The deaths of notable figures this week might reveal a lot about the circles individuals watch most closely. The fashion-focused will be mourning the death of Karl Lagerfeld at 85. Fans of Grey Gardens will charge their glasses for one of the people behind the ...
More »Should burkas be banned from university classrooms?
Why do you wear all black? Why are you even still alive? It isn't fair to us. While Australian universities grapple with isolated Islamophobic attacks, like the above-quoted one on two female Indonesian students in Canberra earlier this month, ones ...
More »Dropout rates for online courses sparks work on new learning system
A system that takes stock of a student’s online learning activities and predicts the risk of academic failure is on the horizon. It’s part of a project that aims to curb the number of students who drop out of online courses, ...
More »CSU decides against name change, still to update visual branding
Charles Sturt University won’t change its name but will get a lick of paint. The university announced earlier this year that it was considering changing from its current name to simply Sturt University (SU), among other suggestions. It subsequently held ...
More »Why levity is the soul of teaching
How many of you still remember that teacher of your college days who had more to offer than just nondescript, soporific lectures – that teacher who held your attention throughout class with humour and levity? I’m sure many of you ...
More »Strictly speaking: facepalm/headdesk
A lot has been written (often negatively) about the effects of online technology on communication, with emoticons, emojis and abbreviations like LOL taking the place of the non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures and laughter that are available to ...
More »You would believe what academics say
Is there a funnier university-related Twitter account than 'Shit Academics Say'? Sarcasm even seeps into its bio disclaimer: Retweets are not endorsements. They are performative engagement markers that intentionally confound direct alignment with ironic promotion, ambivalent reflection, or personal brand ...
More »Revealed: faculties with most gender, culture bias in student surveys
Gender and culture both affect the scores teachers get on student experience surveys – but the bias is more notable in certain faculties. That’s according to a review of almost 525,000 student experience surveys across five faculties between 2010 and ...
More »Private school-educated scholars denounce old boys’ and girls’ clubs
Most future wealth – at least in Western nations – will be inherited. But billionaires still put their children in the best position to grow their fortunes by enrolling them in private or elite public schools. Bill Gates sent his three children to ...
More »Details of Western civilisation degree published
The controversial Western Civilisation degree, currently homed at the University of Wollongong, has released its syllabus. It covers ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance, and the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries through to today, via the lenses of ...
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