TEQSA advises HE providers that, “experts undertaking independent reviews must be fully independent”

“If an expert is not independent, their judgement and the quality of their review may be influenced by other interests,” the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency states.

And for anybody who still does not get it TEQSA, adds, “In its regulatory processes, TEQSA will give greater weight to reviews completed by fully independent experts than by experts reasonably perceived as not independent.”

In Features this morning

Sunday was National Teachers Day in Vietnam, where people believe Người ta không thể làm gì nếu không có giáo dục is a statement to live by. Claire Macken (RMIT Vietnam) explains what it means and why it matters – here as well as there.

plus Angel Calderon on the new HiCi researchers list and what it means for some Australian universities on the next ARWU.

with Erica Wilson and Thomas Roche (Southern Cross U) on their university’s revolution in learning and teaching. Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s new selection for her celebrated Needed Now series

and Andrew Flitman (Wells Advisory) makes the case for an Australian international student credential blockchain, HERE

The Micro-Credentials Market Place is set to go – just with a different name

The (NSW-ACT) Universities Admission Centre which is creating the product has been “onboarding” providers for a bit (CMM October 31) and there’s a homepage for what is now “Microcred seeker.”

A product for people to present their tertiary quals and “learning credentials” is also in the works. In 2020 then education minister Dan Tehan announced $2.5m to develop a national credentials platform, which is now said to be in a “technical prototype phase to develop learnings.”

Whether it will include micro-credentials at launch is unclear. Mr Tehan originally expected the platform to launch last year, with “future phases to include recognition of microcredentials.”

Shame if it doesn’t – for the Commonwealth to be providing info on m-cs on one platform but not letting students point to them on another might put people off.

There’s a $1m in the state budget for a “commission to advise the government on a university merger” – a  project Premier Malinauskas campaigned on at the last election (CMM June 6)

So how’s that going, what with part of the commission’s brief being to “engage” with the three public universities? Depends who you ask, – here’s what spokespeople tell CMM.

Flinders U, “will work constructively with the state government to ensure that we have a strong and competitive university sector.”

Uni SA “has consistently indicated that we are open to engaging in constructive dialogue with our peer institutions on the government’s policy and how we might strengthen higher education in the state. We are looking forward to seeing the details of the university merger commission when they are released and we would welcome the opportunity to participate.”

And Uni Adelaide states it is, “working collaboratively with the state government to explore their vision for higher education in South Australia.

“Discussions to consider policy implications and how we might achieve the best outcomes for staff, students and the South Australian community have been held. A formal University of Adelaide position in respect of such matters will be a made by our council in due course.”

10 Pedagogical innovations from Business School Professors around the world from BUSINEsS EDUCATION INNOVATIONS

While there are often specific practices or pedagogies that are more relevant to teaching in one discipline over another, in my experience there are far more universalities relevant to all disciplines. This report outlines ten case studies of innovation in teaching business, with what looks like a strong focus on authentic learning and simulations, and is well worth a look for any educator wondering what is going on right now.

***

Student partners as co-contributors in research: a collective autoethnographic account from HERD

Bubbling away under the surface of Australian HE, we have long had a movement dedicated to democratising learning by bringing students into the process in a meaningful way. This recent paper from some of the shining lights in this space discusses experiences and challenges in the next step – engaging students in collaborative research. (Maybe there are also lessons to be applied to working with Third Space education workers in similar ways)

***

The Power of Portfolios: Evidence-based Assessment Design for Lifelong and Life-wide Learning: Webinar from OPEN LEARNING December 2 12:45 AEDT

As Higher Ed continues to emphasise the importance of authentic learning experiences and workplace skills, ePortfolios continue to offer a rich yet underused platform to support this. This workshop from Beverley Miles as part of the free OpenLearning Forums 2022 promises a dive into creating meaningful assessment with this tool.

***

Make-A-Video from META AI

It seems only natural that as the AI generated art movement has exploded, it would move into “video.” (By video I would say it looks much more like animated GIFs than Citizen Kane but baby steps). Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is releasing a tool to support the creation of video from text and this site showcases some examples and associated papers. Sign-up for the beta program has closed though.

***

How Kepler Invented Science Fiction and Defended His Mother in a Witchcraft Trial While Revolutionizing Our Understanding of the Universe from THE MARGINALIAN

In some ways this read feels like a stretch for this column, but at its heart is the idea of using stories to teach complex new ideas in a yin yang blending of STEM and HASS. This entertaining read takes you on a wild journey across astronomy, 17^th Century politics, helio-centrism and witchcraft in making a credible case that Johannes Kepler actually wrote the first science fiction book.

***

Are you the ultimate LMS designer? From ASCILITE TELedvisors Network

If you are going to the ASCILITE 2022 conference (or know someone going) and fancy yourself a dab hand with the LMS, you might consider this fun design challenge that is part of the Battle of the LMS event. Entries close Tuesday 29^th.

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)

for “outstanding nation-building initiatives”

Community engagement: Victoria U (Vic Police diversity recruitment)

Indigenous engagement: La Trobe U (First Nations mothers and babies health)

Student learning: Monash U (student teams

Research impact: Uni Newcastle (Quality Teaching Rounds)

Student/alumni impact: Uni Queensland (ChangeMakers)

International Engagement: Curtin U (Global Chinese Accounting Association), Monash U (the Revitalising informal settlements and environments programme)

Leadership: Danielle Harvey (Uni Queensland)

This one is with society publisher, the Institute of Physics

It’s the third announced by the Council of Australian University Librarians in the last seven days, following agreements with for-profit journal giant Elsevier (CMM November 15) and American Institute of Physics Publishing (CMM November 18).

It brings to 19 the open access arrangements CAUL has concluded with small to enormous publishers over the last couple of years. While terms vary, the generally three-year agreements allow for papers by researchers at ANZ universities to appear open access on publication, with article processing charges absorbed in their institution’s subscriptions.

Victoria Coleman (National Measurement Institute) is elected to the International Committee for Weights and Measures.

Danielle Harvey (Uni Queensland Art Museum) wins the 2022 leadership award from Engagement Australia

Uni Queensland has renamed its Diamantina Institute (medical research) the Frazer Institute, for Ian Frazer, co-inventor of technology enabling the vaccines that help prevent cervical cancer. Professor Frazer “has begun a transition to retirement.” 

UWA’s VC Research Awards go to * Katie Attwell (Social Sciences) – mid-career * Nicole Austin (Engineering and Oceans Grad School) – research support * Jon Breen (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Ullrich Ecker (Psychological Science) – mid career * Qi Fang (Engineering) – early career  * Donna Geddes (Molecular Sciences) – senior research * Daniel Green (Human Sciences) – senior research * Mark Henderson (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Jarrad Hoyle (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Julia Marley (Medical School) – partnerships research * Joanna Melonek (Molecular Science) – research impact * Amy Page (adjunct) – early career * Manuel Palacios (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Charitha Pattiaratchi (Oceans Institute) – research mentorship * Khin Seint (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Ian Small (Molecular Science) – research impact * Adam Stubbs (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Jason Stubbs (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Guido Wager (Oceans Graduate School) – research tech support * Jingbo Wang (Physics) – research mentorship * Minghao Zheng (Medical School) higher degree supervision