Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Jeannie Rea (Women). Mass higher education is clearly working for women. Women are now nearly 60 per cent of undergraduate students and almost half of postgraduates. Over the whole working age population (15-64 year olds), 54.8 per cent of those with bachelor degrees are women. Women also hold half the postgraduate qualifications. More...

By Terri Macdonald (Women). Universities love to promote themselves as ‘Employers of Choice’. They cite their excellent paid parental leave, policies around ‘return to work’, gender equity initiatives and even domestic violence leave. It would appear that our universities are leading the way for other employers. However, we know that the majority of these industrial rights and policies only exist as they were hard fought for and won by the union members – sometimes needing industrial action to force university managements to seriously negotiate. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). Women continue to be outnumbered by men in science leadership in most OECD countries. While they are over-represented as PhD students in some science disciplines, there are few senior women scientists. In 2014 women accounted for 63 per cent of applications for the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC’s) early-career fellowships, but just 11 per cent of its most senior and experienced fellowships. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). There is a perception that radical change in the higher education sector is inevitable. This paper argues that the university model of higher education is fundamentally sound and by implication, is not necessarily subject to the same forces acting on other industries. If changes are to affect higher education, these are likely to come from forces seeking to capitalise on the success of the higher education model, and in doing so place the entire model at risk. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). The modern idea of the intellectual crystallised at the end of the nineteenth century, in dramatic circumstances. Captain Dreyfus, a French army officer of Jewish background, had been framed by right-wing officers in an espionage case, and condemned by a biased military court to prison on Devil’s Island. When evidence clearing Dreyfus came to light, the army refused to budge. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). The one chosen to lead a university will start by framing another design for it, that is, by getting in quick before being obliged to face mounting tides of reserve about purposes and credibility. A public relations disaster became occasion for António to institute a root-and-branch review of organisational structures. There could be no better place to start than by cobbling-together a new school, the one he called School of Communication and Arts; and within that, to bring in new blood in (what else?) public relations. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). Among the 60 or so university satellite campuses in Australia are many that are probably failing to meet the high expectations of their universities and the communities they were designed to serve. While in some cases this may be due to the demand driven system, it may also be attributable in part to the ways in which they are managed. More...

By Ian Dobson (NTEU National Office). Industry bodies, research and educational organisations have lobbied intensely for increased funding for training in the STEM disciplines. It is time to reassess this advocacy. Undergraduate commencements in STEM fields have increased strongly since 2009, yet the current employment prospects for these graduates are poor. Advocates have not made a convincing case that this situation will change. More...