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Deborah Terry , VC of UQ , Australia ’ s highest-ranked female-led university in 2021 . Photo : Greg Hunt
Women at the top
One-fifth of the world ’ s best universities are now led by women .
New analysis shows female vicechancellors lead 20 per cent – or one-fifth – of the world ’ s top universities for the first time .
The analysis , conducted by Times Higher Education ( THE ) and drawing on data from the latest World University Rankings , shows that females now account
for 41 or 20 per cent of the world ’ s top 200 universities .
Last year , 39 female vice-chancellors ( 19 per cent ) were leading the world ’ s top 200 universities , up from 34 in 2018 . The 2021 analysis also shows that close to a quarter ( 24 per cent ) of the world ’ s top 100 universities now have a female leader . However , THE ’ s analysis cautions that “ progress is slow ” in the sector , highlighting that three female-led universities in the top 200 in 2020 do not appear in this year ’ s table . THE also found that six universities in the 2021 top 200 table have undergone changes in leadership , and , “ in every instance , this leadership change has seen the incumbent replaced by a man ”.
While the global trend looks positive for female vice-chancellors , female representation in leadership has not uniformly improved . The US , for instance , has fewer universities in the top 200 led by women in 2021 than in 2020 . In Germany , however , four of its 21 top 200 universities have female vice-chancellors , “ up from just one out of its 23 representatives in 2020 ”.
South Africa , Finland and New Zealand also show positive signs for female leadership , while nearly half ( 40 per cent ) of Sweden and France ’ s top 200 universities also boast a female vice-chancellor . THE ’ s 2021 analysis also shows that Australia has joined countries like The Netherlands , Italy , UK and Switzerland in outperforming “ the global average in terms of their share of female-led universities ”.
The US still has the most female vice-chancellors in the top 200 . However , THE reports that the UK is quickly catching up , with nine of the country ’ s 29 top 200 representatives now led by women .
Ellie Bothwell , rankings editor at THE said : “ If this rate continues , it will take another 30 years for full parity . Universities do so much work to widen access to higher education but to have true equality in the sector more women need to be progressing into leadership roles .” ■
Ghosts in the machine
How ‘ ghost students ’ fare in future studies .
Academic teaching staff have long witnessed students who one day walk out of class and never return . Now , researchers have investigated the outcomes of the ‘ ghost student ’ – one who remains enrolled in one or more of their units yet shows no evidence of engaging in any learning or assessment .
The team from La Trobe University and Curtin University said ghosting behaviours have ramifications for students , institutions and the Australian government .
“ The student receives a record of academic failure and an increased financial burden , institutions see a reduction in their published ‘ success rate ’ and governments see little return for the allocation of Commonwealth Supported Place ( CSP ) funding ,” they wrote .
“ A report of this kind is also timely given the forthcoming government changes to CSP eligibility and the introduction of a ‘ 50 per cent pass rule ’ in 2022 .”
To unpack the phenomenon , the team looked at the relationship between non-participating enrolments ( NPE ) and rates of student retention and completion .
It found NPE results accounted for more than a quarter of all fail grades .
“ Crucially , only a tenth of students with an NPE result managed to achieve an overall average pass mark ,” the authors wrote .
“ Students with a non-zero fail result as their lowest mark had much better overall academic achievement than NPE students . Despite having failed a unit , more than two-thirds of these students still achieved an average mark of 50 or higher .”
The study also examined the extent to which student equity categories are linked to a higher risk of NPE behaviour .
Dr Bret Stephenson from La Trobe University said : “ Indigenous students were found to be at particularly high risk of returning an NPE result , alongside students studying part-time and those returning an ATAR below 60 .”
To address the issue , the researchers recommended consistent identification , monitoring and reporting of NPEs as a distinct category .
“ Australian universities should create policies dedicated to NPE failures and make the tracking and remediation of NPE failures a central feature of their student success and retention , and student equity strategies ,” Stephenson said . ■
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