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education links e-news on higher education[ background ] [ index ] [ previous issues ] [ subscribe ] Issue 11
Budget 2001Budget 2001 - Higher Education Budget MeasuresLast night’s Federal Budget included four measures affecting the higher education sector. The two measures assisting people with disabilities formed part of the Government’s welfare reform package, Australians Working Together – Helping People to Move Forward. Additional places for regional universities and campusesThe Government will provide 670 additional fully-funded undergraduate student places for regional higher education institutions and campuses from 2002, increasing to 1,830 by the fourth year. This will cost $34.8 million over four years, with initial funding of $4.3 million in 2001-2002 rising to $12.4 million in 2004-2005. It will be worth roughly $60 million to universities in additional operating grants (i.e. including HECS amounts). These new places will increase access in regional areas and help meet increased demand due to demographic growth. Changes to bridging courses for overseas trained professionalsEligible overseas-trained permanent resident professionals who are preparing to meet formal recognition requirements through the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) bridging programme will be liable to pay full course costs for bridging courses from 1 July 2002, but may receive a Higher Education Contribution Scheme-style income contingent loan. The introduction of these loans should increase the number of bridging course places offered and provide scope to increase the range of professions covered. The assessment fee subsidy component of the programme will continue for disadvantaged clients. Funding for universities to help support students with disabilitiesAround $8 million will be made available over the next three years to universities to help support students with disabilities. This funding is ongoing and will commence in July 2002. Generally, universities are expected to meet the needs of students with disabilities from their operating revenue. This measure will provide additional funding to supplement this, particularly in universities that enrol high numbers of students with disabilities who have high cost support needs. It assists in removing the disadvantage these universities face compared to others with few such students. Disability coordination officers to help with transition to tertiary educationThe new Disability Coordination Officer Programme will commence in July 2002. It will provide funding for 15 Disability Coordination Officer (DCO) positions to assist people with disabilities to move between school, vocational education and training, higher education and employment. This programme will complement the successful Regional Disability Liaison Officer initiative currently funded through the Higher Education Equity Programme. More information on the Budget’s impact on education, training and youth affairs can be found at: www.dest.gov.au/budget Implementing Workplace ReformRMIT University is the latest institution to be awarded extra funding for staff salaries under the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs’ (DETYA) Workplace Reform Programme. RMIT will receive more than $3.5 million over 18 months to fund an approximate two per cent salary increase. RMIT has demonstrated progress in a number of areas, including performance management and flexible work practices. The University has also introduced measures to make cost savings, generate revenue and demonstrated a commitment to quality. Twenty-five institutions have now successfully applied for funding under the programme which provides up to $259 million over three years to universities that demonstrate their commitment to improving their workplace relations and management practices. Outcomes already achieved through the programme indicate that institutions are considering people management as an integral part of their overall management strategy and that this in turn is influencing their operations. First round grants are provided for 18 months only and RMIT, as with other successful institutions, will need to demonstrate progress in implementing workplace reform to qualify for continued funding. Guidelines for second round applications were released in January 2001. They are available on DETYA’s website at: www.dest.gov.au/highered/programmes/workplace_reform/ Awards for University TeachingNominations are currently open for the 2001 Australian Awards for University Teaching. The awards, now in their fifth year, were established by the Commonwealth Government to celebrate excellence in university teaching and are coordinated by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee. The scheme recognises and rewards university teachers who have been acknowledged by their students and peers as making an outstanding contribution to student learning. Nominations for this year's awards close on Friday, 27 July 2001. Award winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony to be held at Parliament House in December. Categories of Awards
Further information Details on the categories for this year's awards and copies of the nomination forms can be accessed at the Australian Universities Teaching Committee website: www.autc.gov.au. Enquiries should be directed to the AUTC mailbox: autc@dest.gov.au IT ForumsOn 10 April 2001 the Higher Education Information Technology Forum (HEITF) was held in Sydney. This was the first of three forums being undertaken by the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC) Standing Committee on Information Policy. It was funded by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA). It forms part of the higher education sector’s response to DETYA’s action plan, Learning for the knowledge society, an education and training action plan for the information economy, available at: www.dest.gov.au/edu/edactplan.htm The first forum was to hear about the skills needs of the information technology and telecommunications industry, the broader labour market for the information and telecommunications industries in Australia and the role of universities in the information economy. Around 50 people participated in the forum, representing industry, government (both Federal and State) and the higher education sector. Mr Ross Fowler, Chief Executive Officer, Alcatel Australia and board director of the IT&T Skills Exchange, provided an insight into current and future directions of the rapidly developing information and telecommunications technologies and their impact on current and future industry skills needs. Mr Michael O’Neil, Director, South Australian Centre for Economic Studies (SACES) reported on their study into the labour market for information technology and telecommunications industries. Professor Lauchlan Chipman, Chair of the AVCC Standing Committee on Information Policy outlined the role of universities in the information economy: as major users of IT&T; as major researchers; and as a principal source of people for the industry. Professor Michael Fry gave a presentation on the ways in which the University of Technology, Sydney had successfully established partnerships with industry in preparing highly regarded graduates for the industry. Overall, the Forum illustrated the need for universities at the institutional level to work closely with industry and highlighted the need to recognise the regional nature of the IT&T labour market. The AVCC will use the findings of the forum to help the higher education sector to meet the emerging skills needs of IT&T industries. For more information on this forum, you can contact Paul Stubing on: p.stubing@avcc.edu.au or go to the AVCC website:
www.avcc.edu.au Nursing ReviewCall for submissionsMrs Patricia Heath, Chair of the National Review of Nursing Education has called for submissions from interested parties and individuals. This review will cover all levels of nursing education and training: enrolled, registered and specialist. The closing date for receipt of submissions is cob 30 August 2001. Information on how to prepare and send a submission and copies of the terms of reference for the National Review of Nursing Education can be obtained:
The National Review of Nursing Education was announced on 30 April 2001 by the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Dr Michael Wooldridge. Detailed information on the review can be found in issue 09 of e-news. Peter Grant retiresAfter a career of more than 33 years in the Australian Public Service, mainly within the Commonwealth education portfolio, Peter Grant, Deputy Secretary in the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, will be retiring at the end of May. One of nine children in a family that he describes as ‘not well-off’, Peter clearly knew the value of higher education. His initial university studies were in Music and Arts at the University of Melbourne, but he continued his studies by taking an Economics degree at the Australian National University after moving to Canberra in the early 1970s. Peter is a strong believer in the importance of generic skills and a broadly based educational foundation. As a junior officer in the 1970s and early 1980s Peter worked for many years in the Tertiary Education Commission, an experience which proved valuable when he again became involved in higher education policy in the late 1980s. Among other responsibilities, Peter led a team which implemented the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) following Government decisions on the Wran Report in 1988. He played a major role in the policy processes which led to the establishment of the Australian National Training Authority (1992) and the radical reshaping of employment services delivery in Australia (1996). Peter’s outstanding leadership qualities have given him a legendary reputation around the Department and the Public Service in general. His contribution to the Department, both work-related and social, will be greatly missed. An accomplished pianist, Peter was the star performer at a benefit concert in 1999 that raised money for charities working in East Timor. He is also widely acknowledged as a mentor and friend to many. Peter’s abilities have been recognised formally both within the Department and APS-wide. Peter was awarded the Public Service Medal in 1994, and was DETYA’s Australia Day Achievement Medallion recipient in 1999. In his student days he was awarded numerous prizes in both music and education from the University of Melbourne. Peter intends to remain active in his retirement. In addition to spending more time with his family, his retirement plans include a resumption of his career as a piano accompanist, a honing of his skills as a keen bridge-player and a return to the tennis court. He will also maintain a keen interest in education and education policy. Publications & Websitesrecently released2000 Review of the Australian Learned Academies Every five years the Commonwealth Government examines the performance and funding relativities of the four Learned Academies and their administrative body, the National Academies Forum. For 2000, the Review looked at how the role of the Academies might be enhanced so that their knowledge and expertise can better inform the development of public policy and matters of quality assurance. To download a copy of the final report of the 2000 Review of the Learned Academies please go to: www.dest.gov.au/highered/respubs/academies Staff 2000, Selected Higher Education Statistics Contains summary statistics about staff at Australian higher education institutions – including information about staff numbers, gender, employment status, and State based data, gained from the 2000 and 1999 statistics collected by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Electronic copies of the 2000 and past years’ publications are available from the Department’s web site at: www.dest.gov.au/highered/statspubs.htm due out soonResponsiveness: Do universities respond to student demand Over the last decade Government policy has been to allow universities virtually complete discretion over their student profile. The Government has set targets, but universities have been free to select students and determine enrolments by field of study. They have also been free to enrol above those targets. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether in fact universities have responded to changes in student demand at the undergraduate level. It investigated university responsiveness to student demand at both an aggregate level and the broad field of study. The broad conclusion is that universities exhibit some degree of flexibility but the story is complicated. favourites
to grab a copyInternet versionsMost of our publications—from October 1996 onward—are available in full on the DETYA website at: www.dest.gov.au/highered/repts.htm Hard copiesCopies of most of our publications can be purchased from AusInfo’s Government Information Bookshops. Locations and contact details for the AusInfo bookshops are available at: www.dofa.gov.au/ausinfo/infoaccess/ia_infoshops.htm EnquiriesGeneral enquiries about publications can be emailed to Websites, links & updateswebsites
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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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