#AcWriMo2020, like all of its predecessors, works on the assumption that giving priority to writing during this one month of November sets up, or re-sets, a regular writing habit. #AcWriMo also suggests that you set writing goals and make sure that you are held accountable for them. Writing goals vary. Writing goals generally are of five […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Setting writing goals and targets
Brutal rituals of hazing won’t go away — and unis are increasingly likely to be held responsible
Students enter university as young adults embarking on a new life. Hazing rituals are meant to be a lighthearted initiation into university life that breaks down barriers between seniors and freshers and prepares the newcomers for their future. But hazing can be a terrifying ordeal. Many practices associated with being initiated by other students are cruel […] … learn more→
To combat racial inequality, university classrooms must be more inclusive
Universities are increasingly being challenged over their responses to racial, gender and class inequality. As a result, even those reluctant to admit that they perpetuate discrimination are at last trying to do something about it. Yet certain issues remain largely undiscussed. The wake-up call has been loudest about black and ethnic minority (BAME) school-leavers, who […] … learn more→
Remote education is rife with threats to student privacy
An online “proctor” who can survey a student’s home and manipulate the mouse on their computer as the student takes an exam. A remote-learning platform that takes face scans and voiceprints of students. Virtual classrooms where strangers can pop up out of the blue and see who’s in class. These three unnerving scenarios are not hypothetical. Rather, they stand as stark, real-life examples […] … learn more→
Retail can teach universities a lot about digital competition
As consumers shifted their discretionary spending on electronics to price-competitive online offerings after the Great Recession, some analysts were predicting the demise of the well-known US electronics retailer Best Buy. Enter CEO Hubert Joly in 2012. Joly quickly did away with undifferentiated, small-ticket items, such as DVDs and alarm clocks, that had zero chance of […] … learn more→
Universities in crisis? They’ve been there before, and found a way out
Unresolved problems of Commonwealth support for universities came to a head in 1952, when the funding recommended by the 1950 Mills Committee expired. Despite his oft-expressed affection for Australian universities, Robert Menzies’ refusal to appoint a standing committee to manage university funding or new inquiry left future Commonwealth support and funding uncertain. The government’s practice of delaying […] … learn more→
Academic discretion must be allowed in integrity judgements
While universities and colleges have largely risen to the challenge of moving lectures and seminars online in the pandemic, all of them remain puzzled about how to maintain academic integrity effectively, efficiently and non-invasively when traditional assessment strategies are inaccessible. Locking an entire cohort in a lecture hall, taking their phones away and conducting perimeter […] … learn more→
The open-access monograph conundrum can be solved
The pandemic year has been odd for open-access (OA) policy. The shutdowns of libraries worldwide illustrated brutally the fragility of our access to research but also the power of open access, with many publishers scrambling to “unpaywall” the research they publish. Open access looked like the future. At the same time, however, the plague gutted […] … learn more→
Twelve top tips for co-editing a book series
This post is co-written and simultaneously published with Helen Kara to coincide with the launch of the Insider Guides to Success in Academia book series. Helen: It’s interesting to reflect on how we do this co-editing thing. We’ve been working together on this series since May 2017, so that’s three-and-a-half years. You and I hadn’t worked together before, though […] … learn more→
Endless higher education reviews have left UK universities in limbo
What do you do if you’re a government minister sitting on two major reviews that could have huge consequences for the UK higher education system? The answer, it appears, is: launch a couple of minor reviews that could also have quite significant consequences. If they are ever completed and implemented, that is. Remember the Augar […] … learn more→
