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Desperate times, detailed data
“Just days out from the crucial 2019 federal election a Sydney based enterprise is offering politicians and lobbyists a comprehensive database and politically oriented mapping services that could mean the difference between winning and losing” The University of Sydney promotes its Genesis Innovation Competition, today. Make way for Liberal MPs in marginals.
There’s more in the Mail
A new CMM series starts this week, Australian Learning and Teaching Fellows writing on what is needed now in teaching and learning. First up, Angela Brew(Macquarie U) on preparing students for professional life.
Contract cheating: containing it on campus not in the courts
Laws against essays mills can’t be easily enforced – which means preventing it is up to universities
Identifying providers, digital delivery and jurisdiction for prosecution make contract cheating hard to stop, Alexander Amigud from the Centre for the Study of Social Processes, in Toronto and Phillip Dawson (Deakin U) argue in a new essay.
“The proponents of prohibition fail to demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed approach or discuss how they plan to address the issues of detection, enforcement, penalties, extraterritoriality, and criminalisation of academic activities,” they suggest.
It is, then, up to universities; “it is the responsibility of academic institutions to maintain a system of checks and balances and ensure that their internal processes are working as expected. We see the call for criminalisation, which largely comes from academics themselves, as a sign academia thinks it has lost control over teaching and learning. The threat of policing, fines and imprisonment shifts academic integrity into being a legal matter.”
“Academia needs to take responsibility to ensure learners are learning and do their own assessments,” they warn.
Vote 1 arts
DASSH likes the look of Labor
The Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities has released its how to vote for ASSH card. Labor gets a tick for six of seven priorities, including reinstating demand driven funding for UG places and equity and transparency in research funding allocation. The only issue where Labor does not get rate is its unknown position on encouraging international students. Only the Greens come close, with five ticks. The coalition and minor parties all score negatives or not knowns.
Passionate about SA skills
The SA government urges people to pursue “your passion” in a new campaign, and no it is not about wine, submarines or voting for Georgina Downer in Mayo in Saturday
The campaign is intended “to increase interest” in apprenticeships and traineeships. Apparently “extensive research,” reveals VET is seen as a secondary option to university. So, there is an old and new media campaign targeting 16-24 year olds and influencers about the careers training can deliver.
That federal Labor promises a bucket of money for TAFE if it wins on the weekend, which undoubtedly has nothing to do with the timing.
There’s a bear in where?
What is with CQU and bears
Colin Rossiter from CQU is studying the impact of ecotourism on bears in British Columbia. Canada. Queensland hard to distinguish really. He follows in the pawprints of Sarah Elmeligi who did a CQU PhD on bears and tourists in the Canadian Rockies ( CMM April 22 2015).
Pre-emptive protection for whistleblowers
The NTEU is prepared for an international student standards scandal
The executive of the National Tertiary Education Union has signed-off on a statement of principals for any case where members at a university allege international students are enrolled despite inadequate English or pre-reqs for a course.
The union’s leadership warns universities should not use international enrolments to make up for inadequate public funding; “NTEU remains concerned that government and sector policy initiatives that seek to increase reliance on international student fee income expose both institutions and the sector more broadly to unacceptable risk. Further, increased reliance on international student fee income provides an environment in which the exploitation of students is more likely.”
And it warns, “universities must enact policies that provide for and promote institutional and legislative whistle-blower protections. NTEU will vigorously defend members who make disclosures in the public interest and suffer the threat of adverse consequences.”
‘Triffic times at Tonsley
Flinders U puts Tonsley on the map
The developments keep coming at the Tonsley Innovation District, in Adelaide’s south, where the Mitsubishi factory used to be. Flinders U is piling into high-end industrial research there for a couple of years and last week Labor promised the university $20m of the $50m it needs for its Australian Centre for Innovative Manufacturing. There is also $120m to extend a rail line there.And now there is talk of a new hotel on site, to accommodate people doing business with Flinders U, plus TAFE and various industry investors in the site.
Appointments
Neil Quigley has a second term as VC of the University of Waikato.
Catherine Whelan will join University of Notre Dame, Sydney next month as dean of the business school. She comes from Georgia College & State University in the US.