Menu Close

Articles on Higher education

Displaying 1021 - 1040 of 1275 articles

You might have never heard of them but the Dawkins reforms changed pretty much everything about higher education in Australia. AAP Image/National Archives of Australia

Book review: The Dawkins Revolution, 25 Years On

Why is Australian higher education the way it is today? To answer this we must go back to Labor minister John Dawkins, who initiated a radical suite of reforms a quarter of a century ago. His impact on…
Some say the academic book is dead, or at least, dying. But is that true? And is there anything to be done about it? Book image from www.shutterstock.com

The death of the academic book and the path to Open Access

Is publishing academic books a dying trade? And if so, are free e-books from universities likely to deal the final blow? The future of book publishing in general is hotly contested, but particularly so…
The way we pick which students are let in to university is not a fair system. School image from www.shutterstock.com

ATARs – you may as well use postcodes for university admissions

For the next couple of months, young people across Australia will be sitting their final Year 12 examinations. For them, it’s the end of more than a decade of schooling looming large. Their soon to be…
Media studies is on offer at top-tier universities. wayneandwax

Top universities teach media studies, so why brief against it?

Media studies gets a hard time in higher education and the top universities in the UK are not making things any easier by continuing to take a contradictory stance as they advise students on what to study…
Will philanthropy in Australia change because of the recent donation by Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest to Wes Australian universities. Seed image from www.shutterstock.com

Of Forrests and acorns: philanthropic gift may seed other university giving

This week’s A$65 million pledge by Nicola and Andrew Forrest to all five West Australian universities alters the philanthropy landscape in Australia. The Forrests’ donation comes less than a year after…
Will the hype around free high quality higher education last? Online image from www.shutterstock.com

From MOOCs to HARVARDs: will online go mainstream?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) draw a spectrum of responses. Should we be spruiking MOOCs? Spooked by MOOCs? Or hoping the hype will fade and the fad will pass? Most of us know the headlines. Free…
Each time a new ranking is released, universities and rankers dance the international higher education two-step. Dance image from www.shutterstock.com

The ritual dance of university rankings

Whenever an unfavourable political opinion poll comes out, you can count on one thing: at least one politician saying they never pay attention to polls. And so it goes for university leaders when the results…
Students services could be cut if the new education minister has his way. But what would this mean in practice? University students image from www.shutterstock.com

FactCheck: will axing compulsory uni fees take $300 million away from services students need?

Scrapping student support fees will be “a $300 million hit on some of the most basic systems and amenities that make universities accessible and attractive to students.” - Kim Carr, former Labor higher…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has vowed to improve relations with Indonesia through a new studies centre based in Australia. EPA/ADI WEDA

New Indonesian studies centre to improve ties with our northern neighbour

As part of his first trip to Indonesia as prime minister, Tony Abbott yesterday announced the establishment of an Australian Centre for Indonesian Studies to bolster ties between the two countries. Abbott…
David Willetts: not blue enough. Policy Exchange

Where next for universities under Conservative reforms?

The Conservative Party is in Manchester for its annual conference, a gesture that some in the city view as a provocation. Such a view is informed by more than the historical irony that the Manchester Central…
There’s been outcry over Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Breivik’s plans to study at the University of Oslo. EPA/Stian Lysberg Solum/Pool Norway out

Anders Breivik and the humanity of education in prison

Anders Breivik ensured his place in history the day he shot dead 69 people on a small Norwegian Island, having earlier killed eight others with a bomb planted in government offices in Oslo. Breivik’s horrendous…
The head of Newcastle University explains why we need to keep our universities open. University image from www.shutterstock.com

A Vice-Chancellor’s defence of the uncapped university system

As the new government settles in, there has been heated speculation around major changes to the higher education system. Education minister Christopher Pyne’s comments to the media have raised questions…
How will we get a new Hegel without genuine invention? Oxymoron/Flickr

How repetition and bureaucracy killed original thought in Australia

Australia’s problem is that we have stopped producing major intellectual figures. Where is today’s Friedrich Hegel? Even more telling, where are the physicians like Edward Jenner, biologists like Alexander…
Much has changed from the first Colombo plan, but Australia’s engagement with Asia should start at home. Asia image from www.shutterstock.com

Colombo II: send students to Asia but don’t ignore the Asian students at home

Now it’s in government, the Coalition says one of its top priorities is international education. Along with policies to encourage international students to study here, Australian students, too, will be…
New education minister Christopher Pyne wants to review the Australian university system because of concerns about declining quality. AAP/Julian Smith

Pyne’s higher education policy rethink should keep universities’ doors open

On the surface, Australia’s fourth and fifth ministers for higher education for 2013 - Labor’s Kim Carr and the Coalition’s Christopher Pyne - have political views that are many miles apart. Even by the…
Studying law can be confronting and can lead some students to depression or anxiety. But what can be done about it? Law school graduate image from www.shutterstock.com

Law school too hard? Why the struggle could be a good one

As law teachers, we have plenty of hopes for our students. Upon graduating, we want them to have a good grounding in legal knowledge and to be creative thinkers. We also hope they will come out of law…
Students who have a gap year achieve more highly at university than students who enter university straight after school and mature age students, the study found. Frontierofficial

Study links a gap year to better university grades

Students who take gap years are more successful in their university studies than mature aged students or students who enter university straight from high school, according to a new study. Professorial…
Are mature students being put off study by higher fees? uonottingham

Mature student numbers down 14% as higher tuition fees bite

A report published today by the Independent Commission on Fees shows that the number of mature students applying to study at university has fallen by 14% since the introduction of tuition fees of up to…
From massively open to really massively open. oxyman

Google and friends put the ‘open’ back into MOOCs

The entrance of Google into the Massive Open Online Courses market this week has the potential to reignite the spirit of openness that saw these alternative routes into higher education emerge in the first…

Top contributors

More