TEU Tertiary Update, Vol 13 No 13

Workload increases at AUT

Equivalent full-time student (EFTS) numbers at AUT increased by over 10 percent last year to over 18,000 EFTS whilst the number of academic staff to teach those students decreased for the same period.

AUT released its Annual Report for 2009 which show's that the full-time equivalent academic staff numbers fell by 2.8 percent at the same time as student enrolments increased by 1,500 students or 6 percent.

The result of this was a change in the staff student ratio from 16.8:1 to 18.8:1, or two extra students for every staff member.  It also resulted in a strong financial performance for the university. The net surplus of $8 million was a 69 percent improvement on the 2008 surplus and was 8 percent ahead of budget.

TEU branch president, John Prince, says rising student numbers is causing more workload.

"Many AUT staff have spoken to me over the last twelve months commenting on the increase in student numbers in their classes with a corresponding increase in additional work such as marking and pastoral care," said Mr Prince. "Staff have expressed a concern about how this affects the classroom experience for students, particularly those who are finding studying difficult. They also are very aware that the salary increases they have received in the last twelve months have not reflected the increase in productivity the university has experienced."

The report also shows AUT responding to government desire to see greater focus on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes rather than pre-degree study.  The number of EFTS studying pre-degree courses fell by nearly 600 last year while the number of undergraduate EFTS rose by 1,500 and the number of postgraduate EFTS rose by 300.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Minister announces polytechnic appointees


2. Growing Pasifika population deserves attention


3. New Zealand signs education trade agreement with India


4. Wānanga staff gain noho sleepover payment


5. Disabled students face barriers to education


6. Other news

Minister announces polytechnic appointees

Tertiary education minister, Hon Steven Joyce, announced 78 appointees to 20 polytechnic councils yesterday. His four appointees to each council, including the chair and deputy chair will assume an effective voting majority on the reduced eight-person councils from the beginning of next month.

Of the 78 appointees, 33 were existing council members and 45 new ones, with two more appointments yet to be made. Each council's other four community representative appointees are also yet to be made – except at SIT where the current council appears to have reappointed chair, Graham Cooney, and deputy chair, Sarah Brown, thus allowing Mr Joyce a further two appointees.

TEU national president, Dr Tom Ryan, said the appointments were not representative of the sector.

"Looking through the names it appears that not one single staff member has been appointed to the council of their own polytechnic. Indeed, out of 78 names only a handful seem to be currently working as academic or general staff at any tertiary institution at all."

Most appointees came predominantly from a business background.

"As individuals they are all skilled and respected people in their community. As a group though they do not reflect the diverse educational challenges that polytechnics face," Dr Ryan said.

The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) was also unimpressed, saying it continued the Government's steps in limiting community and student voices from their own institutions.

"Students will be concerned that there may be too great a focus on business and finances alone, and the student experience could lose out to so-called efficiency drives which may come at the expense of quality and the range of courses offered," said NZUSA co-president, Pene Delaney.

NZUSA and the TEU welcomed numerous Māori appointees to the councils, but both note that only 20 of the 78 were women.

More coverage here from Radio NZ, the Otago Daily Times and the Timaru Herald.

Growing Pasifika population deserves attention

Institutions need to be better prepared to address Pasifika education issues says TEU national president, Dr Ryan. The relative youth of the Pasifika population in New Zealand means that the number of Pasifika students studying at tertiary institutions is set to grow rapidly in coming years. 

Dr Ryan says that the Tertiary Education Union will be hosting its inaugural Pasifika tertiary education fono later this year and wants to explore ways that the sector can meet the government's Tertiary Education Strategy goal of increasing the number of Pasifika students achieving at higher levels.  The fono, which will be held in Christchurch on 30 July and Auckland on 6 August, will be the first time that TEU members will meet specifically to discuss Pasifika education issues.

"Looking at Ministry of Education data there are some interesting questions that we will want to explore. For instance there are nearly 40 percent more female Pasifika tertiary education students than there are males."

However, female Pasifika students in 2008 were more significantly likely than male Pasifika students to be enrolled in a private training establishment (PTE) as opposed to a public institute of technology or polytechnic. Nearly a third of female Pasifika students were enrolled in PTEs in 2008. This compares with only 15 percent of the domestic student population as whole.

"If we want to meet the Tertiary Education Strategy's goal of more Pasifika students studying at a higher level we need to help those young female students to find places at polytechnic, wānanga, and university communities where degree level study is a more commonplace," said Dr Ryan.

New Zealand signs education trade agreement with India

Education minister, Hon Anne Tolley, and India's Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, renewed a trade in education agreement between New Zealand and India.

Tertiary education minister, Hon Steven Joyce, says export education, New Zealand's fifth largest export earner, is vital to continuing growth of both the economy and the tertiary sector.

"It's essential that we maximise our opportunities in this area and that we are able to compete with other countries for international students in a sustainable way. This agreement is an important step in the right direction."

Mr Joyce has been advocating that tertiary institutions look to international students, rather than the government, to increase their financial income.

UCOL, WITT, and SIT were all in the media this week discussing plans to recruit more international, and specifically, Indian students to improve their finances. 

TEU national president, Dr Ryan says that institutions need to be wary about being pressured by the government into another international student boom like the one created during the 1990s.

"We face significant dangers if we begin to regard Indian students and other international students as the solution to government under funding," said Dr Ryan.

”International students have an important cultural and educational contribution to make to New Zealand. But they also need pastoral care and support. They deserve better than to be treated as a short-term cash injection into our institutions. New Zealand's international reputation also deserves better."

Wānanga staff gain noho sleepover payment

A large turnout of TEU members at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa have voted to ratify their new collective agreement and will now be entitled to an allowance when required to stay overnight delivering education programmes to tauira.

Prior to the negotiations an employment court decision had found that workers at IHC were eligible to be paid if they were required as part of their job to sleep overnight at their place of work.

Likewise many academic staff at the wānanga are required to stay overnight on noho. Teaching delivery often involves visits to marae that begin on Fridays and end on Sundays. Prior to these negotiations, and the employment court decision, employees had entitlements like time in lieu for noho. Now they will be paid a $125 allowance in addition to other entitlements for each night that they are required to stay at the noho.

TEU te pou tuarā, Lee Cooper, says the negotiations, which began in October last year, were markedly different from previous years, with the employers committing to treating TEU members equally to union members from the wānanga union, TUIA.

"Having TEU as an independent external union working to improve employment conditions at the wānanga is important for quality of education. Fairer working conditions means the wānanga can better recruit and retain its kaimahi, and that's a benefit for both tauira and kaimahi."

Disabled students face barriers to education

Restricting disabled peoples' access to tertiary education and employment does not make economic sense according to CCS Disability Action chief executive, Viv Maidaborne.

"We are creating benefit dependency for hundreds of New Zealanders. It is crucial that these barriers to education and employment are addressed as a matter of urgency."

Ms Maidaborn’s statements to the Otago Daily Times follow the recent release of the CCS report Journey to Work, which reveals disabled young people face widespread barriers in the academic and social world.

The report notes that between 1996 and 2009, government funding to universities and polytechnics for support of tertiary disabled students with high support needs contributed to a significant increase in the number of disabled students participating in tertiary education. However, the rate of participation by disabled people is still estimated to be less than a quarter of the participation rate for other students.

Principal of Sara Cohen School, Raewyn Alexander, told the Otago Daily Times many of her pupils would like to enter the workforce or tertiary education but, because of their physical and intellectual disabilities, would require a support person to be with them.

Associate education minister, Hon Heather Roy, said the government had identified the need for better support for pupils with special education needs and would continue to make it a priority.

"This does not necessarily mean there is a need for more funding but, rather, a need to ensure that the current funding is being used in the best way," said Mrs Roy.

Other news

Dates for the legal facilitation between TEU members at the six polytechnics – Northtec, Unitec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Wintec, WITT and Whitireia – and their employers have been set for 11 and 12 May. Facilitation follows a protracted dispute and industrial action as workers seek to retain their existing employment conditions that the employers want to take away.

Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA: "Together we can make universal education in Africa a reality and raise awareness of the challenges and needs of the continent, not only in the lead up but long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. We call on all governments to be accountable for their promises on education and every sector of society should also join in and concretely contribute." – 1Goal.

The possible EIT-Tairāwhiti Polytechnic merger is likely to be a longer term process than initially anticipated with the two polytechnics assuring TEU that there will be no impact on staffing or teaching programmes for at least a year.

One of New Zealand's biggest private training enterprises has been closed amid revelations that students on its business courses were not even expected to attend to gain their qualifications. The API Institute was one of the biggest PTEs in Auckland, with 200 students and more than 20 staff, many of whom are owed thousands of dollars in wages. The school also provided management, design, early childhood education, motor engineering, and English courses – Sunday Star Times.

Two-year degrees, which British education secretary, Lord Mandelson, has identified as key to the future of UK higher education, may not be economically viable, evidence suggests. A review by the Higher Education Academy found that most were viable only because they were backed by at least £250,000 in development funds – Times Higher Education Supplement.

TEU Tertiary Update is published weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the Tertiary Education Union and others. You can subscribe to Tertiary Update by email or feed reader. Back issues are available on the TEU website. Direct inquiries should be made to Stephen Day, email: stephen.day@teu.ac.nz

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