Casuals

This report outlines the key issues and priorities for Australia’s 280,000+ postgraduate students in the lead up to the 2010 Federal Election. The report is informed by the efforts of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) to support improvements and reforms for postgraduates for over 30 years, as well as ongoing engagement and consultation on the interests and needs of this important group.

A study commissioned by DEEWR seeks the views of people who are in academic positions about academic work and the academic profession. The aim of the study is to identify the core factors relating to the motivation of people to remain in higher education and the factors that might lead to them considering other careers or pursuing academic work overseas.

If you have received an invitation to complete the survey via email, either from your institution or from the researchers, this is a final reminder to complete the survey, as the closing date is COB Monday August 2nd.

[Below is an edited version of the information available on the DIISR website].

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Check out the findings from the LTC’s Sessional Staff Forum. Here are 10 things sessional staff want:

1. Paid training opportunities
2. Academic mentoring
3. Commensurate remuneration and superannuation (to put it simply: sessional staff want to be paid for the hours they actually work)
4. Improved payroll processes
5. Lifting of working restrictions (e.g. limit of 8 working hours per week)
6. Access to infrastructure (e.g. office space) and teaching and learning resources
7. Job security
8. Transparent and fair recruitment processes

Gideon Polya talks about the issues facing Australian universities in 2001 For the transcript of this interview go here.

By Dilan Thampapillai

11 December 2009

On Line Opinion

Behind closed doors all the vice-chancellors are arguing about which bits of the Bradley Report they like and will agree to take on. Can we fit in 30% more students, with many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds? What will be the mix of regulation and deregulation of universities? Reporter Stephen Crittenden.

 

Please read further information here. 

"The Attractiveness of the Australian Academic Profession: A comparative analysis" Research Briefing by Hamish Coates, Ian Dobson, Daniel Edwards, Tim Friedman, Leo Goedegebuure and Lynn Meek is available online.

RED Report: The contribution of sessional teachers to higher education by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council is available online.