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education links e-news on higher education[ background ] [ index ] [ previous issues ] [ subscribe ] Issue 04Postgraduate Education Loans SchemeA Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme (PELS) will be introduced in 2002 as part of the Government's Backing Australia's Ability - An Innovation Action Plan for the Future, pending the successful passage of legislation. PELS is an income-contingent loan scheme similar to the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). Eligible students enrolled in fee-paying postgraduate If a student does not take out a PELS loan to cover the cost of their tuition, ie they pay all of the fee for a semester directly to their university, the tuition fee and other self education expenses may be tax deductible if the student is employed and they are undertaking studies relevant to their employment. This scheme will help significantly in removing financial barriers to people wishing to take up postgraduate non-research courses. It will help more Australians to back their ability and devote their time to investing in further education, training and skills development. We expect that the loans provided under this scheme will amount to some $995 million over the next five years. AUTC projects in progressThe Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC) was established in 2000 as part of the Government's commitment to promoting quality and excellence in university teaching and learning in Australia. The AUTC has a brief to identify emerging issues in teaching and learning in Australian universities. It administers a grants programme designed to identify and support effective methods of teaching and learning and seeks to promote the dissemination and adoption of such methods across the higher education sector. The following projects are a small selection of those currently receiving funding under the AUTC programme. Identifying and Supporting Effective Methods of Teaching Large Classes The move towards mass education has provided particular challenges for both students and academics. For many university students, particularly those in science and arts courses, the most common experience of their university education is that of large classes which often use a traditional lecture format. A significant body of literature from Australia and overseas has drawn attention to the issues arising from this arrangement - interaction between students and lecturers, recognition of student diversity as well as the scope of available teaching and assessment methods. To date, dissemination and uptake of research findings on what constitutes good practice in teaching large classes has, for various reasons, been somewhat limited. In commissioning this project, the AUTC is seeking to address this situation, with a coordinated national dissemination of information and the implementation of long-term strategies to address the issues relating to teaching and learning in large classes. The project, is being undertaken by a University of Queensland team led by Ms Denise Chalmers, Dr Ottmar Lipp and Professor Deborah Terry, and is due for completion in March 2002. Identifying and Supporting Effective Methods of Enhancing Learning—Assessing Student Learning For some years now most Australian universities have attempted systematic induction of staff new to teaching in good practices in assessing student learning. These inductions inevitably include a focus on ways of improving reliability and validity in the setting and marking of examination papers, essays, projects and the like. Assessment is such a powerful driver of student learning behaviour that it has the power to make or break the efforts of academics to redesign their programmes to encourage more effective learning. Yet in the rapidly changing context in which students learn, the impact of student assessment is largely underestimated and generally poorly understood. This project seeks to address this through the investigation of: the scale of the problem of plagiarism;
The study is being undertaken by Dr Richard James and Professor Craig McInnis from the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne and is due for completion in March 2002. More information on the AUTC and its activities is available at: AUQA appointments CEOThe Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA), established last year by the Australian Ministers for Education, has announced the appointment of Dr David Woodhouse as its inaugural Chief Executive. Dr Woodhouse is currently the Director of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit, a position he will relinquish to take up this position. He has also been the Secretary, then President, of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education since 1995. Between 1990 and 1994 Dr Woodhouse was the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation. Dr Woodhouse is also the Executive Editor of the international journal, Quality in Higher Education: Theory and Practice and has worked extensively in academia both in Australia and overseas. Dr Woodhouse will bring his wealth of knowledge and experience to bear on the formation of the Agency's audit processes. This places the Agency in a good position to commence audits in the second half of 2001. The Agency will be located in Melbourne and has a brief to conduct audits of the quality assurance processes of publicly-funded Australian universities, and the accreditation and recognition procedures of the State and Territory higher education authorities. The audits undertaken of self-accrediting universities will assess the adequacy of each institution's quality assurance processes in the key areas of teaching and learning, research and management. This will include scrutiny of the processes an institution has in place to investigate allegations in relation to academic standards. The audits will also assess the institution's success in maintaining standards consistent with university education in Australia. The audits will be based on an initial self-assessment by the institute, followed by a site visit by the audit team. ARC Bills passedThe Australian Research Council Bill 2000 and the Australian Research Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2000 were passed by the Senate and House of Representatives on 7 and 8 March. These Bills put in place the central planks of the Government's frameworks for higher education research and research training, which were announced in Knowledge and Innovation. In particular, they establish:
When the Australian Research Council Act commences, the Australian Research Council (ARC) will be re-established as an agency fully independent from the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. The ARC will provide policy advice to the Government on research matters as well as have full responsibility for the administration of the competitive peer reviewed schemes to support excellent research conducted by individuals and teams. publications and websitesRecent ReleasesAustralia (Country Education Profiles)3rd edition This third edition of the Country Education Profile for Australia provides a comprehensive description of the Australian education system incorporating the many significant changes that have occurred in Australian education. This Profile will provide a convenient source of information about the Australian education system for educational institutions, government agencies, professional bodies, employers and individuals both overseas and within Australia. It is one of the 87 Profiles describing the education systems of countries around the world published by the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). Released in hard copy in January 2001, this publication is now also available on-line. www.dest.gov.au/noosr/cep/australia/index.htm Due out soonAccess: Effect of campus proximity and socio-economic status on university participation rates in regions This study uses multivariate analysis to explore the relative importance of socio-economic characteristics and access to university campuses in determining participation rates in metro and non-metro regions. The major findings to emerge are:
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www.dest.gov.au/highered/links.htm updatesDETYA’s website has new information posted to it on a regular basis. You can keep up with changes via the free Site Change Subscription Service (SCSS). This Service notifies subscribers of significant updates and additions to DETYA websites. how it worksInterested parties need to register to the subscription service. Registration involves providing your email address and selecting the parts of DETYA’s website you wish to be notified about. what it doesOnce registered, subscribers will be sent a weekly email (usually on Monday evenings) with a brief description of any changes and the address for such pages. At www.dest.gov.au select Site Change Subscription Service Copyright© Commonwealth of Australia 2001 This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above, require the written permission from the Commonwealth available through AusInfo. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Legislative Services, AusInfo, GPO Box 1920, Canberra ACT 2601. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Contacte-news on higher education editorial enquiries: e-news on higher education e-news is available on the Internet at: Full PDF [ background ] [ index ] [ previous issues ] [ subscribe ]
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