“Mr Joyce talked regularly, during his first term as minister of tertiary education, of the need for greater pastoral care of students and for helping people into study who would not otherwise have that opportunity.”

“In this second term of Mr Joyce’s ministership we would like to see the policy that supports those ambitions.”

“Tertiary education should not settle into a role of providing further education to those who are already succeeding. We want to help New Zealanders who need opportunities to contribute to our economy and our communities. But that means policies that focus on improving access to education and giving wrap around support for those who want to learn but do not know where to begin.”

“As professionals who work and study in tertiary education every day, we have got a suite of simple ideas to help students and potential students learn. We’re looking forward to the chance to meet with Mr Joyce so we can work together on protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s world class tertiary education system”, said Dr Grey.

For more information:

Sandra Grey, TEU national president, 021 844 176 or 04 801 5098
Stephen Day, TEU communications officer, 021 2900 734 or 04 801 4792

“From next year, five per cent of tertiary providers’ tuition funding will be at risk based on their performance against a clear set of achievement indicators. This will incentivise institutions to perform and will drive value for money.”

Mr Joyce also said a re-elected government would collect and publish employment data for graduates of each qualification, and investigate, as the focus on quality and outcomes improves performance, the possibility of “relaxing funding caps for high quality providers and allowing them more flexibility to adjust their offerings and grow their institutions.”

TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey criticised the policy saying that financially punishing institutions that take on the hardest-to-teach students, that focus on foundation studies and second-chance learning would defeat the purpose of education.

“Education must be measured on more than just how much money you earn at the ‘end’ of learning.”

However, Prime Minister John Key continued to imply that the current tertiary education system was not providing enough value for students and tax payers and that this policy would provide more value.

“Tertiary education is a passport to higher skills, higher wages, higher productivity and higher growth for our economy,” says Mr Key.

Mr Joyce noted:

“We’ve funded more places at universities, polytechs and private training providers without big budget increases.”

The government also intends to “improve the governance and operations of publicly-owned tertiary institutions, and to continue to remove differences in funding treatment between public and private providers.

It will limit Level 1 and 2 tertiary provision to those who haven’t previously achieved Level 1 and 2 qualifications at school or at tertiary level – with the exception of ESOL and Māori language courses.

Twenty-year-olds are largely happy with their tertiary teachers and education according to one of New Zealand’s most comprehensive investigations into our education system. For nearly two decades the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER)’s Competent Learners study has followed some 500 children from just before they started school. In 2009 those 500 children had become 20-year-old adults and NZCER returned to 401 of them to find out how they had fared since they left school and what they were gaining from current study and employment.

The study found that young adults who had studied since school (84 percent of this sample) were largely positive about their learning experiences. Most thought their course would be value for money. Around 70 percent thought their post-school teachers worked hard to make their subjects interesting, provided helpful feedback on progress and were good at explaining things. Around the same proportion also thought their study was developing their problem-solving skills, ability to plan their own work and written communication skills.

Seventy-one percent of the 20-year-olds expected to study or train for a qualification more than once in their adult life, with those solely employed or neither studying nor employed more likely to mention the need for on-going interest. Qualifications were seen as ways to gain new knowledge and skills, rather than for pay or status reasons.

The report’s author, Cathy Wylie, notes that the traditional model where the end of school marked the end of formal study has given way to further study—of some sort—being part of the post-school experience for most young people making their path into adulthood.

“The continuation of study post-school, which is rarely free, or as low-cost as school (70% of the young people at age 20 had a loan), raises some questions. Do we provide enough support for young people to make good decisions about the courses that will interest and develop them in ways that keep open or open doors for employment, further study and the ability to contribute to, and enjoy, life? Is every young person leaving school with the skills and knowledge to gain from post-school education, particularly those who leave without school qualification, or who have been disengaged in learning at school?”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Week of strike at CPIT brings mediation
2. NMIT stopwork rejects offer
3. Student membership bill passes amongst flurry of student opposition
4. Teachers speak out for equal pay for work of equal value
5. Last day to sign pay discrimination petitions
6. Aoraki Polytechnic threatens course closures across South Island towns

Other news

TEU says profits at polytechnics are too high and need to be reined in. Overall, the polytechnic sector recorded a $90 million surplus last year and $70 million the year before. This is equivalent to about 8.3% and 6.9% of their income respectively – Radio NZ

In the first year back at work, Australian women who have had a child can expect to earn around four per cent less per hour on average than they would if they had not had a child, the research shows; this equates to $1,566 a year in foregone wages per person. Mothers are losing about $126 million per year in foregone wages across the workforce as a result – Australian Policy Online

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic students are struggling to get to morning classes on time because of the city’s bus schedule. Two architecture classmates at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic say Papamoa students are being disadvantaged because there isn’t an early bus that will take them into Tauranga – Bay of Plenty Times

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has warned protesting university students to keep their heads down lest they draw attention to their relatively privileged position in hard economic times – New Zealand Herald

The extent of New Zealand’s brain-drain has been revealed in a new study which shows only around two-thirds of doctoral graduates are employed in this country in the years immediately following their graduation – Sunday Star Times

Fiji’s military government has dramatically stepped up its harassment of trade unionists. Recently FTUC President Daniel Urai was arrested for holding an ‘illegal’ meeting. In February, Felix Anthony, General Secretary of the FTUC and of the Sugar Workers’ Union affiliated to the ITF and the IUF was taken from home by three uniformed military officers and subjected to threats – Labour Start

Tertiary education minister Steven Joyce yesterday afternoon guaranteed that the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and CPIT would be funded for the number of students they had prior to the September 2010 earthquake.

Prior to his announcement nearly a thousand people had already signed a TEU petition to minister Steven Joyce this week calling on him to invest in the University of Canterbury. TEU welcomed the commitment by the minister of tertiary education but warned it did not go far enough to prevent threatened job losses.

“It’s good to see the government responding to public campaigning from tertiary education staff and the wider public,” said TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey.

“But this announcement does not go far enough. Maintaining previous rates of funding will not, for instance, be enough to prevent hundreds of job cuts at tertiary institutions around the Canterbury region. Both universities and the polytechnic will need more financial help because there will be a loss of income from student fees over the next three years.”

TEU members are currently meeting to plan their on-going campaign to rebuild and protect tertiary education in Canterbury.

The petition, which argues that the University of Canterbury is an international asset that is integral to New Zealand’s recovery from Canterbury’s earthquakes, is circulating widely on Facebook and Twitter and has received signatures from around New Zealand as well as from England, Germany, Malaysia, the Netherlands, USA, Australia and India.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Are doctoral graduates fleeing NZ?
2. Save Canterbury advertising money for education
3. Marae provide learning befits for Taranaki
4. Some CEs tighten belt – others add a notch

Other news

One way to hide cuts to funding is to put more students in each tutorial, lecture and class. But, after a while students and staff start to notice – TEU student: staff ratio graph

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) of Australia has called on senators to support the Government and the Greens in repairing the damage caused to student culture and university life by the former Coalition Government’s targeting of student unions. The Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities, and other measures) Bill 2009 is the first step in the vital process of rebuilding student culture on university campuses, devastated by the effects of legislation that stripped student unions of funds for vital services - NTEU

The Government intends to double the economic value of international education to $5 billion over the next 15 years.  It intends to increase the number of international students enrolled in New Zealand providers offshore from 3,000 to 10,000, and doubling the number of international postgraduate students - Steven Joyce

Polytechnics in the main centres say they could do a better job if the Government gave them control of their students’ loans and allowances, and let them distribute the money as they see fit. They say the change would protect the Government from loan and allowance blow-outs if student enrolments rise and would allow the polytechnics to support the most needy students – Radio NZ

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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.

“Its good to see the government responding to public campaigning from tertiary education staff and the wider public,” said TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey.

“But this announcement does not go far enough. Maintaining previous rates of funding will not, for instance, be enough to prevent hundreds of jobs cuts at tertiary institutions around the Canterbury region. The universities and polytechnic will need more financial help because there will be a loss of income from student fees over the next three years.”

Canterbury’s tertiary institutions and their staff have crucial roles to play in helping the region rebuild. Funding them to keep staff and students is a crucial investment, not a cost.

TEU members are currently meeting to plan their on-going campaign to rebuild and protect tertiary education in Canterbury. Prior to his announcement today nearly a thousand people have signed a TEU petition to minister Steven Joyce this week calling on him to invest in the University of Canterbury.

For more information:

Dr Sandra Grey, TEU national president, 021 844 176 or 04 801 5098
Stephen Day, TEU communications officer, 021 2900 734 or 04 801 4792

http://www.teu.ac.nz

Thanks to Ann (Helen) Devereux at Flickr for the photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/hadevereux/5682638321

When you fill in this form your name will be added to the petition below and your message will be emailed to Mr Joyce and Mr Brownlee. Remember to keep your message polite and professional.

Mr Joyce told Parliament the government has increased the output of industry training by 14 percent since 2008.

“That is why we have created 16,500 more full-time places across the tertiary sector since 2008, and that is why we have introduced the Youth Guarantee, which will provide 7,500 places next year. That is why we are establishing 21 trade academies… and that is why we have more than trebled the number of people participating in level 1 and 2 courses with embedded literacy and numeracy in just the last 3 years.”

However Mr Goff disputed this, arguing “Is it not actually true that the number of people in industry-based skills training has dropped by 31,000 under this government’s watch and that the number of apprenticeships has declined, particularly in the area of building and construction, where those skills are desperately needed to rebuild Christchurch?”

Mr Joyce contested that the government is no longer funding imaginary trainees as the previous government did.

“In 2008 more than 96,000 people—in fact, 96,831 people—were listed and were funded by the previous government as being in industry training, where they did not achieve a single credit.”

Mr Goff suggested that Mr Joyce had failed to act on the advice from the Tertiary Education Commission to double the amount of funding going into training building and construction workers, to overcome a massive skills shortage.

Prior to that advice Mr Joyce’s government had cut $145 million out of industry training in this year’s budget.

Mr Joyce responded that Budget 2011 made available $48 million more for industry training and for trades-related training in polytechnics.

“On top of that, we announced $55 million for job opportunities placements with the Ministry of Social Development and employers to subsidise people into industry training for trades-related training… If there is anybody interested in taking up trades training opportunities, there are hundreds and thousands of those available right now for trades training in Christchurch.”

In response to this debate TEU national president Sandra Grey says the bottom line is that during the 1990s the government stripped trades training out of polytechnics in the name of competition, laying the ground for the shortage of skilled tradespeople that the country faces today.

“Whoever is in power needs to understand that trades training and a proper apprenticeship process needs to be planned for and funded properly,” said Dr Grey.

After TEU members at Weltec took a lightning strike across Weltec’s three campuses (Petone, Wellington and Auckland) earlier this week the union’s bargaining team was able to meet with the polytechnic’s chief executive. Because of those discussions, TEU members have suspended the threat of further strikes or other industrial action now for the rest of the week, and are hopeful that they will be back negotiating formally soon.

Before the strike on Monday Weltec employers wanted to increase staff weekly duty hours, remove all discretionary leave from new staff and tell existing staff how they can use their discretionary leave as well as claim the flexibility to require staff to work any hours between 7.00 am and 9.30 pm Monday to Sunday.

TEU organiser Phil Dyhrberg said the existing employment conditions are working well for Weltec and he is hopeful now that the two sides can reach a positive agreement.

“Last year Weltec had a surplus of $3.6 million. It got more revenue both from government and from other sources. It grew its asset base by $5 million. So there seems little financial reason for staff working longer working hours, the possibility of working late into the evening on Sundays, or less say for staff over how they use their leave.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. SIT academics retain core working conditions
2. Canterbury’s international student numbers slump
3. More investment needed in Canterbury University
4. Ten new trades academies

Other news

TEU’s boycott of Courses and Careers Day at the University of Auckland was averted in last minute negotiations after the university’s vice-chancellor agreed not to oppose an application by the union for facilitation by the Employment Relations Authority. Up until that point, the vice-chancellor had been opposed to facilitation, thereby slowing the negotiation process down.

New Zealand secondary schools are quietly being redesigned in a way that could make them dramatically more relevant to young people who are not heading towards university – New Zealand Herald

Yes, the public has a right to information about how public institutions are performing, but that information shouldn’t be stripped of meaning and context just so people can absorb it quickly and easily. That is unfair on the universities being ranked, and it is unfair on people who want a fuller understanding of how they are performing – Manawatu Standard

A further 50,000 people who live overseas and owe money on their student loans are going to be targeted by the Government. Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce says a target programme aimed at 1000 debt holders in Australia and has netted more $4.7 million in debt repayments. The programme will be extended to cover not only people in Australia, but also Britain – Radio NZ

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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.

“We’re well-managed, but don’t mistake that as we have the money coming from the Government to guarantee quality education forever,” he told the Manawatu Standard.

Mr Maharey’s denial followed a report from the Tertiary Education Commission earlier in the week that revealed publicly funded universities, wānanga and polytechnics all generated surpluses significantly greater than the 3 percent of revenue the commission requires of them.

Polytechnics had surpluses of 8.3 percent of revenue, universities 4 percent and wānanga 7.3 percent. TEU’s national president Sandra Grey said that in total, public tertiary institutions hoarded nearly a hundred million dollars of public money last year that they could otherwise have invested in quality education.

“Because they failed to spend this money students now have larger class sizes, highly respected staff lost their jobs and departments have shrunk or shut,” said Dr Grey.

The tertiary education minister Steven Joyce says he is pleased to see that institutions are responding strongly to the government’s focus on value for money and fiscal responsibility.

“While the government’s budget remains limited, it’s good to see tertiary institutions managing their finances and assets responsibly and positioning themselves to continue to make a strong contribution to New Zealand’s educational needs.”

Dr Grey said that by making cuts and under-spending their budgets institutions were justifying the government’s austerity measures for tertiary education.

“Hoarding gives the government a false justification for its relentless on-going budget cuts to tertiary education funding,” said Dr Grey.

Thanks to Ewan McIntosh @ Flickr for the photo