Comments for Campus Review

Comment on 90 per cent of female academics experience sexism by Rhonda Oliver

Rhonda Oliver — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 03:43:55 +0000

I was the most senior (full Professor) female academic on our faculty board, the Dean (male) was chairing a meeting getting ideas to resolve the latest issue we were facing. He did start by asking me (I was sitting directly to his right). I gave my response – he replied “Do you really think so?” – and moved on. We went around the table arriving at the last person – a male academic. He shared his idea with the Dean to which the Dean replied “I think you might be right!” The male academic responded – “I think I am – it is what Rhonda said 5 minutes ago”. Unfortunately reflects many of my experiences as female in academe for more than 30 years.

Comment on Work-related mental distress alarmingly high for uni staff, study finds by Larry Forbes

Larry Forbes — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 04:29:41 +0000

I would expect that every Academic, along with a large proportion of General Staff, would agree vehemently that, in their experiences, university work loads are far, far too high. On the other hand, successive Governments have claimed that their spending on Higher Education has never been so high; and at least in some measures, I suspect they are telling the Truth. So what’s going on?

To me, it seems clear that the time has come for a Royal Commission into how Universities, as Public Institutions, spend their money. One aspect of university life that often rankles with junior Academic staff, on relatively modest pay packets, is the fact that there are Executives on campus who are paid twice as much as the Prime Minister of Australia. There also often seems to be a fairly impenetrable shroud around much university activity and business; to those at the bottom of the pyramid, it is often seen as a perilous impertinence to ask about these things, although these are nevertheless Public Institutions.

Politicians are notoriously loathe to act in matters of this type, and particularly if they feel there could be personal advantages after their political lives are over. Australia’s Public Universities are an enormous resource for the Country; yet their well being, along with that of many people working in them, is anything but assured. A properly-balanced Royal Commission could go a long way towards establishing transparency and fitness-for-purpose of some key aspects of these important Public Institutions.

Comment on Students ditch Australia for cheaper overseas options by John C Quiggin

John C Quiggin — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 09:21:27 +0000

“Australia has 13,268 students studying abroad, with the most in English-speaking countries, including the US and UK.”

I don’t think there are any US or UK institutions offering low-fee degrees for Australians. These are more likely to be exchange students, or maybe on sports scholarships in the US case

Comment on HEDx Podcast: Creating better career prospects for all through a student engagement and EdTech strategy – episode 60 by How Does A Modern University Seek Purpose? – NCEE

How Does A Modern University Seek Purpose? – NCEE — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 19:33:21 +0000

[…] A purposeful university might also be one that focuses on student outcomes, in terms of career prospects, or lifelong opportunities and experiences. These goals were prioritised and achieved by Coventry University, and independently measured by The Guardian and QS World University Rankings, respectively. As we await the announcement of the 2022 THE Outstanding Entrepreneurial University in the UK, we might also reflect on some broader examples of how differentiation and purpose can be defined, pursued and celebrated. We should recognise the importance of strategy, leadership, culture, partnerships and technology, aligned with new business models, in getting there. This was the focus of a conversation on student engagement and online learning strategies Martin and Ian had together on HEDx recently which you can access here. […]

Comment on Four weddings and a funeral: opportunities and threats with technology – opinion by HEDx | Active, authentic and applied learning: what does plagiarism mean anymore? - Adobe Higher Education

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 02:05:56 +0000

[…] Read the article on Campus Review. […]

Comment on Fit-for-future purpose: architectural policies, foundational enablers spanning HE/VET sectors by VET is VET and HE is HE – So how can O’Kane meet the Twain? - Future Campus

VET is VET and HE is HE – So how can O’Kane meet the Twain? - Future Campus — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:44:57 +0000

[…] for students needing multiple supports to overcome barriers to learning. So any revised national tertiary funding/financing framework must be equity-nuanced, accessible life-long for full or short courses, and straddle both sectors […]

Comment on Will a new government undo knotted problems in the stalled reform of the VET National Agreement and the Australian Qualifications Framework? Opinion by VET is VET and HE is HE – So how can O’Kane meet the Twain? - Future Campus

VET is VET and HE is HE – So how can O’Kane meet the Twain? - Future Campus — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:44:30 +0000

[…] has been near zero progress in AQF reform implementation. The speculative reasons are that the AQF de facto defines HE/VET sectoral boundaries at their AQF 5/6 overlap and this […]

Comment on Do Australian students have a ‘problem’ with writing? by Russell Daylight

Russell Daylight — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 06:34:41 +0000

What a bizarre article. It mixes up evidence from NAPLAN, HSC English, and university essays. Your conclusion is very bold: “So, besides a decline in a dubious test such as NAPLAN, is there a systemic writing problem among Australia’s youth? The evidence doesn’t seem to support it.”

If you think the literacy problems at tertiary level are limited to misplaced apostrophes then you are wildly misinformed. Please see the source of my comments for greater detail on the type of literacy issues that emerge in first-year university student writing: https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/lnj/article/view/6672

Russell Daylight
Lecturer in English
Charles Sturt University

Comment on What if there were no university rankings? Opinion by Elizabeth Gadd

Elizabeth Gadd — Wed, 24 May 2023 07:56:35 +0000

Great article! Thanks for sharing Martin. One thing all universities can do to demonstrate how much more they have to offer than their ranking is to join the INORMS More Than Our Rank initiative: https://inorms.net/more-than-our-rank/ This allows institutions to state in a narrative way their activities, ambitions and achievements that are not captured by the rankings. By so doing, they are helping to redefine what we should value about higher education, and levelling the playing field so that a broader range of institutions get to succeed, and to be assessed in accordance with their own mission. Every university in the world, whether ‘top 10’ or unplaced, is so much more than our rank. Happy to discuss this with you if of interest?

Comment on Academics dole out too much online course content, study says by Derick

Derick — Wed, 17 May 2023 05:35:10 +0000

I’m surprised and I’m not.

Students appear to spend every waking moment staring at screens. If they are overloaded, how about they take a break from streaming and social media, and prioritise their studies?

20 years ago, the complaint was over being expected to read too much material. Same story, different medium.