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And a happy new year for Uni Tas leadership
A select committee of Tasmania’s Legislative Council is inquiring into the provisions” of the Uni Tas Act
Public hearings start today and run four more days, until next Tuesday. Broadcasting will be HERE.
Those anticipating an appearance by the university’s management will have to wait – that’s not until the new year. Give the leadership something to look forward to over the holidays.
There’s more in the Mail
In Features this morning
On-campus, in-person classes augmented with on-line delivery is not working, Martin Betts (HEDx) and David Kellermann (UNSW) argue in a new selection by Commissioning Editor Sally Kift, HERE.
“This plays out in different ways regarding equity, inclusion and accessibility and we need to make specific responses for these factors. There is a huge ongoing agenda for innovation here in new approaches to equitable access to technology-enabled pedagogy,” they state.
plus, James Guthrie and John Dumay (Macquarie U), with Ann Martin-Sardesai (Central Queensland U) make the case for ending Excellence in Research for Australia in their submission to the Australian Research Council review.
and, Keith Houghton (Higher Education and Research Group) on block teaching – for some institutions, its time has come, HERE.
Big ideas about small grants
Alistair McCulloch (Uni SA) has scheme for the ARC agenda
Professor McCulloch wants the Sheil Review of the Australian Research Council to recommend a small grants programme, “of the sort that would support researchers in disciplines and on topics requiring time but little in the way of large-scale equipment, as is common in the arts, humanities and some of the social sciences.”
He points to US and UK programmes as precedents and suggests such funding would be a boon for ECRs and for researchers laying groundwork for a Discovery bid.
To encourage Professor Sheil and her colleagues he urges those interested to respond to the review’s open-ended “any suggestions?” Question Ten.
“ Imagine if 100 responses suggesting something like this were received,” he writes.
“It would have to be included in the report emanating from the review and the idea of a small-grants scheme would have to be considered.”
No harm in asking people to ask.
After 15 months of bargaining there’s no deal at Uni Newcastle
Management will put a pay offer to staff – the NTEU says vote no
After talks failed Friday university management will put its final offer to a staff vote next week.
The offer includes 9.5 per cent in pay rises over three year, ten “concession” days off and extending 17 per cent super to casuals.
“As the vast majority of our staff are not union members, we have made the significant decision to proceed to a staff vote on our new agreements without the endorsement of the unions,” DVC Kent Anderson told staff yesterday.
“Given the impasse, we think you should decide what is right for our university.”
However the National Tertiary Education Union states, “university management offered a sub-standard pay offer that nobody at the bargaining table, except themselves, would accept. They are also proposing to reduce important conditions on a number of fronts, in both professional and academic agreements.”
The other campus union, the Community and Public Sector U could not be reached yesterday but is believed to be not making any recommendation to members.
Uni Newcastle follows Griffith U, where management announced last week that it would put an offer to staff without NTEU support.
HE students in 2020 lock-down states hit hardest
The 2020 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey reports 9.5 per cent women unenrolled or withdrew from a course in Victoria, just ahead of NSW. 8.8 per cent left in the other states and territories.
The figures for males were marginally better, 8.2 per cent in NSW, 4.9 per cent in Vic and 5.5 per cent in the rest of the country.
More students in Victoria and NSW than the rest of the country also thought interruptions to study would delay course completion.
Appointments, achievements
Peter Dawkins (yes, the ex VC of Victoria U) is named Interim Director of Jobs and Skills Australia.
Lisa Line becomes Victoria U’s DVC, Enterprise and Digital. She is a former DVC for voced at Swinburne and present chair of the Victorian Skills Authority Advisory Board.
Gayle Tierney continues as Victorian minister higher education and training and skills in the re-elected Andrews Government.
Uni Queensland Staff awards include
* Innovation: Emilyn Tan, (Protein Expression Facility), Mobility as a Service Team
* Service: Hasan Hasan, (Chemical Engineering)
* Community: Anthropology Museum Team
* Diversity and Inclusion: Dino Willox (Student Affairs)
* Mental and Physical Health, Safety and Wellness: Jennie Trinder, (Health, Safety and Wellness Division), Well-being, Engagement and Research Culture Project
* Leadership: Paul Harpur (Law), Caroline Williams (University Librarian) , EMCR @UQ Committee
Reconciliation: Library Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Initiatives Team
Ally: James Fowler, (Public Health)
Colin Simpson’s ASCILITE ed-tech must reads of the week
The Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education conference is on this week and there is an absolute wealth of ed & tech goodness in the papers and they are already available online. This is a very quick list of the ones that have caught my eye.
Scale-up of the Artisans: Creating practices, systems & tools for a team of learning designers
Developing a micro-credential for Learning Designers: A Delphi Study
Online Assessment in Australian University Business Schools: A Snapshot of Usage and Challenges
How can EdTech support graduate employability?
Technology’s Role in Inclusive Work-Integrated Learning for Students with a Disability
Learning from ‘failures’ in the development of mobile and technology-enhanced learning initiatives
Bridging education to employment through virtual experience placement
Diverse definitions of engagement: Personalised learning analytics to support staff and students
Educational Designer social influence: changing teaching and learning practice
Developing feedback literacy capabilities through an AI automated feedback tool
‘As long as you use the template’: fostering creativity in a pedagogic model
Re/Connecting university teachers with digital teaching tools for “jobs to be done”
Colin Simpson has worked in education technology, teaching, learning design and academic development in the tertiary sector since 2003 at CIT, ANU, Swinburne and Monash University. He is also one of the leaders of the ASCILITE TELedvisors Network. For more from Colin, follow him on Twitter @gamerlearner (or @[email protected] on Mastodon)