Adjunct Professor Debra Thoms FRCNA FCN has been appointed the inaugural chief executive officer of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN). Thoms is a registered nurse and midwife with wide experience across the health system. She has held positions in ...
More »New website not quite the face universities want to show
The federal government’s new MyUniversity website has created a face for the Australian higher education and conveyed it to the world. Trouble is, it’s not an accurate reflection, says the sector. Universities Australia (UA) could give only “cautious support” when ...
More »Should nursing be a four-year degree?
Some healthcare leaders argue that undergraduates need an extra year of study? Three experienced nurses share their views. Nursing is a four-year program in many parts of the world but remains a three-year undergraduate degree in Australia and New Zealand. ...
More »Librarian’s role vital, says former national head
Libraries are just as important today as they were before the digital revolution, says the former director-general of the National Library of Australia. Books last for 300 years but the obsolescence of some digital devices reinforces the need for experts ...
More »Graduate prospects rosy three years out
Australian graduates have good employment and salary rates, a study has found, tracking 11,000 students three years after they left university. The third Beyond Graduation report, conducted by Graduate Careers Australia, surveyed 11,807 people who had completed the 2008 Australian ...
More »Interdisciplinary research ‘neglected’
Despite having been around since the 1970s, interdisciplinary research in Australia is still a relatively neglected field, but one that could achieve much more, a new report has found. The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) has just released Strengthening ...
More »Leadership, now that’s a good idea
Higher education management seems to have moved away from the basic idea of helping students successfully complete their courses. I gave a little speech the other day on leadership in higher education. Much of it was pretty standard stuff until ...
More »UCIT or you won’t – COAG will tell
The ACT government has denied an accusation that it is using COAG as a smokescreen to abandon plans for a proposed University of Canberra Institute of Technology (UCIT). The territory government put the proposal on hold until after the COAG ...
More »Call for international education minister
Australia needs a minister to look after the important international education sector, says Phil Honeywood, executive director of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). There have been concerns from industry leaders that the sector lacks direction; it generates $16 ...
More »ANU staff reject proposed job cuts
Staff at the Australian National University in Canberra have rejected plans for redundancies, with union representatives saying there are other ways to save money than by cutting jobs – and that the university may not be in the financial straits ...
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