Mrs Tolley also announced this week that Christchurch is to have a new Trades Academy, and that student places are to more than treble at the existing National Trade Academy in Christchurch, which incorporates CPIT.

The number of fees-free places for 16 and 17 year olds will increase to 2000 in 21 Trades Academies from next year.

“Schools are partnering with tertiary providers, employers and industry training organisations to give 16 and 17 year olds a more flexible way of learning, and the vocational skills which will give them more career choices,” Mrs Tolley said.

The ten new Trades Academies which will open during 2012 will involve support from UCOL in in Palmerston North and Manawatu, Horowhenua, Whanganui and the Wairarapa , NMIT in Nelson, Unitec and AUT in West Auckland, MIT in Manurewa, Otago Polytechnic in Central Otago, EIT in the Hawkes Bay, WITT in Taranaki, Te Tai Poutini on the West Coast, Wintec in Taumaranui, and the Open Polytechnic across the country.

“Local economies will also benefit from these new Trades Academies, as businesses will now have more young people with better skills ready to enter the workplace,” said Mrs Tolley.

“By 2014, 12,500 places will be available for 16 and 17 year olds in Trades Academies, Service Academies and the wider Youth Guarantee.”

Ministry of Education statistics show the average surplus as a percentage of revenue at public tertiary education providers climbing dramatically from 1.9 percent in 2006 to 5.2 percent last year.

In 2006 public tertiary education providers made a combined surplus of $66 million on revenue of $3.5 billion. Last year the same institutions made a combined surplus of $280 million on revenue of $4.4 billion.

Public tertiary institutions are supposed to meet a benchmark surplus of 3 percent of revenue each year. By exceeding that benchmark by a further 2.2 percent last year the institutions pocketed nearly $100 million dollars more than they were required to.

The large surplus last year does not seem to be a one off aberration according to TEU National Secretary Sharn Riggs. “They have grown steadily each year since 2006.”

The public institutions that have generated the largest surpluses as percentages of revenue include Waiariki (16 percent) Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and SIT (13 percent each), WITT and UCOL (12 percent each), the Open Polytechnic, CPIT and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (11 percent each).

“While we commend these institutions on careful and prudent management, we need to remember that surplus money is money that could have been spend saving jobs, teaching students and protecting quality education,” said Ms Riggs. “Too many good people have lost their jobs, gone without pay rises or been told to turn away students because of tight fiscal circumstances. It is galling to see that those circumstances were not so tight after all.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week

1. Negotiations across the nation
2. Voluntary student membership unlikely before election
3. Sleepover workers reject government offer

Other news

“Wanted: casual teaching staff. Postgraduate qualifications essential, PhD preferred. Minimum three hours work per paid hour; hours to be advised. No office provided. Three months work available; chance of more next year, after four months unpaid break.” Doesn’t sound very enticing, does it? But such is the lot of the sessional tutor — 70,000 in Australia, the NTEU estimates - The Melbourne Age

Two-thirds of English universities will have a maximum fee level of £9,000 and a third of them will charge the full fee for all courses. UCU said today that it was not surprised that all universities’ tuition fee hikes had been approved, leaving England as the most expensive country to study for a public degree – University and College Union

Almost a quarter of Australia’s universities expect to be over-enrolled by more than 20 per cent this year. And more than two-thirds of institutions began the year planning to take on extra students without any federal teaching subsidy to offset the cost. Australian universities are jockeying for position in next year’s demand-driven market. From next year, universities are promised teaching subsidies for every place they can fill – The Australian

Welsh ministers have been handed proposals for cutting the number of universities through mergers. A blueprint from the body that funds higher education would cut the number of universities in Wales from 11 to six. Education Minister Leighton Andrews, who last year said universities must “adapt or die”, is backing the proposals - BBC

—

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.

M.Waitoa@ucol.ac.nz

  Secretary Junette Ward (Wg)
Ext 63893
021 250 4013
J.Ward2@ucol.ac.nz Women’s Rep Lorna Johnson (PN)
Ext 70832
021 246 0668
L.Johnson@ucol.ac.nz Māori Rep Katarina Hina (Wg)
Ext 60759
029 389 0610

K.Hina@ucol.ac.nz Palmerston North Collen DeVore
Ext 70475
C.DeVore@ucol.ac.nz Morag CunninghamExt 70014

0210617073

m.cunningham@ucol.ac.nz Andy Halewood
Ext 70055
021 381 661
AHalewood@ucol.ac.nz Adele Wilson (staff council rep)
Ext 70619
021 372 125
A.Wilson@ucol.ac.nz Wanganui Blaise Graves
Ext 60893
B.Graves@ucol.ac.nz Joe Hodge
Ext 61582
027 280 6747
J.Hodge@ucol.ac.nz Lesley Baylis

Ext 60726

021 190 2077

L.baylis@ucol.ac.nz

Brian Tuck

Ext 62048

B.Tuck@ucol.ac.nz Wairarapa Gary Esler
Ext 72048
027 768 5201
G.Esler@ucol.ac.nz Deborah Rolson
Ext 72030
D.Rolston@ucol.ac.nz Trish Morison
Ext 72031
T.Morrison@ucol.ac.nz

Polytechnics and one wānanga were big losers in this year’s Government’s Student Achievement Component (SAC) funding for the tertiary education sector.

Figures released last year from the Tertiary Education Commission show that eight polytechnics will receive less SAC money this year than last. The figures reveal that Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, UCOL, NMIT, Northtec, SIT, WITT, Waiāriki and Te Tai Poutini all receive funding cuts this year. Te Wānanga o Raukawa also lost a million dollars of funding this year.

Universities on the whole did better, with a $56 million, or 5 percent increase in SAC funding – although $10 million of that relates to funding that last year went to Telford Rural Polytechnic and this year is moved into Lincoln University’s budget due to a merger of the two institutions.

Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) were the hardest hit by the commission’s funding announcement with 31 of 37 receiving funding cuts. Overall ITOs lost $28 million of funding.

The polytechnics and wānanga that are the worst hit by funding cuts are all outside the major urban cities.  Waiāriki Institute of Technology, for instance, faces a 6 percent reduction in its SAC grant this year.  That is $1.5 million, or over $400 for every equivalent full time student.

Overall, the total funding increase to the SAC grant (2 percent) does not quite match the 2.2 percent price increase that the commission says is included in its calculations – in other words there is an overall funding cut for the institutions, which is particularly given the significant roll growth that tertiary institutions are experiencing.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. PM claims better results for less money
2. Will new trade agreement let foreign universities sue NZ?
3. Education International’s first global women’s conference
4. Early childhood cuts won’t heal

Other news

Professor Harlene Hayne has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of the University of Otago and becomes the second woman vice-chancellor of a New Zealand university, following Judith Kinnear who left Massey in 2009. TEU’s Otago university branch welcomed Dr Hayne and looks forward to working constructively with her.

The number of Equivalent Full Time Students aged 18 – 25 years engaged in formal tertiary study increased by 15,648 (13.5%) between 2008 and 2010 – TVNZ

The Labour Party has announced a new Tertiary Education spokesperson, Darren Hughes, will replace Grant Robertson. Mr Hughes takes on the entire Education portfolio including tertiary and compulsory education – Labour Party

“I take issue with an underlying assumption in the report that academics and institutions aren’t very good at career planning. Academics work with their institutions to set out clear career plans – the problem is the rules of progression and attainment for academics are being set by managerial approaches to tertiary education, which have been in continual flux for more than two decades” – Sandra Grey

Dame Margaret Clark, who has worked at Victoria University for more than three decades, says it is not the lifestyle choice it used to be. “I think the future is a lot tougher than my past was. I think that universities were much more gentlemanly, much more relaxed, much less judgemental,” she said. The pressure has also increased in her department, where student teacher ratios are 1:47, when they should be 1:15 – TVNZ

The Government is cutting support for teaching in higher education by 80 per cent, and forcing universities to charge up to £9,000 per year. With the median wage in the UK at £22,000, the majority of the UK population will be unable to pay some of the highest fees in the world –Open letter from academics in the Time Educational Supplement

The Dutch coalition government has announced cuts of up to EUR500 million (US$681 million) a year for higher education, penalties for students and universities if they fail to complete their degree after four years, and the abolition of grants for masters students. University rectors and the mayors of university cities warned that the cuts would “push the Netherlands out of the world’s top 10 knowledge economies” – University World News

—

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.

TEU Office, on the Massey Turitea campus.Monday 13 December, from 4.15 onwardsDrinks and nibbles provided

TEU national women’s officer will speak briefly on Pay and Employment Equity.

TEU is the small building with no number on the attached map at E7, located between D7 No. 1, 2 (HR) & D7 No. 3 Geoffrey Peren Building.  In front of the Geoffrey Peren Building is a staff car park and to the side of the barrier arm is the sign for the office and steps leading down to it.

Friday 5^th of November saw the team return to the bargaining table on your behalf.  We tabled the member response from the 4 feedback meetings and e-mails and were given further information by UCOL management related to the financial situation and pressures from TEC and government.  By the end of the day the UCOL offer was unchanged and no settlement appeared insight.  Following further communication and a mutual desire to progress the negotiations, informal mediation is planned in Wellington on TUESDAY 23^rd Nov.  Your team will be doing its best to achieve an acceptable offer to bring back to members before everyone goes on leave so watch your e-mails!

Read the full newsletter and attachment here.

Branch AGM

This was held on 10 August by video conference and 27 members attended across the 3 campuses. The new branch office holders and executive committee are:

A summary of events and issues 2009-2010

• The impact and effects of the restructuring & redundancies that occurred in 2009.
• High numbers of fixed term rather than permanent appointments.
• Issues related to inadequate staffing as a result of the employer’s unwillingness to reappoint or the continuous delays in the appointment process. (A recurring issue noted in previous years).
• We have gained 18 new members (after losing too many in the restructuring)
• Our current membership is 210, down a little from last year.
• The Branch had representation on the REM process, in an observer role.
• Representation on health & safety, strategic health & safety & staff council
• Consultation on HR policies & procedures & good working relationship with HR.
• We have challenged UCOL consistently about fixed-term appointment processes and have had several successful outcomes for members.
• We continue to support individual members on employment matters.
• Advocate for retirement settlements (3 members).

We have had a number of successful functions

1. Welcome BBQ – attended by TEU president Tom Ryan
2. General Staff Day – appreciating general staff.
3. Red Bag Day
4. International Women’s Day – bread & roses
5. Workshops : -‘Know your collective ‘
6. ‘Managing your manager’ workshop (run in Whanganui – will be offered on other campuses.

Commencing September

• Negotiations on the collective employment agreement

Coming soon:

• Site parties to meet the exec team for each site
• PN & Wairarapa – Workshop – ‘Managing your manager’

Thanks to Ako Aotearoa for the photo

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs says it seems irregular that the minister of tertiary education, Steven Joyce, would openly suggest that Wanganui Council sever the links between its Glass School and UCOL so that it could be run as private business, or PTE. Ms Riggs says it is also astonishing that the minister has, according to the Dominion Post, offered to “lean” on the Tertiary Education Commission to make sure it held talks with UCOL about reallocating funding.

“If the news reports are true I think the minister has overstepped the mark,” said Ms Riggs. “The minister should be protecting and improving our public education system not telling local mayors to privatise parts of it.”

Wanganui mayor Michael Laws told the Dominion Post that the council-owned Glass School’s growth and viability is being stifled by the government funding cap on student numbers. He is arguing that UCOL, which runs the school on behalf of the council, reallocate internal funding to increase the Glass School’s number of government-funded places from 24 to 40.

Mr Laws and other Wanganui councillors asked Mr Joyce to lobby UCOL on their behalf.

The glass school was the only one of its kind in the country and was vital to Whanganui’s desire to be known as a centre of excellence for artistry, Mr Laws told Mr Joyce.

“The Wanganui Glass School is a unique part of Wanganui and of New Zealand” said Ms Riggs. “But that does not mean that the minister should be interfering in how the commission or local polytechnics allocate funding.  And he certainly should not be using this as an opportunity to privatise a part of our public education system.”

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. PBRF to favour business research
2. New qualifications framework launched
3. Massey and Canterbury redundancies hurting universities
4. Initiative to help carers keep their jobs

Other news

In bargaining news the ITP MECA ballot closes this afternoon.  We will have the results on the TEU website as soon as they are to hand.  TEU has also initiated for individual site bargaining at most universities around the country.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce is not worried by the 30 percent increase in student allowance costs this year but he expected demand for the allowance to gradually decrease over the next few years. “It’s a balancing act because student numbers do tend to go up in a recession, but it’s not something the Government is worried about. Our main focus is the academic benefits,” he said – Dominion Post

A member of the Zimbabwe Universities Lecturers Association says that that education needs to be urgently addressed. “For the past two years, some universities including the biggest, University of Zimbabwe, have failed to open on the scheduled times for a number of times. Three quarters of the qualified staff has gone for greener pastures and students do not have decent accommodation.” – The Zimbabwean

Staff at Melbourne’s Victoria University are locked in a bitter dispute with management over pay rises, with the university moving to dock the wages of academics participating in union work bans. The National Tertiary Education Union says university management have told staff that a pay increase cannot be afforded this year – The Age

The frontier in the battle to defeat student cheating may be here at the testing center of the University of Central Florida. No gum is allowed during an exam: chewing could disguise a student’s speaking into a hands-free cellphone to an accomplice outside – Chronicle of Higher Education

The Australian Qualifications Framework council has rejected the University of Melbourne’s plans to badge some new masters-level degrees as doctorates. The council argues that the new professional degrees in health will diminish their status. The stand-off between Melbourne and the AQF has triggered a sector-wide debate about the integrity of academic titles – The Australian

The Scientist magazine names its top US and international universities at which to be an academic. Sadly none of them are in New Zealand.

Mr Harawira used his question in parliament yesterday to find out if those assets are able to be retained as part of the redress options for Treaty of Waitangi settlement claims for iwi.

In response Mr Joyce identified that the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) and Massey University have both identified surplus Crown assets and are going through a disposal process that includes consultation with iwi. Labour’s tertiary education spokesperson Maryan Street later suggested that the current Te Tau Ihu Treaty settlement negotiations may also impact upon land and properties currently occupied by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Mr Joyce said that if a tertiary institution wants to dispose of surplus land that is in Crown title, then Māori interests in that land are considered through the existing processes.

“These processes are managed by the Office of Treaty Settlements and are unchanged by the new policy regarding Crown assets in the tertiary sector. If a tertiary education institution wants to dispose of surplus land that it owns, it does not need to go through these processes, but it must honour any right of first refusal on the title of the land.”

However Mr Harawira was concerned that Cabinet had recently agreed to a plan “to make it easier for tertiary institutions to sell their Crown-owned assets” and wanted to know what consultation has been undertaken between the Crown and iwi over that plan.

The policy Mr Harawira was referring to was announced last month by the Tertiary Education Commission and enables tertiary institutions to acquire or sell Crown assets. However, if such an asset is currently being considered for inclusion in a Treaty of Waitangi settlement the Ministers might instead decide to lease the asset to the institute until all Treaty claims in the area are settled. This would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Thanks to Br3nda @ Flickr for the photo