POLICY & REFORM campusreview. com. au
Win, lose or draw
Take a look back at the triumphs, the disasters and the intriguing issues of 2014.
By Andrew Bracey
With a Coalition Government sweeping to power late last year and quickly launching complaints about the dire state of the economy and the need to fix it, higher-education was always going to be in for an interesting ride.
2014 WAS NOT A GREAT YEAR FOR … VET sector confidence: The findings of a key Australian Skills Quality Authority( ASQA) report released towards the end of 2013 highlighted a range of highly inappropriate marketing practices being carried out within the sector.
Of 480 VET provider and broker websites assessed in the report, 45 per cent were found to include misleading marketing and advertising information, with particular concerns over the role of broker services.
A Senate inquiry led by the Greens and Labor is now set to commence in 2015. In addition to scrutinising marketing and promotional techniques both private providers and third-party brokers employ, the review will examine incidents of noncompliance with regulatory frameworks. Funding will also come under the microscope, as well as the quality of training and employment outcomes.
Academic integrity: Whilst student cheating is a perennial issue for universities, an exposé led by Fairfax Media lifted the lid on the proliferation of online-based services charging students fees to complete assignments for them. The investigation found that a swathe of students from various NSW-based universities – led by those attending the University of Newcastle, Macquarie, UTS and the universities of Sydney and NSW – were paying thousands of dollars to the MyMaster service alone.
With international students being targeted by such services, some academics have portioned part of the blame on universities for lowering enrolment standards for overseas applicants in an effort to maximise revenue from uncapped fees.
Murdoch University: Murdoch University made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2014 after the suspension and subsequent resignation of its VC professor Richard Higgott. His decision to stand down from his post followed an internal investigation carried out by the university at the request of the Western Australia Corruption and Crime Commission( CCC). Murdoch chancellor David Flanagan recently revealed that the university’ s report to the CCC concerned instances of bullying, conflicts of interest, excessive termination payments to departing staff, lack of proper process with regard to key staff appointments, anomalies relating to credit card use, and conduct apparently designed to mislead the CCC itself.
Higgott’ s resignation came before the details were revealed; however, in a carefully worded response during an interview, Flanagan stressed that the reported misconduct he was detailing did not relate to any specific current or former Murdoch staff member.
A CCC investigation into the matters arising from the Murdoch report was ongoing at the time of press.
Apprentice and trainee commencement rates: Seasonally adjusted data released mid-year by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research( NCVER) painted a worrying picture for the sector with apprenticeship and traineeship commencement rates hitting a record low for the decade.
The data revealed that combined new commencements dropped from 54,600 in the March quarter of this year to 50,500 in the June quarter.
With completion rates for apprenticeships at just about 50 per cent, the government has responded by providing $ 200 million to establish the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network, which will be charged with supporting trainees and apprentices.
IT WAS A BETTER YEAR FOR … Australian university rankings: Whilst the plethora of international university rankings agencies has arguably reduced the overall prestige of such charts, Australia’ s top universities continued their ascendency in perhaps the most enduringly influential one of all: the Times Higher Education( THE) World University Rankings.
A total of 20 Australian universities were included in the latest list, with Go8 institutions leading the way. The University of Melbourne was the nation’ s leader, rising one place to sit 33rd overall, closely followed by ANU, which rose from 48 to 45.
The University of Sydney was placed 60 in the world, with the University of Queensland( 65) and Monash University( 83) the only other Australian institutions in the top 100. Go8 colleagues UNSW( 109) and University of Western Australia( 157) also made the top 200.
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