Review panel ties casualisation to international student growth Fluctuating foreign fee flows helped fuel Australian sector’s addiction to sessional staff By John Ross 15 March
‘Fail rule’ spawns ‘rotating’ cohort of vulnerable students Australian move to deny government subsidies to students who bomb out makes things worse for them, and no better for taxpayers By John Ross 14 March
Indian states blacklisted as Australian visa rejections soar Australian institutions suspend recruitment from India’s north, just as politicians and vice-chancellors launch charm offensive By John Ross 13 March
Process as irksome as proposal, as Sydney staff strike again Disquiet as sandstone university hires interstate corporate lawyer to bargain on bosses’ behalf By John Ross 12 March
India campus ‘not educational colonialism’, says Australian v-c As Deakin plans first overseas outpost on Indian soil, it says the learnings will flow both ways By John Ross 10 March
Melbourne backs ‘yes’ vote in indigenous voice referendum Top-ranked institution joins UNSW, Wollongong and others in expressing support for indigenous voice to Australian parliament By John Ross 7 March
Australian student loan debt ‘getting higher, lasting longer’ Analyses find mounting debt is hindering people’s ability to buy homes and have children – with women disproportionately affected By John Ross 7 March
Opportunity beckons for University of the South Pacific As the political currents enter a more favourable cycle, pan-regional institution’s boss looks to begin repair job on ‘regional’ campuses By John Ross 5 March
China gets real on student safety While safety warnings have been used as political barbs, the latest one alerts students to legitimate threats By John Ross 4 March
‘Game-playing’ claims as Australian employment negotiations drag Union endorsement proves crucial, as direct pitches to staff falter By John Ross 3 March
Australia mulls loans for student living costs While analysts fear cost and debt blowout, loan scheme architect says it can work with careful design By John Ross 2 March
Navitas snaps up Australia and New Zealand pathway colleges Buyer displays ‘confidence’ in Australasian student flows, as vendor exits region By John Ross 1 March
UA conference: Sick of academia? Try the military, says defence scientist Australian armed forces need new blood but are also keen on exchange, says Tanya Monro By John Ross 24 February
UA conference: we’re with you on accord, opposition tells government But shadow minister laments slow reforms, ‘contradictory’ foreign influence positions and access policies that ‘set students up to fail’ By John Ross 23 February
UA conference: ‘mother of ERA’ set to pull plug on assessment exercise ‘Mother of ERA’ now charting its demise, as the ‘law of diminishing returns’ prompts a rethink By John Ross 23 February
UA conference: be bold, Australian reviewers urge sector All options on the table as Australian accord seeks ideas before the ‘hard work’ of implementation begins By John Ross 22 February
Australia extends post-PhD work visa to six years, others to four Almost 400 bachelor’s and master’s courses attracting enhanced post-study rights named as term-time working hours limit extended By John Ross 21 February
Australian staff ‘underpaid by more than A$83 million’ Union calls for criminalisation of ‘wage theft’ with jail time for worst offenders By John Ross 20 February
Fewer Chinese master’s students opt to continue studies abroad Number of postgraduates heading overseas after completing studies at elite institutions still below pre-pandemic levels By Jing Liu 19 February
Better pay for Australia’s casual academics ‘passively resisted’ Legal action seen as ‘the only way’ to force universities to stop ‘divesting responsibility’, senate committee hears By John Ross 16 February
Dollars trump diversity in international student recruitment Focus on volume risks harming student experience and hoped-for revenues may not materialise, report warns By John Ross 16 February
Canberra backs universities on foreign interference Government backs parliamentary committee’s calls for action but promises ‘positive partnership’ with the sector By John Ross 14 February
New Zealand’s free university scheme fails to reduce inequality Data show wealthy students benefit disproportionately from NZ$200 million annual borrowing holiday By John Ross 13 February
Australia ‘clears’ student visa application logjam But some applications remain in too-hard basket, while others suggest universities have let their guard down By John Ross 11 February
Pandemic ‘widened divide’ between Australian elite and regionals Big Group of Eight institutions got bigger while others suffered, exacerbating ‘David and Goliath scenario’ By John Ross 10 February
Doubts over Australian student immigration reforms Clearer permanent residency pathways may not favour international students in Australia By John Ross 10 February
Rapid block teaching uptake ‘dispels sector inertia myth’ Snap adoption of new teaching model, after half a century of gestation, shows that universities can get things done quickly By John Ross 9 February
Australian universities funded for unsolicited places Warning of ‘stranded funding’ as bureaucrats bend the rules of a programme with too many goals By John Ross 8 February
Overseas applications to Malaysian universities surge Country should strive to be more than a student hub, says second-term minister By John Ross 7 February
Brian Schmidt to step down as Australian National University v-c University leaders should not outlive their ‘shelf life’, suggests Nobel laureate vice-chancellor By John Ross 2 February
Teqsa warns against attempts to game university status rules Australian regulator advises against shortcuts, such as recruiting moonlighting big hitters, as universities confront new research quality benchmarks By John Ross 1 February
‘Don’t worry’, China tells students rushing to overseas campuses Special circumstances observed in snap reversal of Beijing’s stance on distance learning By John Ross 31 January
Deadly flooding forces closure of Auckland university campuses Face-to-face classes suspended yet again as downpours dampen return to normality By John Ross 31 January
China cancels recognition of online degrees Beijing’s abolition of Covid-era concession expected to spur international enrolments while generating logistical migraines By John Ross 30 January
Australian PhD stipend increase sets off chain reaction Living allowances become key part of the recruitment pitch, as universities battle for research students and students wrestle with inflation By John Ross 4 January
Set aside social housing for students, universities say Students, universities, investors and governments grapple for answers as Australian housing costs skyrocket and availability plummets By John Ross 2 January
New Fiji PM vows to ‘settle’ University of the South Pacific row Financially troubled University of the South Pacific was left with £29 million black hole when leadership fell out with biggest member state By John Ross 23 December
‘Questionable’ research practices proliferate under precarity Fraud and fabrication are not rarities, suggests Australian survey of early career scholars By John Ross 22 December
Option to bypass unions in employment agreements could close Poorly understood clause in new Australian act may oblige universities to reach terms with representatives, just as they develop a taste for dealing directly with staff By John Ross 21 December
Australia told to jettison ‘genuine temporary entrant’ test Rather than focusing on students’ plans after they graduate, Canberra should assure itself of their commitment to study By John Ross 19 December
Cost ‘not a stumbling block’ for Adelaide-UniSA merger With fervent political support and promises of substantial funding, on-again off-again amalgamation now appears viable By John Ross 16 December
University, union share points in enterprise agreement showdown Professional staff say ‘yes’, academics say ‘no’ as another Australian university bypasses the union By John Ross 13 December
PhD visa delays ‘harming Australia’s prosperity’ Home affairs minister pledges to speed up admission of world’s ‘best and brightest’ By John Ross 11 December
Long-touted Adelaide and South Australia merger back on High upfront costs defeated the most recent proposal for the two South Australian institutions to join forces back in 2018 but now things have changed By John Ross 9 December
Limits on fixed-term contracts ‘could stifle industry-funded research’ Australian university representatives warn of unintended consequences from two-year limit in new workplace relations act By John Ross 9 December
Sabbaticals: from study tour to ‘frenzied burst of research’ What makes a sabbatical special any more, asks professor, if it is a continuation of the demands of academic life rather than a break from them By John Ross 8 December
New Zealand resists call to create independent research council White paper vows to reshape science sector but also shies away from suggested creation of base operating grants for institutions By John Ross 7 December
Universities rattled as multi-employer bargaining gets go-ahead While unions see applications in the private college sector, Australian universities worry about being forced to enter collective bargaining By John Ross 7 December
Australian union rebuffs university bid to ‘simplify’ casual pay As underpayment claims embroil at least half the sector, Griffith’s proposed circuit breaker provokes more discord By John Ross 6 December
Chinese school-leavers look closer to home for overseas study Cultural familiarity, sense of safety and soaring rankings foster interest in nearby countries By John Ross 6 December
Australian university combines PhD and MBA in national first Joint programme eyes trifecta of research skills, disciplinary knowledge and business acumen By John Ross 5 December
Australia winds back national interest test for research grants Critics claim victory as assessment of research benefits is handed back to the experts By John Ross 1 December
Students priced out of housing market in Australian cities Independent housing ‘moderately to severely unaffordable’, as locals opt for alternatives By John Ross 1 December
Three vetoed research projects win funding on second attempt Narrow line between success and failure in latest round of Australian competitive grant funding By John Ross 28 November
‘Shifting value proposition’ underpins rise in contract cheating ‘Renaissance’ ideals of integrity may mean little to the sharing economy generation, Australian conference hears By John Ross 24 November
Accord must loosen regulatory grip on university model – Davis Australian public service chief rails against scale in call for “alternatives” to huge comprehensive institutions By John Ross 24 November
Pay disparity data reveal elite clique in Australian universities For all their collegiality, pay disparity in Australian universities is ‘not out of step’ with big business By John Ross 23 November
‘No silver bullet’ for cheating in online exams Australian study suggests simply reinstating on-campus tests may not have much effect By John Ross 22 November
Australia’s new access targets ‘need rigorous research’ Articulating numerical goals can focus efforts, commentators say, but not always in the right direction By John Ross 22 November
Accord must address ‘what Australian universities are for’ Sector should use review to break free from internal preoccupation and ‘utilitarian’ focus on private domestic benefit, conference hears By John Ross 21 November