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University

February

Randa Abdel-Fattah at the Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2023.

Research funding body suspends grant to pro-Palestinian academic

Controversial academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has said Zionists “have no claim or right to cultural safety”, has had her $870,000 research grant suspended.

A Coalition government will prioritise domestic students, says Sarah Henderson.

Vice chancellors back Coalition plan to put domestic students first

Education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson says a Coalition government would impose tougher caps on international students, have zero tolerance for antisemitism.

Catherine Livingstone, chancellor of UTS, which opened the floodgates to international students 20 years ago.

Thank you, Catherine Livingstone, for telling the truth about Oz unis

The UTS chancellor should also call for a commission to set up an Australian university ranking system focused on local student satisfaction and employment outcomes.

University of Canberra VC Bill Shorten and chancellor Lisa Paul at his installation last week.

Shorten blames federal policies for his uni’s financial woes, job cuts

The University of Canberra’s new vice chancellor says 191 jobs will be cut this year after student numbers fell.

Justice Michael Lee has blamed university cancel culture for growing antisemitism.

Judge lets rip at intolerant universities as source of antisemitism

Justice Michael Lee blames antisemitism on cancel culture and intellectual conformity in universities.

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Bill Shorten got quite the reception at his investiture as University of Canberra VC,

Leon Zwier heads up the Shortens’ capital coming-out party

Bill and Chloe have firmly cemented themselves in the Canberra establishment after years of fly-in fly-out work.

George Williams, vice chancellor of Western Sydney Uni.

This vice chancellor stood on his head for students, literally

New boss of Western Sydney University, George Williams, is using his legal mind, and the odd stunt, to advocate for the battered tertiary education sector.

Anthony Justice at his home in Mosman.  As well as the qualification, he gained an international network of advisers from his French MBA.

My employer refused to pay for my MBA – so I quit

When Anthony Justice asked BP to pay for his one-year, full-time MBA in France, the company refused. A year later, it promoted him and upped his salary.

Student Jasmine O’Brien.

$80,000 debt is only part of cost crisis hitting students hard

Jasmine O’Brien is in the second of a five-year degree, holds down two jobs and worries about what her student debt will be when she finally graduates.

Students Olivia Adam, Caeli Yole, and Thimuthu Dassanayake at Monash University’s Clayton Campus.

How students are doubling up to get ahead in the jobs race

Vice chancellor Sharon Pickering says half the undergraduates at Monash University are doing double degrees to improve their job prospects, despite the extra time and cost involved.

Ross Gittins and Richard Holden.

Richard Holden is wrong. Ross Gittins is right about the economics rot

Economists desperately want to convince themselves the world is as simple as C + I + G + (X - M). That’s what generations of students have been taught to believe.

Professor Genevieve Bell’s swingeing cuts to ANU are under way.

ANU budget cuts mean fewer courses and crowded tutorials

At one humanities school within the university, the budget for casual and sessional staff had been reduced by about two-thirds.

January

UNSW student Alireza Ghaffarian said he swapped economics for accounting after being advised the change would be good for his career.

Why students are shunning economics, ‘the dismal science’

Alireza Ghaffarian enrolled in economics because he thought it would get him a good finance job. But he dropped out of the subject because it’s increasingly not considered the best preparation for work.

Officials say scrutiny of the financial management of universities is legitimate, but a witch-hunt on vice chancellor pay or staff underpayments is unwarranted.

Universities warn against ‘witch-hunt’ governance inquiry

The Labor-dominated committee will focus on financial management, but officials are worried about knee-jerk responses to tension about vice-chancellors’ pay and wage theft.

Hannah Forsyth, is an historian who has written a book on the history of the modern australian university.

Is a university degree still worth it?

The pay premium for graduates is on the decline, while the sector is a mess and academics are asking whether we have reached “peak university”.

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Labor Senator Tony Sheldon has described universities as becoming “lawless”.

Uni leaders on notice as MP says they run a ‘lawless sector’

A new parliamentary committee will grill university leadership after a spate of management and governance failures.

Pathify is a SaaS student portal used by universities, colleges and higher education institutions.

Edtech Pathify clinches $180m valuation after ruling off funding round

Bombora-backed Pathify has raised $US25 million through primary funding and a secondary share sale.

Imogen Lucas is about to head to Sydney University to study commerce.

Gen Z know what they want to study, and it’s usually medicine

As school-leavers prepare to head to university, they are particularly keen on becoming doctors. But the good old arts degree is still popular.

Outgoing NDIS Minister Bill Shorten will start a new role as the vice chancellor of Canberra University in February.

Bill Shorten was a last-minute applicant to lead Canberra Uni

Bill Shorten applied for the job as vice chancellor of the University of Canberra just two days before he and five others were interviewed for the role.

Sarah Henderson says education minister Jason Clare is dodging his responsibilities over university governance.

Go harder on double-dipping uni bosses: Henderson

The opposition says Education Minister Jason Clare is missing in action as vice chancellors collect payments from outside sources on top of their university salaries.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/university-63k