Online learning can create problems for students, particularly those with disabilities, unless platforms and content are designed with accessibility and inclusion in mind.
Universities hold valuable information but are large and porous communities, with legacy IT systems often adding to the risks. But following a few basic rules can help counter cyber attacks.
Decades of legislative change made the councils that govern universities more like corporate boards and less accountable to academic communities. The problems this created are coming home to roost.
Taxpayers, including those paying tuition fees with FEE-HELP loans, can claim a deduction for self-education expenses that relate to the work they do. But graduates with a HECS-HELP debt can’t claim.
Students in Australia and overseas are actively comparing their experiences during the pandemic. Countries that support them well will gain an edge in a competitive global education market.
The early and mid-career researchers who bear most of the teaching and research workload are exhausted and underpaid. Many won’t survive the funding squeeze, but Australia can’t afford to lose them.
Many people feel some form of anxiety when speaking in front of others. That includes taking part in video hook-ups for work or study thanks to coronavirus restrictions.
The campaign for ‘free speech on campus’ mimics US and UK tactics of using a manufactured crisis to further the goal of increasing conservative political influence in universities.
Australian universities face a huge revenue hit from falling international student numbers due to COVID-19 and tensions with China. Some institutions should consider merging rather than downsizing.
Holding classes inside college classrooms puts students and faculty members at risk. A handful of colleges and universities are finding innovative ways to hold classes outdoors.
Students who fail units are highly likely to fail again without targeted assistance. But when universities intervene early to support these students, their rate of failure has been nearly halved.
Legislation governing universities varies from one to the other, often leaving their purpose undefined. But it certainly matters when determining an academic’s duties in an unfair dismissal case.
Although the government has identified a real problem, its heavy-handed regulation would create unnecessary red tape for universities and exclude students who should get a second chance.
Australia’s higher education sector needs significant reform to remove the perverse incentives that have made universities dependent on revenue from international students.
As momentum builds to remove statutes that pay homage to Confederates and others who sought to uphold white supremacy, a historian explores questions about what should be erected in their place.