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campusreview.com.au
‘Uber’ tutors skewered
Peer-to-peer tutoring a bad idea, union says.
T
he National Tertiary Education Union has alleged that a
new peer-to-peer tutoring service for university students,
from online study company Studiosity, is “clearly not” in
the best interests of academic staff or students.
Peer-assisted learning (PAL) allows top-performing students to
tutor those who need help, with the tutors earning fees in return.
Referring to it as “Uber style”, the union questioned its impact on
academic staff.
“Unfortunately, over half the teaching done at our universities is
currently done by casual academic staff, who are already coping
True stripes
Should the academic records of
world leaders be made public?
T
he definition of intelligence is
complicated. The Cambridge
Dictionary defines it as “the ability to
learn, understand, and make judgments or
have opinions that are based on reason”,
although in psychology, when measured
by IQ tests, it refers to the ability to
2
with insecure employment and not being properly paid for the
work they do,” NTEU national president Dr Alison Barnes said.
“This plan will just make this worse.”
As with casualisation, the service – which the NTEU thinks
“amounts to further [university] corporatisation” – could reduce the
employment conditions and salaries of university staff, Barnes said.
Studiosity refuted this allegation. “Studiosity is neither a cause nor
a contributing factor to the workplace matters raised by Dr Barnes,”
a spokesperson said.
“Studiosity supports a previously unmet online, after-hours
demand, rather than replacing existing services.”
The NTEU also takes issue with the employment arrangements
of prospective tutors.
“Who will be expected to vet and approve suitable students to
qualify as peer-to-peer tutors?” Barnes asked.
“Who will provide the training and induction alluded to?
“Will these students meet the standards laid down by the Tertiary
Education Quality Standards Agency for teaching at a university?
“What happens if a student gets incorrect advice?”
Studiosity answered the first and third questions. Regarding
the first, student tutors will be nominated by academics that
participate in PAL.
As for the third, “over 65 per cent of Australia’s public universities
have had peer-assisted study support programs in place for more
than a decade”.
“Our approach, in collaboration with our university partners, will
naturally comply with the same applicable TEQSA standards as
existing peer-assisted learning programs,” the spokesperson said. ■
hold information in short-term memory
and use it quickly.
While cognitive psychologists continue
to debate its parameters, they generally
agree that there’s a link between intelligence
(based on the IQ definition) and academic
achievement.
Although the most powerful people in the
world could have both or neither form of
intelligence – in the case of Donald Trump,
we won’t know. Recently, his former lawyer
testified that he ensured the US president’s
university grades were never disclosed.
Michael Cohen told the US Congress that
in May 2015 he wrote a letter to Fordham
University threatening legal action if they
responded to media requests for the then-
rumoured presidential candidate’s grades.
Days after Cohen’s testimony, The
Washington Post reported that in 2012, the
superintendent of New York Military Academy
– Trump’s high school – “had been accosted
by prominent, wealthy alumni of the school
who were Mr Trump’s friends”.
“I was given directives, part of which I
could follow but part of which I could not,
and that was handing [Trump’s records]
over to the [school’s board of trustees],”
he recalled.
“I moved them elsewhere on campus
where they could not be released. It’s
the only time I ever moved an alumnus’
records.”
Like with their tax returns, presidents
are not obliged to disclose their academic
grades. But should they be?
Given the link between IQ and grades,
they seem relevant to the weighty, difficult
job. Chris Jackson, however, doesn’t
think they are. The professor of business
psychology at UNSW Business School
says the link between school grades and
leadership ability is “tenuous”.
“In defence of Donald, he shouldn’t be
that concerned about his school grades,”
he said. “Grades are just one facet of
applied intelligence. The skills required to
be a leader are so much broader than IQ
or even EQ.”
Jackson says people skills, diplomacy,
oratory ability, persuasiveness and
organisational skills are also critical to good
leadership. A leader’s ability to choose a
valuable team, too, is key.
“Judging by the quality of his tweets, I’m
not sure Donald Trump listens to advice,”
Jackson said. “This may be indicative of
someone who’s not that smart.” ■