AUS Tertiary Update
In our lead story this
week…..
AUS supports CTU resolution against Iraq
war
The AUS Council has endorsed a call by the New
Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) for union members to
oppose any unilateral declaration of war on Iraq, and to
support and participate in rallies and community activities
against the possibility of war.
The NZCTU has supported
the resolution of the United Nations (UN) Security Council
which calls on Iraq to surrender all of its chemical,
biological and nuclear weapons and their delivery systems,
and to allow UN inspectors unfettered access to any
locations inside and outside Iraq to search for and destroy
such weapons. In the event that Iraq fails to comply with
the terms of the UN resolution, the issue must be referred
to the UN for further deliberation.
Responding to
concerns about US pressure on the UN, NZCTU President, Ross
Wilson, said the NZCTU called on all countries to ensure
that the deliberations and decisions of the UN in relations
to any matter are free from threats of unilateral action or
other undue social, political or economic pressure from any
country.
Ross Wilson added that the NZCTU unequivocally
condemned terrorism saying that brutal acts of terror
against civilians, and aimed at maximum loss of lives,
cannot be excused, rationalised, justified or defended under
any circumstances.
Also in Tertiary Update this week . . .
. . .
1. PBRF peer review panel chairs
named
2. Student Loan Interest Rate to Remain at
7%
3. Otago numbers up by 1400
4. UK Poll shows public
heavily opposed to top-up fees for students
5. Australian
unions label reforms elitist and unsustainable
PBRF peer
review panel chairs named
Dr Andrew West, Chair of the
Tertiary Education Commission has announced the chairs of
the 12 peer review panels for the Performance Based Research
Fund. The panels will evaluate the quality of the research
contributions of those involved in teaching degree-level
programmes and/or undertaking research in tertiary education
organisations. The peer review process will assess quality
based on a variety of measures including research outputs,
peer esteem factors and contribution to the development of
new researchers and a vital high-quality research
environment. The panels and their chairs are:
• Maori
knowledge and development - Professor Mason Durie, Assistant
Vice-Chancellor (Maori), Massey University;
• Humanities
and law - Professor Erik Olssen, James Cook Research Fellow
and Emeritus Professor, University of Otago;
• Social
sciences and other cultural/social studies - Professor Dame
Anne Salmond, Professor in social anthropology and Maori
studies and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Equal Opportunities),
University of Auckland;
• Education - Professor John
Hattie, Professor of Education, University of Auckland;
• Physical sciences - Professor Richard Walcott,
Emeritus Professor, Victoria University of Wellington;
• Biological sciences, agriculture and environment -
Professor Carolyn Burns, Professor and Head of Zoology
Department, University of Otago;
• Mathematical and
information technology and sciences - Professor Vernon
Squire, Chair of Applied Mathematics and Head of Mathematics
and Statistics Department, University of
Otago,;
• Engineering, technology and architecture panel
- Professor Robert Park, Emeritus Professor, University of
Canterbury;
• Medicine and public health - Professor
Patrick Sullivan, Professor of biochemistry and Head of the
Institute of Molecular BioSciences, Massey University;
• Health - Professor Peter Joyce, Professor and Head of
Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of
Medicine & Health Sciences;
• Management, economics,
commerce, business administration and marketing - Professor
Kerr Inkson, Professor of Management, Massey University; and
• Creative and performing arts - Professor Peter Walls,
Chief Executive of the NZ Symphony Orchestra (on leave from
Victoria University).
Student Loan Interest Rate to Remain
at 7%
Revenue Minister Michael Cullen and Associate
Minister of Education (Tertiary) Steve Maharey announced
this week that the headline student loan interest rate will
remain at 7 per cent for the year beginning 1 April 2003. Dr
Cullen and Mr Maharey have said there will be a review of
student support during the year which will look at ways to
make student allowances available to a greater number of
students, and set out rules for determining the contribution
students make to the cost of their study.
The New
Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) has been
quick to point out that the interest rates remain higher
than some commercial interest rates for home loans. "A quick
look on the Bank of New Zealand website shows mortgage
interest rates of 5.99% - a full 1% lower than what the
Government is charging its own citizens for getting an
education,” said NZUSA Co-President, Roz
Connelly.
"Cullen and Maharey's promises of a review into
student loan policy are little comfort for graduates who see
that their repayments are barely covering interest," said
Connelly. "Student loan borrowers are cynical about whether
government cares about them when private businesses are
offering their clients more favourable terms."
Otago
numbers up by 1400
Otago University has reported that
student numbers have increased by 1400 students, or 10%,
over the same time last year. By Wednesday this week, 15,913
students had enrolled compared with 14,500 last year, and
the numbers are expected to increase further with late and
second semester enrolments.
Otago AUS Branch President,
Mark Peters, said the increase would lead to Otago’s highest
roll ever and showed that the public had confidence in the
staff at Otago. He said that the University would need to
ensure there are enough staff to cope and that they were
properly resourced and well remunerated. “The increase in
staff numbers should mean that the University is able to
continue the recent trend of above-inflation salary
increases for staff”, he said.
Worldwatch
UK Poll shows
public heavily opposed to top-up fees for students
Nearly
80 per cent of the public oppose the British Government
plans to introduce top-up fees for university students,
according to a poll by the Association of University
Teachers (AUT). Under the Government proposals, students
would be liable for fees of up to £3,000 per year, bringing
the cost of a three year course to £9,000. Added to
accommodation and living expenses, the Government admits
that a graduate may well be leaving university with debts of
£21,000 or more.
The top-up fees are one of the most
controversial of the new proposals for universities,
revealed last month in the Government’s white paper on the
future of higher education. They were met by a chorus of
disapproval from most of the key players in the sector,
particularly as it is thought they will act as a deterrent
for young people from poorer backgrounds entering tertiary
education.
Australian unions label reforms elitist and
unsustainable
Education unions and students have labeled
the Australian Government’s proposed higher education
package as elitist, inequitable and unsustainable.
The
proposed package, leaked to the media earlier this week,
indicates the Government will allow universities to raise
more income by deregulating student fees and to cut costs by
putting students through university faster. The Government
plan, thought to have been approved by Federal cabinet,
includes lifting the number of full fee-paying students from
25% to 50%, and requiring academic staff to face performance
tests for salary increases.
National Tertiary Education
Union (NTEU) President, Carolyn Allport said that the
reforms indicate a retreat by Government of its
responsibility to fund universities effectively. The
sentiment was echoed by the head of the G8 universities,
University of Queensland Vice Chancellor John Hay, who said
the report failed to address key issues. The Australian Vice
Chancellor’s committee estimates the purchasing power of
Australian universities base funding has fallen by about
$500 million a year since 1995.
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AUS Tertiary Update is compiled weekly on Thursdays and
distributed freely to members of the union and others. Back
issues are archived on the AUS website:
http://www.aus.ac.nz. Direct enquires to Marty Braithwaite,
AUS Communications Officer, email:
marty.braithwaite@aus.ac.nz