I was speaking to a colleague recently and he remarked that the Covid-19 pandemic is an extinction-level event – those of us who fail to adapt will simply cease to be. Covid-19 has turned the world upside down. At the global level, economies have shut down, supply chains have broken, and all forms of travel […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
It’s time to rebuild the university on a foundation of interdisciplinarity
International educators must lead on anti-racist education
Should international educators be in the vanguard of anti-racist education? This question was triggered by the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The long festering wound of racism on the American body politic has erupted yet again, with protests in hundreds of US cities and in more than 50 countries around the world. Indeed, […] … learn more→
US universities should invest in students, not in policing them
Following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, weeks of persistent protest against police brutality have already begun to shift policy, including in higher education. A few days before the Minneapolis city council voted to disband the city’s police department entirely, the University of Minnesota declared that it would sever its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department for policing […] … learn more→
1 in 10 HBCUs were financially fragile before COVID-19 endangered all colleges and universities
By reducing enrollment and disrupting instruction, the COVID-19 pandemic is generating financial distress for all colleges and universities. Schools that were already financially fragile before this health emergency and economic recession began could soon face even greater risks. That includes several historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. Based on my economic research regarding HBCUs and as a Morehouse College graduate, I’m concerned about the […] … learn more→
The Australian government is making ‘job-ready’ degrees cheaper for students – but cutting funding to the same courses
One objective of the government’s recently announced funding changes for universities is to increase the number of graduates in areas of expected employment growth – such as teaching, nursing, agriculture, STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and IT. The education minister said student fees in these degrees would drop. But what he didn’t say is universities would […] … learn more→
The government’s funding changes are meddling with the purpose of universities
Federal education minister Dan Tehan in recent days announced an overhaul of the fee structures for undergraduate degrees – and the courses based in those degrees – to direct students towards ones it believes are more likely to get them a job. Student contributions for degrees in teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages will fall by […] … learn more→
If the government listened to business leaders, they would encourage humanities education, not pull funds from it
The federal government’s announcement they will more than double the cost of humanities and communications degrees for university students has taken the sector by surprise – not least because it goes against increasing evidence that these programs are the key to our nation’s future success. If the government wants to support university courses that lead to jobs, […] … learn more→
The university to come: from ‘remote emergency teaching’ to ‘adapted face-to-face’
What will teaching at the university be like next year? No one knows the answer to this question, although there is much speculation about it. To try to find it, we should reflect on what are the needs, problems and realities of the different groups involved in university teaching. We cannot lose sight of the main objective: […] … learn more→
Humanities graduates earn more than those who study science and maths
Education minister Dan Tehan has announced changes to funding rates for university courses as part of a plan to create “job ready graduates”. He said: Projections prepared before the COVID-19 pandemic showed that over the five years to 2024 it is expected that the overwhelming majority of new jobs will require tertiary qualifications – and almost half […] … learn more→
Should we give up digital for education?
We know that digital is not just a technology. It also and above all corresponds to transformations in our societies and our cultures, new “art of doing” and new ways of living. It offers opportunities for the personal development of each and that of the world around us. It also brings individual and social threats to employment, respect […] … learn more→
