A bold start for Knowledge Nation
24 January 2001
The NTEU, representing academic and general staff in Australian universities, has cautiously welcomed Kim Beazley’s announcement of the establishment of a new Australian public university, University of Australia Online. However, the Union believes that the proposal raises a number of questions that must be addressed, not least among them the question of what the ALP plans to do to ensure quality of education both on and off campus.
`There is no doubt that online delivery will play an important part in the creation of opportunities for lifelong learning,’ said NTEU General Secretary Grahame McCulloch. `The Government should be a player in such enterprises, to ensure that broad public interest objectives are met and quality is assured. This model is constructive in that it proposes a framework for universities to cooperate with each other and with industry, rather than just competing against each other for market share.’
`The current Government is telling universities to commercialise or die. This initiative offers support for cooperation and sharing of resources.’
`We applaud the expansion of publicly funded places and initiatives to improve access, particularly the proposal to offer free university bridging courses on-line and to reduce the costs of higher education for those students currently feeling the pinch,’ he continued. `However, this will only work if students are properly resourced. Places must be adequately funded and on-campus infrastructure maintained if this proposal is to deliver good outcomes. Students – particularly those in regional areas - will need reliable Internet access and access to computing facilities. Research shows that undergraduate students achieve better outcomes with on campus delivery. Therefore, substantial resources will need to be invested in supporting students and facilitating interaction with their teachers and peers.
`Staff will need substantial professional development to ensure that they can contribute to the `knowledge revolution’ envisaged by Labor, ’ said Mr McCulloch. `NTEU’s research into university workloads shows that coping with new technology combined with inadequate professional development is already contributing to substantial work overload.’
Mr McCulloch said that the Union would need more detail before it could endorse the proposal.
`We want to know more about the funding of the proposal, and what sort of governance and quality assurance structures will apply. And, of course, we want to know what the ALP plans to do to address the crisis in on-campus infrastructure and salary costs across the board.’