Australian higher education policy debates focus primarily on how and by whom universities are funded. This diminishes understanding of universities’ democratic purpose and wider social mission.
Amber Miller, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Today many Americans see universities negatively. But, as the dean of USC Dornsife argues, academia has a unique capacity to solve society’s problems. Yes, astrophysicists can help law enforcement.
Attending an elite university appears to play a comparatively small role in determining a graduate’s starting salary.
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Attending an elite university plays a small role in an undergraduate’s starting salary compared to other factors, such as high ATAR, the field of study they chose and the region in which they work.
International students and immigrants learn about the Canadian workplace at the BEST conference at Dalhousie University in Halifax in March.
(Kelly Toughill)
Ottawa and the governments of all four Maritime provinces have created pathways to help international students transition to permanent resident status. But fear causes too many to return home.
Education policy experts run through the major changes for education in Budget 2018 for schools, VET and higher education.
The legacy of capping funding for universities will be a less skilled future workforce, and an Australian youth that miss out on the educational opportunities available to their parents.
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Discontinuing the demand driven system will mean less people are able to get a higher education, particularly groups of people who are already at a disadvantage.
Financial stresses and the mental wellbeing of students play leading roles in rates of attrition.
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Much of the research on attrition focuses on the first year of university, but little is known about why people drop out later in their studies. A recent study looked at some factors.
Academics who are closely aligned to professional practices in health professions, engineering, teaching and social work also value work integrated learning highly.
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Work Integrated Learning includes placements, internships and work experience. It is increasing as students are expected to be more work-ready and to contribute to the economy post-graduation.
There are now several new gate-keeping measures to test teacher quality introduced by universities in the last two to three years.
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With HELP debt likely to increase to A$75 billion in 2020, research from the US shows offering students financial literacy courses may be a gentler way to combat student debt.
Kenyan public university lecturers protest low pay and poor working conditions in Nairobi.
CrowdSpark/Maureen Ojiambo
Staff wages are a huge challenge facing the survival of Kenya’s public universities, but strikes are another.
Barney Williams Jr., a residential school survivor, hugs Santa Ono, president of the University of British Columbia, during the opening of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at Vancouver, on April 9.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ben Nelms
The role of universities in the shameful Indian residential school system needs to be addressed. The president of one of Canada’s leading universities explains why it’s time to apologize.
Students and lecturers at the University of Queensland researching ‘students as partners’ activities across Australian universities.
The University of Queensland
When higher education is thought of as a commodity, students and teachers lose out. A new partnership-based approach can provide a much richer learning experience.
Through their commitments to, and dependence on, professional education and multidisciplinary research, universities have skin in the epistemic game.
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It’s time to (do more than) talk about knowledge. Universities must take leadership in helping develop students capacity to recognise different kinds of knowledge and work flexibly.
Ethical review is often seen as a barrier to research and innovation within universities, but it can be constructive. More attention should be paid to the potential benefits of the process.
Men ask more questions then women in academic conferences and are more visible. Roads Academy Masterclass, Warwick University, November 2010.
HA1-000602/Flickr
Academia is not immune to gender bias. One way to see this in action is to observe who asks questions during conferences – and men appear to ask more than women.
China’s Xi and Trump look on as U.S. and Chinese business leaders sign trade deals.
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst