Antipodean pay talks stall amid generation-high inflation Universities face tough decisions as staff argue for wage rises to keep up with cost of living and budgets become increasingly stretched By John Ross 29 July
New Australian workforce agency to target graduate shortage areas Universities’ pleas to train more professionals may now gain traction as Labor government creates new jobs and skills body By John Ross 28 July
Australian universities ‘lose social licence’ in overseas cash push Swinburne v-c lambasts sector for following English model, but Monash head puts international education on par with key resource exports By John Ross 26 July
Academics from minority groups ‘carrying the scars’ of Covid Disproportionate impact must be considered by universities when assessing performance of staff, study finds By John Ross 24 July
Australian union leaders ‘paid too much’, say rival candidates Clash over officials’ salaries occurs against a backdrop of resentment over union leadership’s pandemic tactics By John Ross 20 July
Overhaul NZ student support system, say students Survey finds two-thirds of students go without ‘basics’ and renters pass 56 per cent of their meagre incomes to landlords By John Ross 20 July
Australia ‘back in the fold’ for foreign students Agents report surge in appetite, suggesting students have short memories By John Ross 19 July
Essay mill websites ‘get more hits than there are people on campus’ New cheating figures highlight need for new solutions as ‘under-pressure’ students find new ways to access banned websites By John Ross 18 July
Ethics guide details how researchers should work with wildlife Australian book weighs the ethics of evolving research techniques, including the downsides of drones and selfies with animals By John Ross 17 July
Australian equity ‘industry’ set for a shake-up While sector welcomes significant funding injection, future shape of national centre is clouded, as is much of its past efforts By John Ross 15 July
‘Surge in dodgy visa applications’ after Australia scraps work limits Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, Ghana and three Indian states named as sources of ‘emerging integrity issues’ By John Ross 13 July
‘Do it all’ culture ‘driving great resignation’ in academia Coursera co-founder warns that faculty are ‘burning the candle at multiple ends’ By John Ross 8 July
Plan for ‘catastrophic’ break with China, conference hears Vivienne Stern tells Australian conference that universities should make contingency preparations for collapse in relations By John Ross 7 July
Stick with Job-Ready Graduates reforms, Tudge tells Labor While contentious reforms were ‘a first for the OECD’, conference hears, they have reinforced a move away from taxpayer funding By John Ross 7 July
Doctoral dreams dashed as Canberra puts visa applications on hold Australia the biggest loser, universities warn, as protracted delays shepherd PhD applicants elsewhere By John Ross 7 July
Covid cuts ‘extraordinary opportunity’ for next-door university Deemed surplus to needs as their university amassed a A$200 million buffer, UWA social scientists find welcome at Curtin By John Ross 3 July
Australia’s ministerial sign-off rule for PhDs watered down New approach ‘a great outcome’ for those fearing impacts of the ‘most bone-headed idea ever’ By John Ross 1 July
Data deficiency plagues Australian retention efforts While policy incentivises retention, approved leaves of absence are counted as attrition By John Ross 30 June
Student enrolment boom seen in Australian census ‘already gone’ While Covid may have ushered record numbers of Australians to university, a chipper labour market is luring them away again By John Ross 29 June
Repression or ‘polite reticence’? Unpacking self-censorship Dearth of data undermines understanding of cancel culture and other campus codes of silence By John Ross 28 June
Australian science on edge as ministerial sign-off rule looms While some fields have been exempted from a contentious imposition on international doctoral students, sector still fears overkill By John Ross 27 June
‘Draconian’ security laws for universities irresponsible: Brandis Former attorney general turned security professor says avoiding ‘overreach’ is as important as protecting public safety By John Ross 23 June
Relax online study limits on overseas learners, universities urge Australian educators demand ‘clarity’ on whether pandemic concessions will be extended By John Ross 22 June
Melbourne posts A$500 million surplus University’s ‘strong’ financial results energise union calls for job security and pay rises By John Ross 21 June
Student debt starts to bite in Australia Relatively benign system under strain from soaring inflation, fee hikes and reduced repayment thresholds By John Ross 19 June
Student deferrals need more nuanced responses, says study Australian research highlights need for more than a front-end focus on boosting diversity By John Ross 17 June
Have competitive research grants had their day? Australian policy guru suggests complete rethink of research funding to overcome ‘opportunity cost’ of unsuccessful grant applications By John Ross 16 June
Chinese interest in Australian degrees ‘trending up’ But former education counsellor warns that a reliable picture of Covid’s fallout will be a long time coming By John Ross 15 June
Universities ‘reinventing the wheel’ on virtual student exchange Rather than repeating other institutions’ mistakes, universities should embrace established ‘modalities’ for collaborative online international learning – and appreciate it as more than a Covid stopgap By John Ross 12 June
Australia’s jobs-based pitch to international students ‘clumsy’ Focus should be on high-end jobs after students graduate – not low-end jobs while they study, sector leaders say By John Ross 11 June
Clarify rules on China research collaboration, Canberra urged Australia will be the big loser from an exodus of Chinese researchers, academics warn By John Ross 10 June
‘Reckoning’ looms for indigenous knowledge collections Australia’s oldest university library adopts new protocols for acknowledgement, representation and access to indigenous material By John Ross 10 June
Melbourne vows to ‘dramatically’ reduce reliance on casual staff University’s pledge comes amid heightened political scrutiny on insecure employment practices at universities By John Ross 9 June
Nepalese peak a new red flag for Australian enrolment Sky-high application and grant rates prompt fresh integrity concerns By John Ross 7 June
Record Australian margins ‘prove need for government attention’ Unless Canberra provides stable funding, universities are doomed to boom-bust cycles, unionist warns By John Ross 6 June
Australian university extends its embrace of flood-ravaged town ‘We are a designated evacuation centre. Bit by bit, we started coming to longer-term arrangements’ By John Ross 3 June
Disadvantaged students ‘six times as expensive to teach’ Eye-popping results from Australian study warrant complete overhaul of how teaching subsidies are distributed, researchers say By John Ross 2 June
Asia Universities Summit: Moocs ‘a useful reality check’ Free online courses have much to offer professors, including feedback on their own performance By John Ross 1 June
Asia Universities Summit: universities ‘must break down disciplinary barriers’ Grand challenges ‘do not fit neatly within disciplinary boundaries’ and neither should science By Pola Lem 1 June
Jason Clare appointed Australian education minister While Labor claims majority government, Greens outline their education priorities for Senate cooperation By John Ross 31 May
Ex-Melbourne v-c Glyn Davis named top Australian civil servant Appointment comes at a good time for a sector in need of an understanding ear in Canberra By John Ross 30 May
Inflation volatility ‘could boost’ student flows to Australia Global inflation and its influence on exchange rates has produced a complex mix of enticements and deterrents By John Ross 27 May
Visa fraud fears as Australian universities target Indian market Wavering Chinese demand has driven a dive into south Asia, where unwary recruiters ‘get burned’ By John Ross 26 May
Universities ‘in political box seat’ after Australian election ‘Bloodbath’ in traditional Liberal seats shows that anti-intellectualism is no longer a vote winner, consultant says By John Ross 24 May
Australian election: climate research out of cold with Labor win Labor may prosecute a big agenda in higher education despite its ‘small target’ campaign By John Ross 21 May
New Zealand budget leaves university sector ‘in the cold’ Boost to teaching subsidies will not keep pace with inflation, critics warn By John Ross 19 May
‘Cognitive dissonance’ blamed for academics’ mental health woes Battling for truth in opaque organisations? It’s enough to blow your mind, researchers say By John Ross 19 May
Australian funding tweaks ‘will make pure research even harder’ Proposed changes risk further eroding support funding for discovery research without achieving their core objectives By John Ross 18 May
New Zealand international education renews outward focus New strategy looks outward as well as inward, as government vows to ‘come back even stronger than before’ By John Ross 17 May
Higher education issues sidelined in Australian election campaign Campaign promises reflect electoral rather than sectoral priorities By John Ross 17 May
Parents ‘overly optimistic’ about children’s university prospects Disadvantaged families have upbeat expectations for their offspring but underestimate the barriers, study suggests By John Ross 15 May
International students ‘steering clear’ of Australian bush Policies to attract foreign students to Australia’s regional areas are not changing their instinctive preference for the cities, analysis suggests By John Ross 14 May
New Zealand brings forward border reopening for overseas students Country’s universities have ‘a lot of catching up to do’ despite two-month reprieve By John Ross 11 May
University keeps police bomber’s PhD thesis under wraps La Trobe prolongs blackout on Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue’s dissertation, citing concerns over ‘identifying material’ By John Ross 11 May
Overseas students feel the heat as Australia heads for the polls Blamed for housing prices largely beyond their own reach, overseas students are both courted and resented By John Ross 10 May
Australian job losses ‘not driven by pandemic necessity’ Extent of staffing overhauls bore little relationship to Covid’s financial carnage, says report By John Ross 9 May
Australia struggles to get medical students to work in regions Less than 5 per cent of medical students on indentureship deal have fulfilled obligations to work outside cities By John Ross 8 May
Overseas students trickle into New Zealand before border reopens Special intake should be at least doubled, vice-chancellor says By John Ross 6 May
New threat to Melbourne’s Australia India Institute Rival centre’s establishment highlights the problems for thinktanks in universities By John Ross 6 May
Australian universities report record earnings despite pandemic As staff reel from an austerity drive, Victoria produces its first A$3 billion institution By John Ross 3 May
