Universities
In a previous life, I was a chef. Not a great one, but I do have the little certificate and scars to prove it.
The hours were long. I am sure we have all heard the horror stories of 16 hour days and 80 hour weeks so there is no need to discuss that at length. Anyhow, I decided that my future wasn’t in the kitchen, so university beckoned.
Fast forward a couple of years and university holidays have come around again. On the 11th of November last year, I went on university holidays. I will not go back until the end of February. That’s around 110 days. It is a long time. Even so, it’s apparently not quite long enough.
Continue reading "We’re all going on an endless uni holiday" »
There’s a hidden epidemic of bullying in Australia – and it’s not in the schoolyard. The corporatisation of universities has led to an increase in students bullying their lecturers for better marks.
“It’s often the international students, whose families have sacrificed so much to send them to university,” says one lecturer in the arts and social sciences faculty at the ANU.
Dr. Janet Shepherd* admits bumping up one student’s Credit to a Distinction, because he stalked and harassed her daily via social media.
Continue reading "Fee-paying uni students bully academics for good marks" »
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These Days says:
My experience as a tutor was similar. Few students received As, but no one who submitted something that looked vaguely like work failed. It was even worse in grad school. Read more »
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Toothfairy says:
Rod Rye you are so right! This is happening right now at the University fo Sydney Faculty of Dentistry - where many students have been failed by lecturers who just decide they don’t like students. I’ve come across so many lecturers with dysfunctional personalities. They may know their subject but… Read more »
In 1995, La Trobe University student publication Rabelais ran a feature entitled The Art of Shoplifting, which highlighted student poverty a decade before it became an election platform. Now it and student media publications around Australia are facing relative poverty themselves.
Since Voluntary Student Unionism was introduced by the then Liberal Australian Government in mid-2006, Australian student media have been starved of funds.
VSU was introduced with the aim of removing the obligation for tertiary students to pay for and be members of student unions. The Punch interviewed representatives from three student publications and the response was the same: VSU has curtailed the potential of student media to add to a vibrant university culture.
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MFS says:
The media often refer to VSU as some kind of Howard imposed evil. The fact is, VSU is the right to decide whether or not you join a union. Workers enjoy this right and so should students. I was heavily involved in student politics in WA during VSU under the… Read more »
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Ziggy says:
In my youth I was national President of The Students Union. I can attest, with some authority, that these bodies are a collection of wankers who use the funds for their own petty, irrelevant causes that are far removed from the best interests of all students. Student newspapers only meaningful… Read more »
The world changed for our universities with the release of the Bradley Review earlier this year.
One of the most significant changes is that universities will have to meet targets to increase their ‘participation of low socio-economic status students’. In other words, they must increase the number of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds gaining university degrees.
This will put pressure on the way universities traditionally select school-leavers for courses – by ranking every Year 12 student on a percentile scale with a system called the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, or ATAR.
Continue reading "HSC could be the saviour of our university entry system" »
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Nathan says:
The HSC discriminates against males. Males on average are not as good as females at English. Males on average are better than females on at complex subjects such as maths, physics and chemistry. In the HSC, physics as an example has been so dumbed down that people of lower ability… Read more »
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Vanessa says:
I know this is a bit late, but this is what I think What I fathomed is that, HSC Advanced English is similar to GCSE English Language and English Literature. HSC English Advanced is definitely of no comparison to GCE English. Therefore, the English system does not make English compulsory… Read more »
High school students in NSW may not know how they are judged by prospective universities and the admissions system needs a review – according to the man who designed it.
The scheme’s founder is calling for an inquiry into the university admissions system arguing recent changes have led to the loss of transparency for students and parents.
In an interview with The Punch, Professor George Cooney listed a series of changes by universities to the admissions process that he believes are undermining openness in the admissions system.
Continue reading "Giving school leavers a fair suck of the uni sauce bottle" »
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Online Dating says:
Equal Channel,including everything ball foundation vary animal task priority impossible grant boat initial while sport example bus dead fast reply influence session football clearly withdraw seem explanation repeat until trip his after sort voice minute straight follow key effort report cover park grey effectively appoint author how wood file hand… Read more »
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tim says:
In reality it has a lot to do with student numbers and capitalism that has crept into the education system. I got into my Uni before I even had my UAI entrance mark although my mark would have got me in anyway. The first year was extremely boring as it… Read more »
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marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
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