In Features this morning  

Sarah Carr (Uni Otago) on supporting student engagement now that there are multiple learning environments. Commissioning Editor Sally Kift’s new selection for her celebrated series, Needed now in learning and teaching.

plus Merlin Crossley makes the case for teaching and/or research, “the idea that every academic should be expected to both create and transmit knowledge was never sound … good teams consist of batters, bowlers, and all-rounders – and always have.”

and in Expert Opinion

Sue Cunningham from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education talks about her new book on the present and future for fundraising, HERE

Chancellor James Harris tells staff that council has “endorsed in principle”  a standing committee of convocation and work is underway

This was one of three proposals adopted by what was either a unique, or at least very rare meeting of convocation (mainly graduates and academic staff) convened by Interim VC  Simon Evans.

Whatever Professor Evans’ intent, the opportunity gave members an opportunity to raise concerns with Mr Harris leadership and long-standing disquiet at the state of  the university (CMM December 5).

A second proposal was for council and senior management to “strengthen accountability” to the university community. And the five-part third, included an ombudsman and appointment of a new chancellor.

Mr Harris’s message does not mention what all the proposals are but it states they will be “submitted to council for consideration.”

Speaking at convocation academic Tim Battin pretty much explained where this all came from. “It has long been the view of staff of the university that the council regards the staff as the problem and in need of a shake-up, to which the constant and pointless restructures over 20 years are testament.”

A second union is ‘agin it – the vote is on this week

The Community and Public Sector Union is calling on staff to vote against the agreement. NSW assistant state secretary Troy Wright emailed members first thing yesterday, urging them to reject the offer, which includes a 9.5 per cent pay rise across the agreement.

“Fifteen months ago when bargaining commenced salaries ranked as one of the concerns of lower importance for our members. But bargaining has taken place simultaneously with one of the worst periods of inflation our country has experienced,” he states.

This is bad news for Uni Newcastle management – the National Tertiary Education Union is campaigning hard against the offer but until now the CPSU has not taken a high-profile position, (CMM (December 6) could not contact branch officials at Uni Newcastle last week).

While a substantial majority of staff are not union members many will likely listen to the comrades on questions of conditions.

University managements can win staff votes when the unions are split – but not often when there is a unity ticket on voting no.

The Council of Australian University Librarians has reached an open access agreement with Sage

It follows terms being set with the other giants of scholarly publishing, John Wiley, Springer-Nature, Taylor & Francis and Elsevier.  And it is in addition to agreements with 20 or so other publishers (by the start of ’23) – including this week, with the International Water Association’s publishing arm.

While there are publisher-specific variations on cost and journals included in each, the overall CAUL objective is for research published by academics at member universities to be immediately open access on publication, with publishing charges absorbed in an all-journal subscription price with each publisher.

CAUL director Bob Gerrity (Monash U) explains the approach for CMM Expert Opinion  (ep 23) HERE.

With Sage signed, this is an all-over big deal, part of a worldwide acceptance by publishers that they cannot defy open access indefinitely.

But not big-enough for all. In Europe, where the big OA battles have long been fought, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities yesterday warned against “big deal” read and publish agreements with publishers, warning they “effectively consolidate and enhance their already dominant position in the field of scholarly publishing, solidifying their role as the gatekeepers of publicly funded research.”

By CLAIRE FIELD

Federal minister Skills and Training, Brendan O’Connor’s address to a CEDA forum yesterday saw VET reform take another important step forward as he announced new industry engagement arrangements

The former government was looking to introduce nine new Industry Clusters. Instead ten new Jobs and Skills Councils will work closely with Jobs and Skills Australia across:

* agribusiness * arts, personal services, retail, tourism, hospitality * energy, gas renewables * finance, technology, business * manufacturing * mining and automotive * transport and Logistics * public safety and government * early educators, health, and human Services * building, construction, property

At deadline last night, the Department of Employment and Work Place Relations’ website had no detail on successful bids to run the new councils, but it appears that some existing organisations may not have been successful.

While the sector awaits further details – industry and training providers will be hoping for improvements to the current arrangements which have significant flaws, as a recent training package update identifies.

While the Australian Skills Quality Authority  is to be commended for listening to feedback from RTOs requesting an extra extension to the transition period for five qualifications from the Community Services Training Package, the problem is timing: ASQA is seeking feedback with a closing date of 23 December 2022. They will only then determine which version of these qualifications will be taught on 20 January 2023.

One provider explained that “we stopped offering the Diploma ten months ago to avoid transitioning students to a non-equivalent qualification (the new Diploma specifies a Certificate III as an entry requirement) … this means we have lost close to a whole year of potential revenue that we could have had to help bounce back after COVID and the industry has lost a larger pool of qualified workers.”

Industry on the other hand is still waiting for graduates with the updated skills they first identified years ago.  Getting the new arrangements right is crucial.

Also crucial is the 2023 funding for Fee Free TAFE and other VET places. Mr O’Connor said yesterday that the only funding agreement still to be signed is with the Northern Territory, however the DEWR website  has no announcement of the additional funding Victorian providers will get in 2023. The sector looks forward to the details on both these agreements being finalised and published.

 Claire Field is an advisor to the tertiary education sector and wishes to thank everyone who has provided feedback on this column this year

New VC Andrew Deeks sets out how he wants the university to work

Murdoch U will expand “effective” FT students by a third, to 15 000 by 2030, 40 per cent of them Internationals.

The target is set in a strategy, released yesterday by new VC Andrew Deeks, with three goals, * a leading university in education, teaching and translational research for sustainability * a “welcoming, diverse and inclusive community” and * “the university of choice for First Nations peoples.”

A core objective also appears to be securing staff support and stability after years of change and controversy.

The strategy commits to  “retaining and growing our current academic disciplines” and 40 per cent of revenue above a budget baseline going to academic schools. Overall the university will generate 5 per cent annual surpluses which will be invested in physical and digital infrastructure, with staff costs at 60 per cent of revenue.

Murdoch U will “favour” continuing employment over casual and fixed term positions and make teaching and research positions the “norm” for academics.

And the strategy specifies protecting academic freedom as one of eight principle, to guide, “how we lead, manage and work together” – which will appeal to staff who remember the university sued prominent mathematician and university council member Gerd Schröder -Turk  (CMM March 10).

Is CMM

Yesterday’s email edition had Wenshan Guo at Swinburne U. She’s at UTS.

The International Australian Studies Association announces office holders for 2023-24. Anna Johnston (Uni Queensland) will be president, Jon Piccini (Australian Catholic U) treasurer, Andonis Piperoglou (Uni Melbourne) VP, and Daozhi Xu (Macquarie U) secretary. Other exec and editorial people are HERE

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic appoints a committee to advise on a national robotics strategy, including, * Catherine Ball (ANU), * Bronwyn Fox (CSIRO) – chair, * Simon Lucey (Australian Institute for Machine Learning), * Julia Powles (UWA Minderoo Tech and Policy Lab) * Hugh Durrant-Whyte (NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer)

Maree Meredith (Flinders U) moves to Uni Canberra to become PVC Indigenous Leadership.

At James Cook U, Jenny Seddon will become DVC R in April. She moves from associate and deputy dean roles in the science faculty at Uni Queensland.

 The Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation announces its 2022 awards;

Life sciences: Joshua Ooi, Eric Morand (Monash U)

Physical sciences: Brian Abbey (La Trobe U), Belinda Parker (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre)

Fellowships: * Dinh Bui (Uni Melbourne) * Sarah McColl-Gausden (Uni Melbourne) * Wenyi Li (Uni Melbourne) * Remika Mito (Florey Institute) * Tuan Nguyen (Uni Melbourne) * Leona Pascoe (Monash U) * Sampa Sarkar (RMIT) * Amin Soltani (Federation U) * Wei Tong (Uni Melbourne)  * Zhuoting (Lisa) Zhu (Centre for Eye Research)