SUPRA has published a critique of the Melbourne Mode in the latest edition of Honi Soit. It raises standard points, such as income support, public transport concession cards and the exploitation of students for fee-income.
But most interestingly, it discusses USyd's SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, coincidentally its acronym is a homophone of the acronym for Special Weapons and Tactics). USyd apparently thinks that it is already pretty good at offering graduate entry programmes and even has some initiatives in place to offset some of the problems of postgraduate study, such as access to income support.
The Melbourne Model seems to be receiving a somewhat icy reception in Australian Higher Ed. It is generally a feared thing in popular press and opinion thanks to its association with subject cuts, staff cuts and blatant money-grabbing. The only university that seems to be considering copying it is UWA and it is my estimation that they will be going for something subtly but significantly different.
Monday, September 1, 2008
SUPRA takes on the Melbourne Model
Friday, August 8, 2008
USyd News
So, semester 2 has started and I'm behind on my reading already. Apart from my course-related reading, I've failed to notice not one, but two editions of Honi Soit being launched. 814 has a few very amusing articles and I'm yet to get to 815... So USyd has a new VC, which 814 satirises as being obsessed with Oxford. I know the feeling, everyone is obsessed with Oxford, it's a prerequisite for heading up an Australian college or university. US Ivy League obsessions are merely supplementary compared to the Oxford obsession.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Employment stats
Educated Nation has a post up about employment opportunities for college [university] graduates in the US. According to the report, graduates have higher salaries, less unemployment and their salaries are rising faster than workers who do not have degrees.
Some of the top ranking jobs in terms of pay are Physicians and Surgeons, Chief Executives, Dentists, Airline Pilots/copilots/flight engineers and air traffic controllers.
All of those occupations earn a median salary of over $100,000 per annum.
Some art and writing occupations pay less than half as much. For example, Editors have a median salary of $43,890 and 84% have bachelor's degrees or higher. For writers and authors, it is $44,350 with 83% graduates.
The continuing privileging of medical, technological and high-level managers over the humanities is probably one of the factors behind the current poor state of the humanities in universities. Universities, after all, reflect the societies in which they are situated. Today at the University of Melbourne, there was a small protest of perhaps 15 students sitting down and talking about the cuts to the Faculty of Arts. The administration building was locked down, with at least one security guard at the doorway, allowing approved people to enter and leave, another three security guards on the stairway and balcony and another 5 security guards on the ground. The protester:security guard ratio is quickly approaching 1:1. This shows that either the protesters do not have popular support or that having a second action within about a week of the first is not a good idea.
But in other news, the latest Honi Soit features stories on the continuing problems with the Academic Appeals changes as well as the results of the elections for Union Board. Big surprise, the Liberal finished last and was therefore the only one not elected. Voter turnout was low, at only 2190 (33 informal).
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Week of Student Politics
The Australian reports on responses to the Arts cuts from student and staff organisations: "ABOUT 50 Melbourne University students protesting against academic staff cuts at the arts faculty yesterday [May 12] invaded a building in an attempt to disrupt a university council meeting, trying at one stage to break through security guards blocking a liftwell." First-hand reports tell that rally sat down outside the council chamber during the meeting and held their own, boring the security guards with their commitment to the procedures of consensus decision making.
The latest Honi Soit also tells of some [from a distance] rather amusing election shenanigans. There are now only 6 candidates in the running for Union Board. The Liberal candidate is behaving erratically, after trying to hide her endorsement by the Liberals. As Honi wonders, "Maybe
even the Liberals know that being a Liberal is electoral poison?" A UNSW candidate has also been caught ripping off the policy statement of a USyd candidate on Facebook.
On a non-amusing side of things, one USyd candidate has received death threats.
Which goes to show how nasty student factional politics can get. Student political factions also manage to translate well into federal political factions. The Liberals are whacky. Labor is split between left and right. Independents run with varying success and Socialist Alternative manages to get something occasionally. There is a degree of enmity between all of these factions that can create a whole lot of unpleasantness. Shameless maneouvring and politicking can also do damage within factions.
It's quite a lot to consider and it is good to see a student newspaper covering their elections, which are going to do a lot to determine what campus life is like - who edits the newspaper, the number and nature of protests and the overall political tone.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
News
The University of Sydney land-grab shuts down a mental health institution Rozelle Hospital, reports Honi Soit.
The University of Manchester Vice-Chancellor Alan Gilbert (former University of Melbourne VC) has responded to criticism in Student Direct. The Reclaim the Uni pressure group has staged protests, including an occupation and disrupting a meeting.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Academic Appeals, Plagiarism and Closing Ranks
The latest edition of Honi Soit (23/4/08) describes a few interesting controversies over at the University of Sydney. The censorship controversy is still going, just like the University of Melbourne Student Union's censorship controversy regarding Farrago publishing discriminatory content. But more interesting tales are unfolding as well.
According to the President's Report, the University of Sydney is closing ranks around the Dean of the Conservatorium of Music who repetitively suspected of plagiarism. It is, after all, bad press for a Sandstone to have a Dean involved in a plagiarism scandal. But, if they had their wits about them, they would realise that it is even worse press for a Sandstone to be protecting a plagiariser. Sometimes Sandstones don't behave as intelligently as one would expect.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports: "THE head of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music has written lecture notes for audiences at a series of talks at the Art Gallery of NSW that contain phrases and sentences identical to those contained in a treatise by two Pulitzer Prize-winning United States historians.The material comes to light just six months after Kim Walker was reinstated as dean of the conservatorium after being stood down while allegations of plagiarism were investigated."
Both the University of Sydney Students' Representative Council and the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association are fuming over being sidelined at Academic Board regarding Academic Appeals. New policies were passed that reduced the ability of students to solve problems informally as well as giving students less time to lodge appeals. SRC and SUPRA representatives worked with university bureaucrats to amend the policies, but their amendments were voted down and their university support evaporated.
SUPRA's concerns run along the same line as the SRC's. "What killed [Academic Board] was the new draconian, mean, inappropriate and short-sighted Academic Appeals Policy that was introduced. This policy is so poor that it is now one of the most anti-student policies in the country. The Academic Board approved this policy when both SUPRA, the SRC and other student members of the Academic Board were opposed to it."
University of Sydney student representatives have their work cut out for them. I just hope that the paths of UoM and USyd don't follow each other too closely. Student newspaper problems are bad, but anti-student policy is worse.
