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Lots of lycra
Uni Wollongong plans for staff to work from home and classes to be on-line for a week
But it’s not pessimists preparing for plague, again. Rather, the Union Cycliste Internationale’s Road World Championships will be on in Wollongong and surrounds September 18-25.
Campus will stay open bit access will be tricky at times, what with hundreds of super-cyclists on a course near campus.
There’s more in the Mail
In Features this morning
Frank Larkins (Uni Melbourne) on Queensland public universities 2021 financials: good results – for reasons that won’t all happen again.
plus Michelle Picard and Shannon Johnston (Murdoch U) on expanding student access to work integrated learning by building it into a degree programme. This week’s selection by Commissioning Editor Sally Kift for her celebrated series, Needed now in teaching and learning.
with Ginny Barbour (Open Access Australasia) on the power and potential of research repositories. They “have a critical role in archiving, preserving and sharing the diverse content produced by universities so it can be used by others and have the greatest impact on our society.”
Expert Opinion: why we don’t learn Indonesian
Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks the language – we need more like her to build Australia’s relationship with our very large neighbour
Problem is there are only a couple of thousand people studying Indonesian at university.
In Expert Opinion CMM asks what is to be done – and Liam Prince from the Australian Consortium for “In-Country” Indonesian Studies explains. His excellent analysis is HERE @ Episode Nine
Fair Work Ombudsman takes Uni Melbourne to court
FWO has commenced a case in the Federal Court against Uni Melbourne, “alleging it coerced and took adverse action against two casual academics to stop them from claiming payment for work performed”
The two academics were on casual contracts with the Graduate School of Education.
“The academics were engaged on contracts which set out the number of ‘anticipated hours’ per subject. The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that the threat was made because the academics complained about being required to work more hours than the anticipated hours in their contracts and to prevent them from exercising a workplace right to be paid for the extra hours.”
The FWO adds it is separately investigating alleged underpayment of University of Melbourne casual academic employees.
Last year Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell commented on underpayment of casual staff and referred to “a systemic failure of respect from this institution for those valued, indeed vital employees,” (CMM September 10).
Yesterday Uni Melbourne added, “The University highly values all its employees including casual staff members and the significant contribution they make.
As to the Ombudsman’s case, “it is looking at the specific allegations very carefully and once it has considered them will respond through relevant court processes.”
FWO also states, ““we are currently investigating a range of underpayment issues in the universities sector, including failures to pay casual academics for all hours worked.”
It is now clear where such investigations could end up– which could be very bad news indeed for some universities. AS FW Ombudsman Sandra Parker told a universities audience last year, “we expect Australian universities to invest in governance frameworks and practises that will ensure compliance with workplace laws, (CMM October 11).
Clare there to help on teacher ed
Education Minister Jason Clare hosts a ministry of all the talents roundtable on the teacher shortage today – he has some ideas
He mentioned ways to encourage people into teaching and keep them there in a Sky News interview yesterday.
One is reducing attrition in Initial Teacher Education courses, if completions lifted from the present 50 per cent to 60 per cent, “then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers,” he said.
Another is more practical experience, during degrees, paid internships in final years and more support in first classroom years.
It will make a change for education academics from coalition minister Alan Tudge who had strong views on what he wanted in initial teacher education course content and once warned “the Government will use the full leverage of the $760 million it provides to education faculties,” (CMM October 25 2021).
Arts of optimism at Australian Catholic U
Last week Federation U announced the end of arts course. Australian Catholic U is thinking about starting up
Regional Victoria’s Federation U stated last week it was dropping its arts degree because of low enrolments – there were just 23 starters this year, (CMM August 8).
It was quickly followed by outrage that regional residents would have to move to Melbourne for an arts education.
But now Australian Catholic U is looking at offering arts at its Ballarat campus – not far from Fed U’s homebase.
“We are a national university and have the resources to establish a world-class offering that consolidates our strong ties in Ballarat. We know our community wants this and we want to work with the community to deliver it,” Executive Dean Education and Arts Mary Ryan says.
VET attrition: set to stay
Here’s an issue that should come up at the Jobs and Skill summit – the waste of time and money for all concerned when people don’t complete apprentice and traineeships
The estimable National Centre for Vocational Education Research reports 55 per cent of apprentices and trainees who started in 2017 completed. The figures for individuals are in-line with previous years.
The completion range by occupation group ranges from 43 per cent for food trades to 64 per cent for engineering, ICT and science techs.
The NCVER projects similar rates for December 2021 starts.
There are all sorts of reasons people give study away, many that providers can’t do anything about – but a ten per cent completion lift across the system would make for a huge economy improvement.
Appointments, achievements
Of the day
Marcel Dinger will join Uni Sydney as Dean of the Science Faculty in January. He will move from UNSW.
Michael Donovan joins La Trobe U next month as PVC Indigenous. He moves from Academic Director, Indigenous Learning and Teaching at Macquarie U.
At La Trobe U Susan Dodds (DVC and VP Research and Industry Engagement) becomes Senior DVC and VP R and EI). “This is in recognition of the fact that Sue … is, in effect, my standing deputy,” DVC John Dewar tell staff.
Anne Pattel-Gray is appointed head of the School of Indigenous Studies at University of Divinity.
IDP Education appoints Tennealle O’Shannessy as MD (replacing Andrew Barkla). She will move from Adore Beauty, “Australia’s leading on-line beauty marketplace” and was previously with SEEK, where “she led the expansion of multinational education services and digital platforms.”
Of the week
Alison Alexander wins U Tasmania’s Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History. It’s for her The Waking Dream of Art: Patricia Giles, Painter.
Chris Armstrong joins Uni New England as DVC R in October. He moves from NSW Deputy Chief Scientist and Engineer.
James Arvanitakis is appointed director of the Forrest Research Foundation (as in Andrew and Nicola Forrest). He moves from the Fulbright Foundation and replaces former UWA VC Paul Johnson.
Australian Catholic U has appointed three campus deans, Darius von Guttner (Canberra), Krista Maglen (Melbourne) and Valentine Mukiria (Blacktown). Campus deans manage engagement with “key stakeholders.
At WEHI (the MRI formerly known as the Walter and Eliza Hall Foundation), Melanie Bahlo has a US$330 000 to estimate risk factors in Parkinson’s Disease. The grant is from the US Michael J Fox Foundation and partner Shake it Up Australia.
Chrissy Burns joins UNSW as Chief Information Officer. She moves from CIO at UTS.
Steve Frost joins Uni Wollongong as a professorial fellow of nursing. He is a member of the South Western Sydney Nursing and Midwifery Research Alliance at Liverpool Hospital.
Lyn Karstadt is incoming VC at Fiji National U. She was DVC International at Murdoch U 2016-2020
Rory Medcalf (ANU National Security College) receives the Japan Foreign Ministers Commendation, recognising “services to the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and Australia.”
Graciela Metternicht becomes science dean at Western Sydney U. She moves from UNSW.
Commonwealth Department of Education official David Patty moves to be the department’s FAS, People, Parliamentary and Communications.
Meghan Quinn is appointed secretary of the Commonwealth’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (as of August 22).
Sven Rogge becomes science dean at UNSW, starting October. It’s an internal appointment.
Sumeetpal Singh will join Uni Wollongong next year, taking up the Tibra Chair in Mathematical Sciences. He will move from Uni Cambridge. The chair is funded by Tibra Capital, (“a world-class quant trading firm”).
Western Sydney U appoints four distinguished professors (its highest honour for academics). * Kathryn Holmes (School of Education) * Brajesh Singh (“functional ecology and soil biology”) * Anthony Uhlmann (Humanities) * Ian Wright (plant functional ecology) and two distinguished professors for international engagement * Basant Maheshwari (Life Sciences) * Peter Reich (former chief scientist, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment)