AUS Tertiary Update

In our lead story this week…..
Domestic university enrolment numbers slow
The Association of University Staff says that data on participation in tertiary education recently released by the Minister of Tertiary Education reflects a continuing trend of little growth in domestic students enrolling in university education - with most growth occurring in the shorter and cheaper education courses.
Figures released by the Ministry of Education show that the number of domestic students enrolled at universities increased by 1,587 (1.4%) between 31 July 2001 and 31 July 2002, up from 115,849 to 117,436. By comparison polytechnic numbers increased by 5,371 (up 6.4%) and wanangas by 16,257 (144.2%). Domestic enrolments at colleges of education dropped by 175 (-1.6%) and the number of students enrolled with private training providers receiving government tuition subsidies fell by 828 (-2.2%).
The overall growth in university participation is skewed by significant growth in the Auckland University of Technology, which still offers a range of shorter, vocational courses. If the other seven universities are considered alone, there is a significant drop in participation.
Dr Bill Rosenberg, AUS National President, said that, "The data supports the latest OECD report which notes that New Zealand tertiary education participation rates are above average in attainment of certificates, diplomas and vocational courses, but below average attainment in university level education - and considerably behind countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada in that respect."
"Relative to other OECD countries, New Zealand is also currently producing a below average number of PhD graduates," said Dr Rosenberg. "If Government is serious about investing in research and development and developing New Zealand as a highly-skilled knowledge society, it must recognise that university education is expensive. Students, particularly those from currently under-represented groups, must be adequately supported if they are to commit to university degree and post-graduate study."
"If slow growth in university enrolments continues, Government under-funding will clearly be exposed. It was previously masked by faster growth rates, but a continued participation decline will result in more universities in financial difficulties."

Also in Tertiary Update this week
1. International student numbers leap
2. Export education levy details announced
3. Strike looms at Canterbury
4. Massive funding injection for UK universities
5. “London Weighting” Strike Planned
6. Researcher jailed

International student numbers leap
While domestic numbers may be sluggish, the number of equivalent full-time international students studying at New Zealand universities has increased by 62% between July 2001 and July 2002, from 8,427 to 13,373. The most significant area of growth was in the number of students from China which increased from 3360 to 7889 over the same period, a growth of around 135%. The figures do not include international students undertaking sub-degree programmes such as foundation and English language courses.

Export Education Levy Details announced
Coinciding with the release of increases in international student numbers, Education Minister Trevor Mallard has announced details of the export education levy to be paid by education providers. The levy is expected to generate more than $2.8 million and is intended to support a wide range of development and “risk management” activities for the export education industry.
From 10 January 2003, all education providers will pay a flat fee of $185 as well as 0.45% of the gross tuition fee income from foreign fee paying students into a fund to be managed by the Ministry of Education. An indicative budget of how the levy income will be spent reveals that $453,000 will be allocated to promotions and communications, $837,000 to capability development, $363,000 to quality assurance, $253,000 to research, $350,000 to “industry body core operating”, $275,000 to set-up and administration and $269,000 to “partial reimbursement of funds advanced by Government on a recoverable basis”.

Strike looms at Canterbury
Staff at the University of Canterbury will meet on Friday this week to consider strike action in protest against a 2% salary offer made by the university during collective agreement negotiations late last year. The salary offer was overwhelmingly rejected at Canterbury after staff at other New Zealand universities settled salary claims at between 3% and 4%.
Members of the main on-site unions will vote on a proposal which would see more than 1200 academic, general, maintenance staff and cleaners take strike action for a 24 hour period during enrolment week (17 – 21 February). Two stopwork meetings will be held during that week and academic staff will vote on whether to refuse to work on enrolment desks for a day.
AUS Branch President, Jane Guise, said that while enrolment week was a sensitive time for staff to strike, the unions believed that it was an effective time to highlight concerns.
Staff will also stage a rally next Monday, 3 February, to coincide with the campus visits of the three short-listed candidates for the vacant vice chancellor’s position.

Worldwatch
Massive funding injection for UK universities
The British Government will increase funding for higher education in the UK by $2.3billion pounds (around $NZ7billion) over the next three years. Details of the funding boost were released in a white paper last week showing that spending on higher education will rise from 7.6 billion pounds this year to 9.9 billion pounds in 2005-06.
Also announced were plans to “restratify” higher education and further concentrate research funding, introducing a new 6 star rating for departments with world-class research. The white paper envisages a handful of elite research institutions, a group of leading research universities, a group of leading regional universities doing research and teaching, a number of institutions concentrating mainly on teaching and a cohort of former higher education colleges gaining university status, but only for undergraduate teaching.
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has made it known that he wants part of the funding package to be used to boost lecturers’ pay. At Labour’s national policy forum on 1 December 2002, he said university lecturers were 'probably the worst paid workers in the public sector.'

“London Weighting” Strike Planned
British university unions are gearing up for a second one-day strike next Tuesday, 4 February, in a dispute over a “London allowance”. Staff employed in 40 of London’s higher education institutions currently receive an allowance of between 600 and 2,355 pounds, but are claiming 4,000 pounds. Unions are angry that many university staff have seen no increase in the London allowance since 1992, despite a 155 per cent hike in the cost of living during the same period.
The joint union action, led by the Association of University Teachers (AUT), marks an escalation in the campaign, and follows strike action in November, which forced a virtual shutdown of institutions across the capital.
After initially refusing to negotiate an increase to the allowance, the vice chancellors have now requested that further meetings are held on Thursday 14 February in an attempt to resolve the matter.

Researcher jailed
The sentencing of Australian-based academic researcher, and sometime Asia Times Online contributor, Dr Lesley McCulloch to five months' imprisonment in Indonesia earlier this month has sent a clear signal that the Indonesian military's tolerance for what it regards as foreign interference in domestic issues has come to an end. It is the first such sentence to be handed down for a foreigner in Indonesian legal history.
McCulloch was sentenced to five months imprisonment for allegedly violating a tourist visa while in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh in September. She had published reports of human rights abuses while there on a short term tourist visa, and had exposed the Indonesian Military’s legal and illegal business interests in Aceh.
It is believed the Indonesian military, the TNI, wanted to send a clear message to other foreign researchers and journalists who expose the TNI's activities, and had pushed for McCulloch to be charged with possession of military secrets.

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AUS Tertiary Update is compiled weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the union and others. Back issues are archived on the AUS website: http://www.aus.ac.nz. Direct enquires to Marty Braithwaite, AUS Communications Officer, email: marty.braithwaite@aus.ac.nz

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