The Sheil Review of the Australian Research Council Act is imminent

Learned readers report the review secretariat is checking details, with a Friday deadline for responses.

 

In Features this morning

The university teaching awards were announced last night (scroll down) but because the citation winners never get enough praise CMM lists them HERE.

plus Nicholas Fisk (UNSW) on reforming research integrity oversight – what Australia needs is a light touch – but with teeth, HERE 

with If the success rate for the to be announced MRFF early and mid-career fellowships is as bad as expected Adrian Barnett (QUT) wonders whether researchers should waste their time applying for the next round.

and Maree Meredith (Uni Canberra) calls on university communities to speak up on the Voice to Parliament HERE

joined by Sandhya Maranna (Uni SA) and colleagues, who set out the  top five enablers and barriers for on-line educators. New in Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s series, Needed now in learning and teaching.

 

The NSW Government (at least for another  five weeks) says a new Uni Newcastle campus is closer

The government announces it has signed its final agreement with the university for a new central coast venue, at Gosford.

Hang on, you say, isn’t this the project the federal coalition government announced in the lead-up to last year’s federal election (CMM April 12 2022) and the coalition state government announced last June (CMM June 14). Certainly looks like it.

NSW caretaker conventions kick in on March 3 – so there’s just time for another announcement.

University of New England Council has rejected a call from staff and graduates for Chancellor James Harris to resign

A first meeting of the university’s Convocation, in November, voted (410-46) for Mr Harris to go and for council to appoint a successor “through an open and consultative process including with strong staff representation” (CMM December 5, 14). But Deputy Chancellor Jan McClelland advises Convocation, “Council considered but did not support the proposal for the UNE Chancellor to resign.”

However, she adds, “Council will continue to provide updates to the University community on the process for the recruitment of the next UNE vice-chancellor.”

There has been long-standing campus disquiet over Mr Harris and Council’s support for former VC Brigid Heywood’s plans for the university.

Ms McClelland adds “Council is very supportive of changes which drive greater openness and regular communication in how we make decisions that impact the University community,” and cites specifics.

None of which impresses the professoriate, with its president, Thomas Fudge responding, “this unsatisfactory response further indicates how out of touch the UNE Council is with our university.”

“The UNE professoriate does not want to see our institution embroiled in counter-productive conflict. … A better path forward is possible if Council abandons its defensive and arrogant mode of operating, to engage in genuine dialogue and cooperative endeavours.”

With council having endorsed an elected standing committee of convocation it appears UNE now has the makings of a parliamentary governance  that includes an  established opposition.

Uni Sydney’s offer on pay and conditions does not impress the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union

On Tuesday the university proposed (amongst a mass of other offers) a 15 per cent pay rise across the three year agreement being negotiated, plus a $2000 signing bonus, continuing jobs for 300 academic casuals and for no more than 25 per cent of continuing and fixed term academics to be education-focused.

To which NTEU branch president Nick Riemer responded (via Twitter) that the wage offer is “lower than any union-agreed pay-rise in the higher education sector” and stating other demands, including sick pay and pay for all hours worked for casuals and a 20 per cent education focused cap. (He also accused CMM of “uncritical reproduction of management spin”).

And yesterday Dr Riemer reported (via Twitter) “the biggest meeting of our 19-month Enterprise Agreement campaign”

“We voted overwhelmingly for an escalating campaign of strike action …until we get the justice at work we deserve.”

What happens now

On Tuesday the university told staff, “ we will continue to negotiate in good faith with staff unions based on this package as we seek to reach agreement and finalise bargaining as soon as possible. Colleagues will then have the opportunity to vote on the new Agreement so that it can be approved by the Fair Work Commission.”

But what if agreement with the unions on Tuesday’s offer is not reached, as now seems likely? Management states that CMM was wrong to have read Tuesday’s statement (CMM yesterday)  as meaning it would put an offer to staff without union backing. “We are absolutely focussed on reaching agreement with the staff unions and finalising bargaining as soon as possible, and wouldn’t want to speculate beyond that process.”

So, without such speculation there is only bargaining and more bargaining – underway since August ’21.

 

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is conducting yet another high-impact investigation and it is very interested in higher education and research

It’s a review of the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (set up in 2018), the legislation for which requires a review after its first three years.

And universities are high on the agenda. The committee’s public hearing on Tuesday started with the ANU Security College, followed by a panel discussion with * John Byron (QUT), * Peter Chesworth (Unis Aus) * Luke Sheehy (ATN) * Vicki Thomson (Group of Eight) * George Wellard (Unis Aus) * Michael Wesley (Un Melbourne) and George Williams (UNSW).

The scheme is intended to, “bring transparency  to activities undertaken on behalf of foreign principals …  to influence Australian political and governmental systems and processes.”

Which involves HE and research. In a Tuesday speech ASIO chief Mike Burgess cited “academic and think tank research” as targets. “Espionage steals the advantages of significant investment in research and development,” he said.

The review follows the PJCIS’ highly regarded report on foreign interference on campus  – the government adopted nearly all its recommendations (CMM February 15).

Now in its sixth year, Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching is new and improved

The MOOC (via Canvas) has 24 modules, including eight new ones, notably on peer review of teaching, assessment and gender equity.

It is led Agnes Bosanquet and Marina Harvey (Macquarie U), for the Council of Australasian University Leaders in Learning and Teaching.

 

Increases to post-study work rights for many international students make Australia a leading choice. The government has done well to balance the needs of multiple sectors in what appears to a classic win-win scenario, at least for the short to medium term

By DIRK MULDER

The changes (CMM yesterday) mean Australia has the potential to leapfrog many competitor countries’ offers and come at an opportune time.

The UK is still deciding whether its  international student intake should be reduced, Canada is dealing with international enrolment and experience issues, and the USA is slowly rebuilding from COVID and Trump.

Australia may now be the best offer on the global stage if it wasn’t already.

Rebuilding the international education sector has been said to be a priority of the new(ish) Labor government. Importantly, the new government appears to be listening in implementing all recommendations from the Post-Study Work rights working group from October last year.

What’s new

(Full information from the Department of Home Affairs is available here.)

 Post-study work entitlements  New extended work rights come into effect from July 1. Current settings will be increased by two years. This will extend post-study work rights from, two years to four years for select bachelor degrees, three years to five years for select masters degrees and four years to six years for all doctoral degrees.

These settings will be a very large carrot for internationals seeking to stay in Australia upon completing their study.

However they don’t apply to all. Degree areas that count include medical and nursing, professional health, diagnostic, allied health, teaching, engineering, ICT, and agriculture (including environment and food).

The notable exception are business students.

Regional study settings are maintained, meaning students studying in regional or remote locations may be eligible for an additional two years. One may argue whether increasing course-related post-study work rights across the board will diminish the appeal of the existing one or two year bonus for students in regional areas, although the new increases also apply there.

Work rights for international students increase from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, noting the previous government temporarily ended the cap altogether during COVID. However critics will respond that reimposing a cap, even at an increased level, will strip the business community of a workforce that it has come to depend on.

However, CEO of the International Education Association of Australian, Phil Honeywood counters this, saying, “the return to capped working hours while studying will refocus on recruiting quality students over volume.”

All in all, this a great package of reforms for the international ed sector that firmly returns policy settings to the principle that students educated in this country should be prioritised via a skills agenda to support our economy, where required. And it is good for employers, especially those in regions desperate for skilled workers

The government has done well to balance the needs of multiple sectors with what appears to a classic win-win scenario, at least for the short to medium term.

But, there’s a but

These reforms will undoubtedly increase international student numbers studying on-shore. And an increased pool of students seeking to stay in Australia after their studies availing themselves of these new measures will create a multiplier effect.

Adding them to an increase in 2022-23 Migration Program planning levels up from 160 000 in 2021-22 to 195 000 (21.9 per cent) creates a question; where will these new longer-term visitors and migrants live, given the overheated rental market due to housing construction shortfalls?

The government announced a migration review last year which is yet to report and post study work rights increases are the first related changes since it was announced. They might be an insight into the government’s thoughts on broader migration settings.

Dirk Mulder advises education and business clients on trends in international education. He writes regularly for CMM