News 8 Mar – UC Reports to NZX, New ITO Research

Dave Guerin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:43:33 +0000

Since we started trialling the new ED Insider service on Friday, you may now see an “(I)” at the end of a new item. That signifies more detailed analysis being available to ED Insider subscribers. There is no change in our approach to news here; we’re just doing extra analysis over at the other site now.

Rob Carr, Canterbury Uni VC, released the organisation’s annual report on NZX on Friday – yup, that’s the stock exchange. When UC raised debt last year, it did so thru a debt market subsidiary of NZX (NZDX) and must make regular reports as a result. The report is so new that it still isn’t up on the main UC site by Sunday (the NZDX version had no photos or pretty cover though). Cue outrage about privatisation of education! HT NBR. (I)
Heather Roy, ACT MP, has written a piece in her Diary on tertiary education reform. She has some enrolment numbers way off and an error about full cost fees for unfunded students, but largely she supports Joyce’s lines about linking student loans eligibility to academic performance and builds on the value for money arguments being made lately. It’s a strong reinforcement of Joyce’s messages and the more something gets repeated, the more likely it’s going to happen in Wellington.
Stuart McCutcheon, Auckland Uni VC, painted a bleak vision of our grandchildren being educated overseas (as opposed to our peers working there already…) if university funding was not kept up. He argued that a low cost system could easily become low quality too. Sharn Riggs, TEU National Secretary, has since said that McCutcheon should look to the government, not students, for extra money.
Palmerston North’s Student City brand is going to be handed over from a full-time co-ordinator to a marketing company and student volunteers/interns. I think it’s a great idea to bring in move voices, give students business experience and (I assume) stretch resources a bit further.
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and University of Waikato students had a street parade in Tauranga to mark Orientation and it looked like they had a good time. Check out all the photos on flickr.
Applications are now open for the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative - get your application in by 12 May 2010. It’s all about enhancing the links between educational research and teaching practices to improve outcomes for learners. There have been ten post-school research projects published so far and I wonder how much effect they have had. In particular, I wonder whether research findings are getting out to practitioners. I have no answers either way, but might look into it later.
In terms of research, check out ITO Workplace Assessment Structures and Systems: Survey and Focus Group Findings. It’s the second in a series funded by Ako Aotearoa on ITO Workplace Assessment Structures. A quick skim of it shows a practical and useful approach.
NZSki won “Overall HR Initiative of the Year” at the 2009/2010 Human Resources Institute of NZ (HRINZ) awards held in Wellington the week before last. It’s an impressive story of a firm boosting employee engagement with learning, and developing partnerships with the relevant ITO (SkillsActive) plus Otago Polytechnic and Queenstown Resort College. They have increased staff involvement in seeking qualifications from 200 to 761.
Tysson Hema, a Modern Apprentice shearer, scored best quality points in the Golden Shears at the weekend.
Lynne Boddington, Lincoln University lecturer and TEU representative, died in a car crash on Friday.

News 16 Feb – vet bonding, prefects and boats

Dave Guerin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:51:30 +0000

Radio NZ reports on a veterinarian bonding scheme that has been expanded to include any practice treating production animals, rather than just six specific rural areas. While this may not be good for cats and parrots, it’s interesting to see such a clear split between support for business versus personal needs in an industry, especially when the debate about the value of vocational education is heating up again. Could this be expanded to other industry areas where graduates serve business (especially export) and personal needs? Should plumbers and builders be encouraged to work on dairy conversions, rather than home renovations?
The Boating ITO is hosting their annual Marine Trades Challenge this Saturday at Westhaven, Auckland. Apprentices make their own boats and propel them around a course – should be good fun if you’re in the area.
In a good example of an industry-skilled tutor, a Tai Poutini Polytechnic jade carving tutor has had a piece of her work bought by Te Papa. She is also a TPP graduate, being top of her class in 2001.
AUT has got involved in training local college prefects in leadership. It’s not a big story in itself, but it highlights how few deep relationships there are between secondary and tertiary schools. MIT is obviously doing something about it, as is AUT in its way, but we are nowhere near as systematic as in, say, the US.

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News 8 Mar – UC Reports to NZX, New ITO Research

News 16 Feb – vet bonding, prefects and boats