Rebecca Attwood, Times Higher Education
Proposal is key part of plan for European ‘Magna Charta’ on scholars’ rights. Academics would be given the right to appoint their own vice-chancellors under plans for a Europe-wide definition of academic freedom.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=407578.
Andrew Trounson, The Australian Higher Education Supplement
THE federal government will tie teaching and research performance funding to negotiated compacts to encourage distinctive university missions and focus research funding among the best performers, according to two new discussion papers.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25849062-12332,00.html.
Paul Basken, Chronicle of Higher Education
A whistle-blower on doubtful HIV research has officials of the National Institutes of Health considering new ethics regulations. Many individual states are also toughening rules. And several dozen universities, pressed by Congress and embarrassed by high-profile ethical lapses among their faculty members — including professors at Harvard and Emory Universities — have recently outlined new conflict-of-interest policies, mostly focused on increased disclosure of financial ties.
Zoë Corbyn, Times Higher Education Supplement
The impact of academics’ work on the wider world could count for “at least 20 per cent” and “up to 30 per cent” of the assessment process under the forthcoming research excellence framework, one of its architects has revealed.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=407483.
Thomas Bartlett, Chronicle of Higher Education
The the University of Phoenix started in 1974, operating out of John G. Sperling’s house and has grown to have close to 400,000 students, more than 200 campuses and 26,000 faculty members, and is valued at roughly $10-billion.
Bernard Lane, The Australian Higher Education Supplement
CENTRAL Queensland University, once the most aggressive player in the degrees for visas market, is running out of cash and has little ability to withstand further blows to its high-risk business model, an official report warns.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25782678-12332,00.html.
Melanie Newman, Times Higher Education
Academics are facing attempts to silence them during election periods to ensure that their research does not pollute the political process.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=407323
Guy Healy , The Australian Higher Education Supplement
SCHOLARSHIPS worth scores of millions of dollars should be rolled into a Colombo plan mark II to recalibrate Australia’s relations with overseas students and address critical regional, environmental and security issues, a vice-chancellor says.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25747834-12332,00.html.
Edict curtailing freedom to work at home ‘appals’ staff | Rebecca Attwood | Times Higher Education | 2 July 2009
Lecturers should be on campus for community and students, university says. Lecturers have reacted with dismay to a policy requiring them to spend the full 35 hours of the working week on campus unless they obtain formal permission to work off site.
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Bernard Lane, The Australian Higher Education
THE Rudd government is considering a specialist independent body to deal with the hardest cases of scientific fraud, according to Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25714687-12332,00.html.
Higher Education in the Headlines 