news
NTEU sues Swinburne
over closures
the National Tertiary Education Union is suing Swinburne University over its failure to consult on the closure of its campuses.
The NTEU has launched legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia following Swinburne’ s decision last July to shut its Lilydale and Prahran campuses in the wake of the Victorian Government’ s $ 290 million cuts to TAFE.
The NTEU alleges Swinburne management was required by its collective agreement with the union to consult with staff and the union prior to making major decisions such as shutting-down campuses.
Andrew Dempster, Swinburne’ s head of corporate and government affairs, said Swinburne’ s council took the difficult decision to close the campuses following a thorough assessment of TAFE funding changes which had a $ 35 million impact on the university.
Dempster said Swinburne had been consulting with staff, the NTEU and the Australian Education Union on the implementation of those decisions.
The university intends to contest the legal proceedings, Dempster said.
Dr Colin Long, NTEU Victorian secretary, said the announcement made last July about the closures of the Lilydale and Prahran campuses were a great shock, both to union members and the broader community.
Long said many NTEU members were in the middle of school holidays, or preparing for the weekend when the closures were announced by the vice-chancellor, professor Linda Kristjanson.
“ The university council was given a proposal to close the campuses and made a decision to do so on the same day,” Long said.
Long said while the NTEU acknowledges that it was the Victorian government’ s cuts to TAFE budgets that hit Swinburne
University hard, the cuts don’ t give Swinburne licence to“ ignore” its legal obligation to consult with staff.
Long said both campuses are viable and could“ easily” be kept open with existing student numbers and an expansion of enrolments.
Long said the aim of the legal action is to hold the university to the legal requirements of the collective agreement about major workplace change.
Last year, Swinburne announced they would offer up to 240 voluntary redundancies for teaching and administration staff.
Swinburne has closed 30 per cent of its TAFE courses, including Lilydale and Prahran campuses, causing the loss of the only integrated tertiary education facility( with TAFE and university subjects offered at the same campus) offered to students in the outer eastern suburbs.
First-year classes in units previously offered at Lilydale are being offered at Hawthorn, while students in later years of their degrees are moving from Lilydale to Hawthorn in second semester this year.
TAFE students whose courses are continuing will move to Swinburne’ s Croydon and Wantirna campuses. The faculty of design will also relocate from the university’ s Prahran campus to the Hawthorn campus. n
The 2013 ATEM / Campus Review Awards for Best Practice in Tertiary Education Management
ATEM and Campus Review are seeking entrants to the 2nd annual Best Practice awards.
These exciting awards will once again showcase the wonderful work being achieved by our professionals in tertiary education management
The awards will be presented at the Awards ceremony of the TEMC conference in September 2013 in Hobart.
To find out more phone: 9351 9719 or visit: www. atem. org. au / awards
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u The Campus Living Villages award for Excellence by a New Entrant in Tertiary Education
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, ENGLAND
OXFORD NUFFIELD MEDICAL FELLOWSHIP 2013 / 14 Applications Close 14 June 2013
Applications are invited from graduates of the University of Auckland or the University of Otago, who hold either a medical qualification or have appropriate research experience, for an award under the Scheme for Oxford Nuffield Medical Fellowships normally to be held in a department within the Medical Science Division of the University. This prestigious fellowship carries a taxable allowance of £ 41,152 as well as direct, economy class return air fares for the appointee, his / her spouse and children up to the age of 18 years.
The fellowship is tenable for two years in the first instance, with the possibility of an extension for a third year. Fellows are then expected to return to New Zealand to continue to do work of a similar nature.
The award is available from 1 October 2013 or, subject to consultation with the University, from such other later date as may be agreed. The next round of Nuffield Medical Fellowship for New Zealand will be in 2014 / 15.
Applications should be in the form of a letter outlining the proposed course of study of research at Oxford, accompanied by a full Curriculum Vitae including details of the applicant’ s academic record. Applicants are asked to provide the names and contact details of two persons whom they have asked to forward confidential references( by post or email) directly to the Chairman of the Selection Committee.
Applicants are encouraged to liaise with the Chairman of the Selection Committee early in the process to obtain a full, detailed list of application requirements and further information, including details of the research interests of those departments in which the fellowship may be held( also see http:// www. ox. ac. uk / divisions / medical _ sciences. html).
Applications are confidential. Please email completed applications to Professor Stephen Robertson: paedspa @ otago. ac. nz and post one signed copy to:
Professor Stephen Robertson, Department of Women’ s and Children’ s Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, PO Box 913, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
www. campusreview. com. au April 2013 | 11