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campusreview.com.au
ANU degree debacle
Academic integrity and merit
cited as reasons for scrapping
Western civilisation degree.
E
ducation Minister Simon Birmingham
has labelled as “disappointing” a
decision by the Australian National
University to dump plans to introduce a
degree on Western civilisation.
ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt
announced recently that he was cancelling
negotiations with the Ramsay Centre,
headed by former prime minister John
Howard, for fears such a degree would
push a narrow view of history.
“This is disappointing,” Birmingham
tweeted. “Our unis should embrace the
study of the values that helped to create
them and our modern society. I hope other
unis resist politically correct objections and
ensure this generous bequest enables study
into the foundations of our society.”
ANU approached all partnerships and
funding offers with similar principles:
academic integrity, autonomy, freedom and
merit, Schmidt said.
“We are not even halfway towards
reaching an agreement,” he said in a recent
letter to Howard.
“It is clear that the autonomy with which
this university needs to approve and
endorse a new program of study is not
compatible with a sponsored program of
the type sought.”
The decision follows interventions by
the National Tertiary Education Union and
Australian National University Students’
Association.
ANU student unions welcomed the
decision to “prioritise their academic
autonomy over external sponsorship”.
In response, Howard addressed a letter to
the vice-chancellor saying the decision was
at odds “with the tenor” of discussions just
two days prior.
“Let me stress that the [Ramsay] Centre
has at all times fully endorsed the principles
of academic autonomy,” Howard said.
“The centre is continuing its discussions
with other institutions. I intend to release
our correspondence.”
Former prime minister Tony Abbott
and former Labor leader Kim Beazley
sit on the Ramsay Centre board, which
was formed in 2017 to promote Western
civilisation.
In an April Quadrant article, Abbott wrote
that the Ramsay Centre was “not merely
about Western civilisation but in favour of it”. ■
AAP
N
Show me the money
Postgraduate body calls for student researchers to be paid.
ew statistics show that the most
research-intensive group is
postgraduate research students.
So, they want to be paid for it.
According to recent ABS figures,
57 per cent of hours spent on research in
Australia are performed by postgraduate
students. By contrast, just 30.5 per cent of
research hours are contributed by academic
staff, and other staff contribute 12.3 per cent.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate
Associations (CAPA), in calling for funds
from the government, advised that
postgrads are denied study-related social
welfare assistance.
“It is unacceptable that research
and development relies so heavily on
exploiting students through unpaid
labour,” CAPA national president Natasha
Abrahams said.
CAPA noted that this situation is generally
worse for international students, as in
addition to a lack of income support, their
course fees are higher than those of local
students.
Although the latest federal budget was
disappointing for CAPA, the ABS statistics
lend support to the council’s long-held
position on the issue. ■
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