Tertiary Update Volume 12 Number 34

The government’s recently released Draft Tertiary Education Strategy places a significant focus upon increased monitoring of what it has defined as ‘key indicators that the tertiary education system is moving in the right direction’. In particular the government is looking to monitor its targeted priority goals:

• more people aged under 25 enrolling in higher-level qualifications
• higher first year retention rates, particularly for Māori and Pasifika students
• more young people moving from school directly into tertiary education
• more people participating in qualifications that improve their literacy, language and numeracy skills.

According to the Strategy, this monitoring will be integral to improving performance in all these areas, and enhancing quality assurance by making providers more accountable for their educational outcomes.

TEU president Tom Ryan says that increased monitoring and reporting can could lead to improvements in the tertiary education system if done for the purpose of improving rather than punishing or ranking institutions.

“But it is important that the government recognises that good monitoring requires more, rather than less, bureaucracy. There is no point increasing monitoring and reporting if it is at the expense of real teaching and learning.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Tairawhiti sacks staff
2. Incomes need to catch up with productivity
3. ILO denounces extra-judicial killings of Filipino teachers
4. Tolley’s important role for business in tertiary education
5. Australian law to protect academic freedom
6. British college introduces dress code

—–

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: http://scr.im/stephenday