings TheConversation.edu.au August 15 2011 The University of Melbourne has pushed out the Australian National University (ANU) to claim the number one spot in a table ranking the best universities in Australia, and has been listed among the top 60 universities in the world. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), run by Shanghai Jiao....

Full article: http://goo.gl/d4Auj Speaking up for the humanities The Age August 16 2011 RECENTLY in these pages, Andrew Norton from the Centre for Independent Studies wrote about the humanities. He said that arts faculties at universities were seeking “big increases” in public funding.

Nothing could be further from the truth. He also thought that arts students should pay more for their education in order to “learn more that (sic) they want to know”. Putting aside the fact that this point barely makes any sense, how would paying more for a degree ensure that students learn more than they currently do? More of what?

Full article: http://goo.gl/0JHju Carol Nicoll to lead higher education regulator The Australian August 15 2011

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

CAROL Nicoll, who has had to preside over the closure of Australia's learning and teaching council, will go on to be higher education's chief regulator.

Michael Beaton-Wells, an executive at the University of Melbourne, and Dorte Kristofferson, an expert in quality assurance, have been appointed full-time commissioners of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the government announced today....

Full article: http://goo.gl/OFI4P University of Queensland into the world top 100 The Australian August 15 2011 THE University of Queensland has fulfilled its international promise, vaulting into the top 100 of the benchmark Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2011.

Its 86 ranking also took it to third place among the Australian universities, eclipsing the University of Sydney, which dropped to fourth, with a world ranking of 96....

Full article: http://goo.gl/0dPso Sydney Uni slips, Melbourne leaps to top of rankings The Age August 16 2011 SYDNEY University has slipped in a respected ranking of universities in which a record number of Australian institutions were placed in the top 500.

Sydney dropped four places from 92 to 96 in the latest rankings compiled by researchers at China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University. In the process it lost the mantle of Australia's third highest-ranked university. This year that honour goes to the University of Queensland, which entered the top 100 for the first time to take 86th spot. Sydney's vice-chancellor, Michael Spence, was in transit yesterday and unavailable for comment....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Ntf9O NZ Universities consider shorter Masters degrees TVNZ August 12 2011 New Zealand universities are considering chopping a year from the traditional five-year programme for a Masters degree to try to compete with Australia in attracting international fee-paying students.

Some Australian universities offer a four year course, compared with the usual five years in New Zealand, and experts say international students are opting for the shorter study time.

Here it takes two years to complete a Masters degree after three years of a Bachelor degree, while in Australia some universities allow a Masters to be completed in one year....

Full article: http://goo.gl/qgUjl

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

NZ Student membership bill will cost staff TEU.ac.nz August 11 2011 Tertiary education staff understand the ideology on both sides of the debate about voluntary student membership, says TEU president Sandra Grey, but with legislation on the issue now imminent it’s time politicians focus on finding a pragmatic solution rather than arguing their ideological corners....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Yfyom NZ International Education Excellence award winners announced Voxy.co.nz August 12 2011 New Zealand schools are thinking outside the box to attract international students to their institutions.

Some of the best ideas have been singled out to receive International Education Excellence Awards from Education New Zealand.

Botany Downs Secondary College recently launched a campaign called "Botany Bounce". Beach balls featuring the school's name are being distributed to students, and sent home with departing international students. Students are then encouraged to make short videos featuring the beach balls, which can be posted online....

Full article: http://goo.gl/cybVE CDU Common Unit Program wins national acclaim AsianCorrespondent.com August 12 2011 A Charles Darwin University course that assists first-year students to transition successfully into higher education has been recognised as one of Australia’s best university programs.

CDU’s “The First-Year Experience” was one of six programs nationwide to be recognised among the 2011 Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council....

Full article: http://goo.gl/Mzl3E CSU worth $160m to Border The Border Mail August 12 2011 CHARLES Sturt University contributes $168.4 million a year to the Border through its Albury-Wodonga campus, a report released yesterday showed.

The university creates the equivalent of 740 full-time jobs inside and outside the campus and contributes $49.8 million in household income each year....

Full article: http://goo.gl/2E5r2

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Queensland govt approves dual-sector The Australian August 11 2011 THE merger of Central Queensland University with the local TAFE needs to be properly resourced by the state government or it risks turning into a cost cutting exercise, the Australian Education Union warned yesterday.

On Wednesday Queensland Premier Anna Bligh finally approved the merger with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE after almost 12 months of uncertainty. Both institutions had first signed a memorandum of understanding on a merger in September last year....

Full article: http://goo.gl/pTV9V Students rage against voluntary union bill New Zealand Herald August 12 2011 A few hundred students protested outside Lincoln University today, voicing their anger about a bill that will make student unions voluntary.

The National Party has supported ACT's Education Amendment Bill, which is on track to be passed this month....

Full article: http://goo.gl/7NUjE New entrance standards will boost student success 3News.co.nz August 11 2011 Students will have to reach new standards in order to gain university entrance New university entrance requirements will make it “much clearer� that students need to aim for NCEA Level 3 to prepare for tertiary education, Universities New Zealand says.

Universities NZ Sub-Committee chairman Dugald Scott joined Firstline this morning to discuss the changes, which have seen the admittance requirement raised from 42 Level 3 credits to 60....

Full article: http://goo.gl/dHHKq NZQA raises uni entrance requirements New Zealand Herald August 11 2011 There are fears thousands of students will be refused entry to tertiary courses as a result of changes which will make it harder to gain university entrance.

From 2014, students will need to gain NCEA Level 3, meet stronger literacy requirements and achieve at a higher numeracy level. The list of approved subjects for Level 3 credits will also be changed....

Full article: http://goo.gl/ygngu ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Unified salary scales evolve at Charles Darwin The Australian August 10 2011 CHARLES Darwin University's enterprise agreement, adopted overwhelmingly in a recent staff ballot, contains two provisions of general interest.

It formalises a distinction between academic staff who are teaching focused or research active. And it unifies pay scales for vocational and higher education academic staff in three steps....

Full article: http://goo.gl/9BNfV Go8 universities warn on uncapping of places The Australian August 10 2011 THE uncapping of university places could quickly become financially unsustainable, forcing the federal government to prematurely use its proposed reserve powers to reimpose caps, the Group of Eight universities have warned.

In a policy paper released this week, the Go8 supports the government's proposed student demanddriven legislation and the provisions that allow it to regulate the supply of places as a necessary means of heading off a potential fiscal blow-out if too many students enrolled in certain disciplines....

Full article: http://goo.gl/8B4W0 Standing can drive quality of students The Australian August 10 2011 AUSTRALIAN higher education has a reputation problem. Many would argue that this is largely undeserved, but perception is everything. And it is this tarnished reputation that is the direct cause for the downward spiral in recruiting international students.

A proven reputation-building strategy of an American university could provide the solution Australia needs....

Full article: http://goo.gl/m0c9j More merger pain ahead in Canberra The Australian August 10 2011 THE Australian Education Union is calling for the release of an unpublished report that presented arguments against the proposed merger of Canberra Institute of Technology with the University of Canberra.

The report was commissioned by CIT's advisory board to explore possible future directions. But while it was referred to by Denise Bradley in her report last week that recommended a merger, the report itself hasn't been released....

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Full article: http://goo.gl/WsJzw Funding dilemma for VET courses The Australian August 10 2011 THE nature and scope of vocational education and training prevent it from fully adopting higher education's funding arrangements, experts say, with two new reports highlighting the problems posed by double-dipping VET students.

The author of the Queensland Post-Secondary Education and Training report, released last week, said diverse entry and exit points made a higher education-style entitlement system difficult to replicate in VET....

Full article: http://goo.gl/8V5KG OUSA looks at ways to cut costs Otago Daily Times August 09 2011 Keeping independent station Radio One may come with a cost to the national student union charged with representing students' concerns to the Government.

Reduced levy payments to the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations is one cost-cutting alternative being considered by the Otago University Students' Association in favour of retaining Radio One on its financial books....

Full article: http://goo.gl/8npNN $16m geothermal cooling plan collapses The Australian August 09 2011 A RADICAL plan to power campus airconditioning and heating from hot aquifers under the University of Western Australia has collapsed after the company at the centre of the project pulled out yesterday.

The Green Rock Energy company said it could not meet federal government demands to raise $7 million to match commonwealth funding for the project in the current economic times....

Full article: http://goo.gl/eINBE Why overseas postgrads should be encouraged to stay VC Professor Linda Kristjanson in The Australian August 08 2011 DURING this year's State of the Union address to the US Congress, US President Barack Obama highlighted the important contributions international education makes to his nation.

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

He posed the question: why do we train international students in our education system to advanced degree level, and then send them home to compete against us? We should encourage them to stay in the US, he argued, to run research labs and build new businesses....

Full article: http://goo.gl/X0JtX $150,000 in community grants Third Sector Magazine July 27 2011 Organisations that provide positive social outcomes are invited to apply for their share of $150,000 in funding.

To be eligible applicants must be Australian community or not-for-profit organisations who promote social inclusion, opportunities for disengaged youth, access to education....

Full article: http://goo.gl/DPBB8 Casual approach to academic skills The Australian August 03 2011 CASUAL staff with PhDs could become the refuse of the higher education system unless there is a commitment to building and maintaining a full-time workforce, a researcher in the field says.

Robyn May told a recent conference that universities were "poised at a crossroads where the sector can further entrench and embed casualisation of teaching"....

Full article: http://goo.gl/dUlvB Uni attainment target well in sights The Australian August 03 2011 A GENERATIONAL increase in the likelihood of adults attending university has put the federal government's 40 per cent higher education attainment target well within reach, according to a leading tertiary education researcher.

The latest Education at a Glance series from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, shows that more than three in five Australians are expected to attend higher education at some stage....

Full article: http://goo.gl/8Ye6N University of Sydney and FoodBank partner to tackle hunger in Australia FoodMag.com.au August 03 2011 The University of Sydney Business School has formed a partnership with the not-for-profit agency, Foodbank Australia, in order to help reduce hunger in Australia.

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ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

Participants of the University of Sydney's innovative Global Executive MBA (EMBA) program have worked with Foodbank to tackle the enormous issue of how to feed millions of Australians that currently go without food on a regular basis....

Full article: http://goo.gl/0Xexp New regulator to improve quality in higher education Media release: Senator the Hon Christopher Evans August 01 2011 The commencement of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) today marks the beginning of a new era of quality for Australian higher education.

Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, welcomed the establishment of TEQSA as a key reform of the Gillard Government’s agenda to transform Australia’s higher education system....

Full article: http://goo.gl/O8zgH UC, CIT staff fear job losses after review The Canberra Times August 03 2011 Staff at the Canberra Institute of Technology and the University of Canberra are bracing for job losses pending the recommendations of the Bradley Review into a potential merger.

And so concerned about its future is the CIT that it is believed to have written to the ACT Government in a pre-emptive warning against the dangers of a full-scale merger before the Bradley recommendations even go out for consultation. The ACT Government will today issue the findings of Professor Denise Bradley, the architect of Australias new deregulated higher education sector....

Full article: http://goo.gl/nc6vO Students flock to Canada instead of Australia NineMSN.com.au August 02 2011 International students are flocking to Canada at the expense of Australia due to uncertainty over visa rules and not because of the high Australian dollar, according to a major education company.

One of the biggest providers of English courses to overseas students, Navitas, says parents in China and Vietnam are confused by changes to Australia's visa rules and are now choosing to send their children to other english-speaking countries....

Full article: http://goo.gl/hJCJM Navitas delivers robust result after SAE acquisition The Australian August 02 2011 ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Locked Bag 1333, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia Tel: +61 3 6324 3935 || Fax: +61 3 6324 3670 || admin.acuma@acuma.org.au http://www.acuma.org.au || http://twitter.com/acumainc || http://www.scribd.com/acumainc

ACUMA Inc.: the Association representing tertiary campus service organisations in Australia & New Zealand Australia and New Zealand higher education news: August 2011

GO to the top of the class, Navitas! The education provider and market darling has produced a robust albeit expected - set of full-year numbers, despite its full-time equivalent enrolments declining 7 per cent in the second semester.

In Australia and Britain - both regimes that have tightened visa requirements - enrolments plunged 14 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, but there are nuances to the story....

Full article: http://goo.gl/FRQkM Navitas profits up more than 20 per cent The Herald Sun August 02 2011 EDUCATION provider Navitas has increased full year profit by 20.5 per cent, and says demand remains robust as students seek training opportunities.

Net profit rose to $77.39 million for the 12 months to June 30 from, $64.3 million a year earlier, Perthbased Navitas said in a statement today....

Full article: http://goo.gl/vr4Cn Price of engagement Simon Marginson in The Age August 02 2011 WE ALL know that universities are no longer ivory towers. Around the world, the watchwords are engagement, relevance, impact.

Academics are now expected to be effective communicators, to translate expert knowledge into public policy, discussion and debate, without dumbing it down. It's not easy to do. Expert and public discourse are two different beasts.

The demand for more communicative academics is generating a new respect on campus for journalism and its gifts of accessibility, charisma, timing, persuasion and the pithy phrase. As yet few professors, lecturers and researchers pursue energetic public work. Until recently, polite academic circles saw....

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