Survey on Work and Careers in Australian Universities
NTEU, along with Unisuper and Universities Australia, are industry partners on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project examining work and careers in Australian universities, which is led by researchers from Griffith University and University of Queensland.
A major part of this research will be a survey of university staff (academic, general/professional, and casual/sessional teaching staff) across 20 universities. This survey follows on from a 1996 study led by Professor Belinda Probert and will enable the changes that have taken place in the sector since that time to be properly quantified and assessed.
The involvement of the NTEU and the other industry partners means that the outcomes from this research can be translated into strategies, policies and practices to improve working conditions and career opportunities for Australian university employees.
The survey will be distributed by your University’s HR Department, and will be hitting your email and mail boxes in September 2011. The research team need as many people as possible to respond in order to gain as much detailed information as possible.
Current data tells us some things – the age and gender profile, employment status and occupational composition – but there is so much we don’t know. What’s happening with job classifications for professional staff? Do academic staff have enough time to achieve their research goals? What’s the situation for contract research staff? Are casual/sessional teaching staff stuck in a ‘ghetto’ or on a bridge to an academic career? Are university staff satisfied with their work/life balance?
The survey has international relevance because universities are undergoing similar changes with similar demands on staff but because of national legislative and employment frameworks, how these changes are playing out require further exploration. Your responses will help us understand these issues and more so please respond and encourage your colleagues to as well if they receive a survey.
We need a high response rate to ensure the validity of the findings.
The Institute of Social Science Research, based at The University of Queensland, is administering the surveys, and all responses (both online and hard copy) will be sent directly to them. The project team will only be provided with a deidentified data set, and your anonymity will be protected at all times. They will not be analysing or using individual responses at any time.
Here’s the url for further information:
Project Team
Chief Investigators:
Professor Glenda Strachan (Griffith University - g.strachan@griffith.edu.au)
Professor Gillian Whitehouse (University of Queensland - g.whitehouse@uq.edu.au)
Professor David Peetz (Griffith University - d.peetz@griffith.edu.au)
Associate Professor Janis Bailey (Griffith University - j.bailey@griffith.edu.au)
Dr. Kaye Broadbent (Griffith University - k.broadbent@griffith.edu.au)
Research Fellows:
Dr. Emma Ruckley (Griffith University - e.ruckley@griffith.edu.au)
Dr. Chris Kynaston (Griffith University - c.kynaston@griffith.edu.au)
PhD Students:
Ms. Robyn May (Griffith University)
Ms. Brona Farrelly (University of Queensland)
If you have any queries about NTEU’s participation in the this project, please contact me at jrea@nteu.org.au or National Organiser Michael Evans at mevans@nteu.org.au
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