Category: Uncategorized

The billion-dollar industry helping students at major Australian universities cheat online assessments

“He isn’t worried about getting caught, because he says everyone’s doing it.”

[…] “You’re dealing with entrenched institutions who, despite what you think they’re supposed to do, do not focus on the needs of the student,” Chegg’s chief executive, Dan Rosensweig, said during an interview in March.

Read the whole article here.

Students are paying for uni. Teachers are marking for free.

“University students don’t read detailed feedback, so what’s the point in paying academics to give it? That’s the position of one of Australia’s most prestigious universities. Now, staff are striking and battlelines are being drawn in one of the biggest industrial disputes in the history of the university sector. So is there an end in sight to the crisis in universities? Today, Rick Morton on the battle for the soul of a university.” Listen to the 7AM podcast here.

IT’S TIME: THE RE-FORM OF AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

Academics for Public Universities just published new research in the special edition of the Social Alternatives journal.

From the introduction: “Universities matter – most of us can agree on that. They remain a vital, indispensable part of our society. What happens to them as a result of government policies, changing values and altered governance arrangements matters greatly, too. Over the past few decades, universities have changed beyond recognition.” The change beyond recognition is as the research shows bad for students, academics and the future of Australian society. Read about the state of Australian universities and what needs to be done urgently if we want to save the Australian public university system and download direct a copy of the journal by clicking here.

Remaking universities: notes from the sidelines of catastrophe

“Can we grieve not for a person but for an institution? Should we be angry over possibilities destroyed, young talents denied a chance to flourish? Is there any point in lamenting greed, short-sightedness, the brutality of power?” Raewyn Connell writes about the catastrophe in which the Australian university system is and what needs to be done to save Australian public universities. Read it here.

APU Response to the Greens’ Discussion Paper ‘The University of the Future’

Academics for Public Universities have developed a response to the Greens’ discussion Paper on ‘The University of the Future’. The response supports the discussion paper and includes further recommendations, which we think need to be included in future versions of this discussion paper and the broader discussions on the future of Australian universities. Read the APU response here.

Transforming Universities in the Midst of Global Crisis A University for the Common Good

APU member Richard Hill has together with Kristen Lyons and Fern Thompsett published a new fantastic book on urgent alternatives to the current neoliberal, colonial -in crisis dominant university model. The book is crucial reading for anyone interested in how knowledge and education can help us build a sustainable world- and there is not much time left for us to do it. Read more about the book here.