http://www.acuma.org.au/inc/rss.gif http://acuma.org.au/index.htm http://www.acuma.org.au/resource_library/in_the_press/index.htm Australian and New Zealand higher education news - monthly summary for January 2011 en-us Sun, 06 Feb 2011 09:00:01 +1000 The Australian: THE release of the Excellence in Research for Australia report yesterday will give a few university bosses cause for introspection. The report, which revealed in detail the research quality and performance of 41 higher education institutions, makes sobering reading.... http://goo.gl/cVZCS ZDNet.com.au: The University of Queensland has been selected to head up a new $50 million Federal Government-funded project to revamp the storage of research data. Project director Dr Nick Tate told ZDNet Australia that the aim of the project is to create a national network of nodes, which can contain data sets that are of interest on.... http://goo.gl/VicSI The Australian: MORE than two-thirds of Australia's universities have an overall research performance that doesn't reach international benchmarks, a finding that could have implications for more than $1.5 billion in tertiary education funding. An analysis of the government's Excellence in Research for Australia report conducted by The Australian found that only 12 universities were performing research at or above international standard.... http://goo.gl/mPLJz The Australian: THE first attempt to assess the quality of research conducted in Australia's universities shows the oldest and most elite institutions filling the top eight spots. In a ratings table compiled by The Australian, the Australian National University and University of Melbourne vied for the top spot, with ANU.... http://goo.gl/dYDG9 TVNZ: The quality of university education and research is under threat from an ageing academic workforce, a new education report says. The report, commissioned by Universities NZ and released today, found universities would need.... http://goo.gl/czsNK Voxy.co.nz: A report by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) shows that the universities are facing a shortage of academic staff over the next ten years due to an ageing academic workforce and other factors. Coupled with lower funding relative to countries like Australia, the ageing workforce.... http://goo.gl/6UHkH The Caloundra Journal: THE Sunshine Coast continues to emerge as a significant contributor to the state's tertiary industry, with both the University of the Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE offering more places than ever in 2011. This year the university (USC) offered more than 2700 places to prospective students.... http://goo.gl/NNejM Sunshine Coast Daily: AN Olympic gold medallist speed skater, a veteran television journalist and a solo adventurer who cycled around Africa will head a star-studded line-up of speakers at a conference on the Coast this week. The University of the Sunshine Coast is hosting the 2011 Golden Key Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, which is expected to attract about 200 top-performing students from.... http://goo.gl/1Foi3 The Australian: PRIVATE college giant Carrick is at risk of financial collapse and is banking on a $10 million deal with Victorian public TAFE Holmesglen to guarantee its future. The deal, which appears set to be finalised by today and could result in Holmesglen securing up to.... http://goo.gl/BqaC4 The Australian: A MASSIVE exercise to determine where the best research is being carried out in universities will be unveiled in Canberra this morning. Research Minister Kim Carr will release the pioneering 300-page Excellence in Research for Australia report, in which research activity and quality in 41 higher education institutions has been assessed.... http://goo.gl/OfNVo Otago Daily Times: Of students surveyed, 58% said they were worried about their financial situation. The average student loan debt is $15,558, 31% higher than in 2001, and the median amount borrowed $12,000, 41% higher than in 2001. Tertiary students appear to have borne the brunt of the economic recession, with increasing debt and money woes and decreasing job opportunities evident in a New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) survey.... http://goo.gl/zZ788 The Australian: THE Australian Learning and Teaching Council has been axed as the federal government cuts spending to pay for flood recovery. Today prime minister Julia Gillard announced $2.8 billion in savings, including $88 million over.... http://goo.gl/Rd9jd The Australian: IN what would be a groundbreaking deal in the ongoing shake-up of a sector hard hit by the downturn in international students, Victoria's state-owned TAFE Holmsglen is in talks to acquire a stake in major private college operator Carrick Education Group.... http://goo.gl/uBxuN The Dominion Post: Prospects for students have gone from bad to worse, with a three-yearly survey showing increased joblessness, debt and pessimism, student advocates say. The 2010 student income and expenditure survey, run by the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations since 1994, shows average loan debt had increased by 31 per cent to $15,558 since 2001. In just three years, the number.... http://goo.gl/nQ2gS Universities Australia: Universities Australia, the body representing all of Australia's 39 universities, warmly congratulates its Chair, Professor Peter Coaldrake, upon his recognition today in the Australia Day Honours List as an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to higher education.... http://goo.gl/QMXFT The Dominion Post, New Zealand: Victoria University is being accused of discriminating against mature students. Special admission students - those older than 20 who did not achieve university entrance at high school - are being asked to supply a CV and a one-page "personal statement" explaining study objectives.... http://goo.gl/51wg1 Bernard Lane in The Australian: MORE time will be allowed for developing new measures of learning that will inform the allocation of $137 million in annual bonus funds for universities. Targets for the US Collegiate Learning Assessment, a contentious choice as a measure, will be set.... http://goo.gl/EcAkb Gavin Moodie in The Australian: CORRECTLY or not, employers and others are concerned that student demand-driven funding will not direct students to the areas of most important employment need. Another concern is that universities with lower student demand are cannibalising vocational enrolments in an attempt to increase or at least maintain their own in anticipation of the removal of enrolment.... http://goo.gl/ZpPYF Pro Bono Australia: The Australian Scholarships Foundation has over $1 million of scholarships available for Not for Profit employees from major universities and private education providers across Australia.... http://goo.gl/LCCTa CampusTechnology.com: Information technology, ironically, instead of disenfranchising the current higher education enterprise, is making it more vital. After all, we find that there was and is no revolution, just a gradual shift in emphasis toward certain kinds of existing learning experiences. Also, unexpectedly.... http://goo.gl/qx4fe March 2-4 2011, Hotel Realm, Canberra http://goo.gl/kOT0C The Pacific Rim First Year in Higher Education (FYHE) Conference Organising Committee invites submissions for its 14th Conference to be held in Fremantle from 28 June - 1 July 2011.... http://goo.gl/FCqC5 The Canberra Times: The creation of a world-class national astronomy and space science museum at Canberra's Mt Stromlo Observatory is one step closer after the Australian National University signed an agreement with the Washington-based Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum yesterday. The museum, which the ANU is hoping to build over the next three years, will aim to tell the story.... http://goo.gl/raM4u The Australian: MORE than a third of students are going through university and failing to learn additional thinking skills, choosing instead to take easy subjects and enjoy the social life, according to a ground-breaking US study. The finding has direct implications for Australian universities with the Gillard government planning.... http://goo.gl/EVdJY ABC News: The Australian National University's School of Music has formed a high-tech partnership with its counterpart in New York. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Manhattan School of Music.... http://goo.gl/Tmb4i The Sydney Morning Herald: THE University of Canberra will become the first Australian campus to ban the sale of bottled water. Assuming it is successful in encouraging students to use refillable bottles, the ban - starting on March 22 - could reduce bottled water sales by 140,000.... http://goo.gl/Ya1SQ The Australian: THE strength of Australia's quality assurance regime and government transparency have seen it place second in a new index. The index rates countries on their policies regarding the engagement and promotion of internationalisation in higher education.... http://goo.gl/I1Vx1 UQ News: Medical leaders at Australia's major universities have called for a change that would revolutionise medical education, research and patient care in the nation's top institutions. In an editorial published tomorrow in the Medical Journal of Australia, The University of Queensland's Health Sciences Executive Dean, Professor Nicholas Fisk, joins deans from seven other.... http://goo.gl/jNgH7 The Chronicle of Higher Education: Drawing on survey responses, transcript data, and results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (a standardized test taken by students in their first semester and at the end of their second year), Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa concluded that a significant percentage of undergraduates are failing to develop the broad-based skills and knowledge they.... http://goo.gl/O2dFj The Australian: AUSTRALIAN university ownership stands in the way of education broker IDP realising its full potential as a global recruiter of students.... http://goo.gl/rxHTg The Australian: SWINBURNE University of Technology will expand online degrees in a marketing deal with internet recruiter Seek designed to capitalise on galloping demand by off-campus students. Swinburne Direct, a 50-50 joint venture with an initial $10 million investment, hopes to enrol.... http://goo.gl/CqpSw ABC News: The Australian Tourism Export Council says an anticipated downturn in UK backpacker numbers will have an impact on tourism in the Northern Territory. The British government is preparing to substantially increase university tuition fees, which could.... http://goo.gl/QMq4e The Herald Sun: THE introduction of a university loans scheme in 1989, known as HECS, was a noble initiative. It ensured that students could further their education even if they could not pay for it at the time. The scheme also opened funding for a greatly expanded tertiary education system - paid for by.... http://goo.gl/ZZ4wv The Herald Sun: Law student Danielle Vieira has raked up a huge debt and still lives at home with her parents to save money. Picture: Nic Gibson Source: Herald Sun PROFESSIONAL university students are racking up massive debts of almost $400,000 for "lifetime" tuition paid for by the taxpayer.... http://goo.gl/xZyGs The Sydney Morning Herald: UNIVERSITIES face a new crisis: up to 40 per cent of academics and lecturers are expected to retire over the next decade, with no one to replace them. As the higher education sector prepares for loss of revenue caused by falling international student.... http://goo.gl/4a1ng The Guardian, UK: Debate continues on whether universities should be preparing students for life in the workplace Self-management, co-operation, problem-solving and communication skills: all are useful employment attributes, but should they be taught as accredited parts of your degree.... http://goo.gl/l04oa Manawatu Standard: A student president has slammed the Government for cutting opportunities for full-time workers and parents wishing to upskill through distance learning. Massey University will slash more than 1000 distance learner spots over the next three years as it comes under Government pressure to change its student.... http://goo.gl/2k03U University Affairs, Canada: It's a truism: universities are steeped in tradition. But while some campus customs have survived the ages, others have fallen into disfavour as the university itself changes with the times. From solemn graduation ceremonies rooted in the Middle Ages to silly but enduring student rituals like food fights and pumpkin tossing, campus life is big on traditions. Even though many have died out.... http://goo.gl/ioXsh ABC News: While the overall number of applications has remained the same, a high demand for some courses has prompted a rise in first-round offers (ABC) A high demand for certain courses has prompted South Australian universities to increase.... http://goo.gl/pIDP1 The Sydney Morning Herald: IT IS harder for students to get into generic courses such as arts degrees than it was 20 years ago but no more difficult to get into high-demand courses like law. Yet many university applicants are still choosing courses with higher cut-off scores instead of courses.... http://goo.gl/vMzpq MarketingMag.com.au: The marketing industry is famed for its dozens of annual award ceremonies, which many marketers see as brilliant networking opportunities to help score better jobs, while just as many see it as an opportunity to get drunk for free. Monash University seems to be readying their students for both counts.... http://goo.gl/iAtab Otago Daily Times: Since the student loan scheme was introduced almost a generation ago, more than 894,000 New Zealanders - just over one-fifth of New Zealand's population - have borrowed almost $14 billion. The money has enabled them to fund their tertiary studies - but how does having a student loan affect graduates in the real world of buying houses and cars, travelling overseas and.... http://goo.gl/dKN60 The Australian: WITH graduation rates of almost 100 per cent, the Adelaide campus of Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Mellon University has been praised. Australia's quality auditors have credited the campus for its efforts in fostering a positive learning.... http://goo.gl/RZEUO The Age: STUDENTS who combine work with tertiary study are significantly less likely to complete their courses than those who do not work, research has found. The study, published yesterday by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, shows that the more hours students work, the greater the risk.... http://goo.gl/61uAj The Sydney Morning Herald: A CHRONIC shortage of internship places may force the University of Sydney to look to overseas hospitals for training places for its medical graduates. The university's dean of medicine, Bruce Robinson, is considering sending students to train in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong or India, as the predicted future shortage of internship places means Australia might not be able to adequately train its medical graduates.... http://goo.gl/g9Vwf The Australian: YOU might call it the Hogwarts Effect or perhaps it can be termed the Harry Potter Experience. At the university residential college to which I am attached, whenever we try to describe to prospective students and their parents what formal dinner is like, we only have to refer to the fantasy world created by J. K. Rowling and instantly this conjures up images of academic gowns, high table, ancient.... http://goo.gl/eQuKe The Australian: FOR universities, the only thing worse than suffering the inaccuracies of league tables is not appearing on them. And if you think that the controversy that visited commercial league tables last year will settle, think again. We are likely to see more university rankings, not less, in 2011, said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne.... http://goo.gl/hALLq The Australian: MISMATCHED expectations between Australian employers and international graduates centre on English language proficiency. An Australian Education International survey, conducted between February and May 2009 and released in December last year, canvassed 8600 higher education and vocational education and training graduates, international and domestic.... http://goo.gl/3D9ib The Australian: THE TAFE sector has criticised the federal government's easing of visa risk assessment levels for overseas students. The government is accused of easing up assessments on students applying for higher education courses.... http://goo.gl/8IoNM The Fiji Times: THE Fiji Village Project formed in 2007 with a goal of engaging medical students in community development and strengthening professional relations between the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand has come.... http://goo.gl/u1zoT NZUSA via Scoop: Tertiary students will study this year backed up by strong national representation. The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) has new national officers for 2011. David Do and Max Hardy are the NZUSA co-Presidents, and Caitlin Dunham the NZUSA National Women's Rights.... http://goo.gl/UJ7El Stock and Land: AUSTRALIA'S higher education students have just three weeks to get their applications in for a government and industry initiative that provides financial support to students studying primary industry degree courses. The Investing in Youth Undergraduate Studentship Program provides financial and mentoring support.... http://goo.gl/SP2Mp UQ News: Some of The University of Queensland's best and brightest students go straight to the top, gaining work experience on Washington's Capitol Hill through an internship program co-ordinated through the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Program allows students to work in the Congressional Office.... http://goo.gl/a6QTl Indiana Daily Student: The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the Australian National University are joining forces to create a new translational sciences master's degree program, study abroad opportunities for students and joint research programs that draw on the strengths of ANU and IU.... http://goo.gl/SRWae Media release - The Hon Kate Ellis MP: The Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis has today called for proposals to establish new banking and financial services for social enterprises in Australia. The Australian Government is making $20 million available through the Social Enterprise Development and Investment Funds, to provide social enterprises with access to independent sources of.... http://goo.gl/ulpCL University World News: Higher education institutions will be looking forward this year with increasing uncertainty to 2012 when a previously untried system of open enrolments begins. The government will then lift restrictions on enrolment numbers and universities will be able to accept however many students they believe they can cope with. Which is not to say this year does not present its own numerous challenges.... http://goo.gl/iJhfz University of Sydney News: Professor Gavin Brown, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1996 to 2008. The University of Sydney community was saddened to hear of the death of former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gavin Brown, who suffered a heart attack at his Adelaide home.... http://goo.gl/bFGoW The Australian: SEEKING bright young stars to join leading company! Outstanding entry-level opportunity! Gain invaluable experience and skills! Offering you loads of benefits with exclamation marks and a long to-do list instead of cash! Unpaid internships used to offer a legitimate way for students to gain academic credit in lieu of a pay cheque.... http://goo.gl/fuTuS The Australian: THE head of Bond University has a surprising admission: smaller is sometimes better. With 4400 students, the Robina, Queensland, based university is dwarfed by larger city rivals across the country that boast tens of thousands of students.... http://goo.gl/BmHyP MediaBistro.com: Borders Group's general counsel and chief information officer both resigned yesterday, touching off a flurry of speculation about the future of the troubled bookseller. The New York Times noted that the bookseller would meet with publishers this week to discuss delayed payments. The paper painted a gloomy picture of a potential Borders bankruptcy.... http://goo.gl/uzrwe The Sydney Morning Herald: MOST international medical students studying in NSW were never told they might be denied hospital internship places that are a vital part of their training, a survey has found. Australia is facing a doctor shortage but is wasting the opportunity to hold on to talented medical graduates by forcing them back overseas to finish their training, according to the Australian Medical Association, which.... http://goo.gl/B56zx