Uni SA VC David Lloyd is famous for wearing a tie only when something big is afoot – or a neck, (CMM December 9 2022).  So why learned readers ask did he have one on in India yesterday? Turns out Uni SA is extending its digital business education partnership with tech service giant Accenture into India (CMM September 6 2021) Ties (sorry) nicely with the new Aus-India agreement on mutual recognition of qualifications.

International students are back – problem for some universities is many don’t stay where they start

International students enrolling in universities and then switching to lower cost providers is costing unis $60m, Mahsood Shah (Swinburne U) and James Collins (Education Centre Australia) report in CMM this morning, HERE.

“The ‘recycling’ of students by education agents is well known and organised prior to the student arriving onshore. Education agents are motivated by the financial benefits associated with switching education providers. An initial commission will be paid by the primary provider, followed by subsequent payments by onshore VET colleges and private providers once a student changes their course and study location,” they report.

They call on the O’Kane Accord to review the loopholes in legislation that make this possible.

In Expert Opinion

Entrepreneur and long-time research governance expert Tony Peacock on the importance of discovery science, how applied research can work in universities and industry and the need for Australia to increase research and development spending,HERE.

And in Features this morning

Merlin Crossley (UNSW) on why universities should speak up for the Voice to Parliament.

with Lisa Grech (Monash U) argues the NHMRC gender-equity policy does not do enough, HERE.

plus Angel Calderon (RMIT)  on the new student data from 2021 and why progress rates are set to slide.

and Teaching students transferable skills works best when they know how to apply them in jobs. Gayle Brent (Griffith U)  suggests, “the experiences we provide for our students while they are students must prepare them to effect this transfer for themselves.” Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s new selection for her celebrated series, Needed now in learning and teaching.

not forgetting, Mary O’Kane calls on universities to prepare for the long term. Sean Brawley and Richard Cook sets out Uni Wollongong’s structure designed to do just that HERE.

As the always-expert Andrew Norton tweeted yesterday

Eschewing unseemly haste, the Department of Education has released its report on 2021 financials of the 39 public universities (Table A) and for the first time, the then three (private) Table B universities Bond U, Torrens U and Uni Divinity. (This inflates figures, for comparison, with previous years, although not by much.)

All up 39 of the total 42 universities reported a surplus, with a 14 per cent average margin – 30 had a larger net result than in the last pre-pandemic year, 2019.

The system surplus was $5.3bn, compared to $706m in 2020.

Improvements on 2020 were due to increased government funding, higher investment income and pandemic driven cost cutting, overall operating expenses decreased $1.1bn (or 3.1 per cent) 2019-21. Employee benefits were down 4.6 per cent, $489m for academics and were 5.7 per cent ($557m) lower for professional staff.

But it was more public money that made much of the difference – 23 universities reported a larger increase in Commonwealth funding than their decline in international student fees.

Among all the good news for managements (if not for people retrenched or not renewed) some of the biggest financial improvements include, Uni Sydney, revenue was up 33 per cent to $3.531bn, UNE (a 26 per cent, $90m revenue increase to $438m) and Uni Melbourne (17 per cent increase to $3.119m). Uni Sydney had a $1bn surplus, 20 per cent of the national total.

At the other end, CQU revenue was down 10 per cent or $45m and La Trobe U took a 6 per cent hit, down by $47m.

Tim Winkler reports on new ideas to keep HR ticking-over 

Should professional staff have a lower status in universities? And why is so little known about how to best describe and support the roles of professional staff during periods of change?

A new UK research paper looks at the role of professional staff working alongside academic leaders in implementing yet more layers of government-mandated regulation.

While disparagingly described as “minions of management” and “docile clerks” in the past, the paper found that professional staff are increasingly occupying a third space – taking on roles that require specialist expertise and activity, positioned somewhere in between the traditional professional /academic dichotomy.

While the detail of the paper focuses on the challenges of enacting change in UK universities, the range of issues and thoughtful discussion of the complexity of relationships and interdependencies of roles within HE make for interesting reading for anyone who has been involved in HE change management.

Mackay and Robson, “ ‘Structured agency,’ normalising power and third space workers” Journal of Higher and Further Education is  HERE.

Winkler on the HR works runs regularly at the new HEJobs  recruitment site

Jaclyn Broadbent becomes Deakin U’s PVC, Sessional Academic Experience.

At Uni Wollongong Marc in het Panhuis moves from chemistry and molecular bioscience to Dean of Sport, with charge of the university’s new sports strategy.