ON THE MOVE campusreview . com . au
STRICTLY SPEAKING | PROCTORING
Just what does a proctor do ? Essentially his role has always been to manage the affairs of others , as their agent or proxy . But over the centuries the proctor ’ s responsibilities have varied with the institution he was appointed to . In English courts of equity and common law , the proctor was an advocate or solicitor , whereas those with the same job title in the Church of England were representatives of the clergy in its lower house of convocation . In the oldest British universities , the proctor was charged with administrative and disciplinary duties in relation to students . These two roles merged in C19 American universities , where their duties included supervising students ’ written exams like the modern-day invigilator . An 1877 citation for proctor in the Oxford English Dictionary notes the annoyance of “ hav [ ing ] proctors in squeaking boots walking up and down an examination-room ”. No such problem with the “ proctored exams ” in C21 , where the computer itself is the proctor , primed with a photo of the candidate to check that the person in front of the screen is the genuine candidate and gets no assistance from anyone standing by . Proctoring software such as ProctorU or Proctorio makes a videorecord of the candidate ’ s behaviour , which is checked before their written answers are assessed , and slows the return of results . But there are no squeaky boots to distract students from putting their best foot forward .
Written by Emeritus Professor Pam Peters , researcher with Macquarie University ’ s Department of Linguistics
JOLLY GOOD FELLOW
The University of Queensland ’ s Professor David Craik has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his outstanding contribution to science .
Professor Craik is the second researcher from UQ ’ s Institute for Molecular Bioscience to be elected to the society , whose past Fellows include Charles Darwin , Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Stephen Hawking .
Professor Craik discovered and named cyclotides in the early 1990s , a family of mini-proteins in plants that are revolutionising medicine and agri-chemicals .
IMB Director Professor Ian Henderson said he was delighted Professor Craik ’ s contributions to science had been recognised .
“ His election as a Royal Society Fellow – which ranks just below a Nobel Prize in terms of scientific prestige – confirms the world-leading nature of his research ,” he said .
NEW GONSKI DIRECTOR
Professor Kim Beswick has been appointed the Director of the Gonski Institute for Education at UNSW Sydney .
The education professor will lead the Institute in its mission to fix equity problems in education through research with impact and change advocacy .
The new director says she is proud and honoured to take on the role and lead the Institute forward into an exciting new phase .
“ The most important and most intractable problems in education concern equity ,” Professor Beswick says .
“ Unequal access to quality education and inequitable outcomes are evident in relation to rurality , socio-economic status , race , disability , and gender across schools , school systems , and countries .”
“ If we solve equity , we will solve almost everything .”
PREMIER APPOINTMENT
One of Victoria ’ s longest-serving premiers , Dr Steve Bracks , has taken up his position as Chancellor at Victoria University .
“ Being able to make a difference to people ’ s lives is what has driven me throughout my career . I want to see people thrive and exceed their own expectations .
I want to see people achieve success . And education plays a significant role in that ,” Bracks said .
Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said Dr Bracks is the ideal person to inspire and lead the university as it commences its next chapter .
“ He brings new governance and leadership and a renewed commitment for VU to become the premier dualsector university in the world ,” Professor Shoemaker said .
HODDINOTT HONOURED
The University of Sydney has awarded an honorary doctorate to Dorothy Hoddinott AO in recognition of her outstanding contributions to public education , social justice and human rights .
“ Dorothy Hoddinott is an inspirational human rights champion who has worked tirelessly protecting the rights of refugee and asylum seeker students in her long career as an educator in Australia ,” said University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Stephen Garton AM .
“ Her commitment to social justice and to increasing the role of human rights in education is very impressive .”
Hoddinott graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts , a Diploma of Education and a Master of Arts in 1965 .
EVOLUTION OF VET Noordin Shehabuddeen has commenced as the new Pro Vice- Chancellor Vocational Education and Training
( VET ) Charles Darwin University .
Shehabuddeen hopes to help build the workforce of the future through partnerships with industry and government , course renewal and championing innovation .
“ CDU is an institution with its heart in the Northern Territory but with a reach that transcends geographic borders ,” Dr Shehabuddeen said .
“ We have an opportunity to build on our current strengths and assist those wanting to boost their skills for jobs not only existing now but those that are emerging and will exist in the future .”
Dr Shehabuddeen said the merging of HE and VET at CDU would widen the university ’ s scope for delivering uniquely tailored solutions to industry .
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