2011 April

Archive for April, 2011

29 Apr 2011

F### You…is what a University of Auckland facilities management guy wrote in an asset management system report (he wrote one letter in each of seven consecutive rows) . His bosses weren’t that impressed and fired him, but he has been reinstated by the Employment Relations Authority, which suggested the Uni had gone over the top, which seems right to me, after reading the… Read Full Story.

News 28/4 – Bye Bye Artechmobile. Silly Research. Joint Indian Office.

28 Apr 2011

Media Eric Canterbury’s Eric Crampton has got in the media again, arguing that the RWC will not have great economic returns (he’s quite right, but economic returns are what we fool ourselves about when we really just want to have a party). Bye Bye Artechmobile Possibly the worst named mobile classroom I have seen (not that I’ve seen… Read Full Story.

News 27/4 – VSM Criticism. Shameful Attack. Manawatu Macron?

27 Apr 2011

VSM Criticism Not what you’d think, but OUSA’s president is effectively criticising Labour and the Greens for their delaying tactics over the VSM bill, pointing out that it is now hindering their ability to plan for next year. Shameful Attack A Japanese student was abused by a couple in Christchurch who then tried to get their dogs to… Read Full Story.

News 26/4 – Screening Failure at TWOA. Straight Whales. Legal Delays.

26 Apr 2011

Screening Failure at TWOA Te Wananga O Aotearoa has admitted a failure after it allowed a woman convicted of cruelty to a child into a social work degree. Turns out that police vetting was not done, as required in internal policies (and, I imagine, by the Social Workers’ Registration Board) (NZPA). Straight Whales Canterbury Uni’s Travis Horton and… Read Full Story.

Poppy – ANZAC Day Film

In: PTEs|Tertiary Education

25 Apr 2011

Poppy, a film directed by a Media Design School tutor, James Cunningham, is up at NZOnScreen. The synopsis and the film are below. In Poppy two Kiwi soldiers discover a baby in a muddy WWI trench. For Paddy it will lead to redemption amidst the hell of war. From a David Coyle script — based on his great-grandfather’s war… Read Full Story.

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Tags: Media Design School

Thumbs-Up: Policy Based on Data

21 Apr 2011

This week’s Thumbs-Up is to policy based on data, and more specifically Steven Joyce’s priming the public for 3 changes to student loan eligibility. I’m not giving the thumbs-up to Steven Joyce or to the specific proposals, but to the fact that Joyce focused on the poor outcomes from loans to different groups of people as the reason… Read Full Story.

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Tags: Completions, Funding Caps, Greens, Labour, Minister - Tert. Ed, National, Student Loans and Allowances, Thumbs-Up

News 21/4 – New Aviation Institute. WITT Pay Settled. As for UCOL.

21 Apr 2011

Canterbury Graduation 600 Canterbury Uni students graduated under canvas yesterday. New Aviation Institute Air NZ is setting up a new Aviation Institute to tie together and expand its existing training for engineers, pilots, flight attendants and check-in staff. On the pilot side it will work with five partners including Massey, two PTEs linked to NMIT, a PTE linked… Read Full Story.

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Tags: BCITO, CPIT, EIT, Labour, Massey University, National, NMIT, NorthTec, SIT, Student Loans and Allowances, TEU, UCOL, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, University of Waikato, Victoria University of Wellington, WITT

News 20/4 – RIP Kenneth Cumberland. Parking U-Turn. Shellfish Teeth.

20 Apr 2011

Kenneth Cumberland Dies Auckland Uni’s Prof Keith Cumberland, a very prominent geographer, has died. I remember well his documentaries and books from my geography study. He was 97. Robot Champs A Massey team has won a world robotics competition. Parking U-Turn Otago City Council denied tertiary staff their carparks and has had to back down after drunken riots… Read Full Story.

News 19/4 – Student Loans. Prof Charged.

19 Apr 2011

Late news today due to illness and other things. Student Loans John Key defended student loan changes, while Labour’s Steve Chadwick said the government was slamming the door on seniors. IRD is emailing 88,000 people living overseas with loans asking them to repay (NZPA).The Southland Times likes the pressure on overseas loan delinquents, the Dom Post wants the… Read Full Story.

New TEC CE is Belinda Clark

In: Policy

18 Apr 2011

The new TEC CE is Belinda Clark, which is who I had been told last week. She is currently the CE of the Ministry of Justice, a role she had held for 10 years. I suspected that they would go for someone from outside the tertiary education sector, mainly because TEC is being shifted towards being much more… Read Full Story.

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Tags: TEC

Older Entries

Siouxsie Wiles: Sorry, I should dd that my motive was not just obtaining top up funds, but also to spark the public' [...]

Siouxsie Wiles: Hi Dave Thanks for your support! It is disappointing to see that Mark thinks this is anti-int [...]

Ian: Completion rates anyone? [...]

Dave Guerin: Pedantic, I'm sure the banks will lend money based on Steven Joyce's cogent analysis alone. [...]

Pedantic: It's good news. The Budget is now sure to include significant funding for buildings so universities [...]

ED