A new normal beds in for universities
Students aren't returning to lectures on campus, enrolments continue to decline, employment in the sector remains precarious and the financials are grim. Just how much trouble are universities in?
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, March 1, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Rob Campbell calls his sacking an overreaction; Reserve Bank would support Commerce Commission inquiry into bank profits; renters or homeowner - who is better off?; but first, the myriad challenges facing our universities
Online lectures the “new normal”
It’s been three years since Covid first arrived in New Zealand and one aspect of life looks like it has changed quite permanently as a “new normal” beds in. As Aucklanders brace themselves for “March madness” on the roads, a phenomenon partially attributed to the return of students to the city’s tertiary education campuses, RNZ’s John Gerritsen reports that students aren’t actually returning to lecture halls on campus. Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president Jessica Ye said universities were misguided if they thought students would flock to lectures just because Covid restrictions had changed. Ye describes traditional lectures as “an incredibly passive learning experience” that’s “almost best served” by watching recorded lectures online.
The complex realities of student life
Last year, 3,000 students at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington signed a petition asking the university to make access to lecture recordings universal. The Spinoff’s Shanti Mathias reported on it at the time. The need to work to pay bills, illness, disability and family responsibilities were cited as reasons why students want the flexibility online lectures afford. Lecturers describe the emptier lecture halls as demoralising and universities are actively encouraging students to return to campus. There are a lot of reasons to want to maintain a thriving, busy campus, but one of them is financial.
University enrolment figures are continuing to decline
Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington reported a $15.7m deficit for last year and new vice-chancellor Nic Smith says that if students don’t come to the university and be physically present on campus, the university’s losses could grow. Smith describes this year’s lower-than-anticipated student enrolment figures as “confronting”. Auckland University of Technology recently ditched its plans for redundancies after losing a legal challenge and jobs for affected staff have been guaranteed for at least six months. Declining attendance was originally cited as one of the reasons for the redundancies. Unless current trends are miraculously bucked, it’s hard to see how the current environment of precarity for those who work in the sector will stabilise. University of Auckland staff will strike today for 23 hours from 12.30pm with progress on collective agreement negotiations described by the Tertiary Education Union as “slow”.
“Make no mistake, universities are in trouble”
The passivity of the more traditional tertiary education experience is also cited in discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the sector. It’s another issue Shanti Mathias has covered for The Spinoff recently. “If AI can perform the same basic synthesis that university students are assessed on, then what value does the learning they’re being assessed on provide?” she asks. Former minister of education Steve Maharey is pretty blunt in a recent assessment of the future of universities, with a particular focus on financial sustainability. Headlined “Adapt or wither”, Maharey writes “Make no mistake, universities are in trouble.”
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Te Whatu Ora chair sacked
Last night, chair of Te Whatu Ora, Rob Campbell was sacked. Health minister Ayesha Verrall confirmed she no longer had confidence in Campbell to fulfil his position after his LinkedIn post criticising National’s water plan. “I have decided to exercise my power under section 36 of the Crown Entities Act to remove him from this role, effective immediately,” she said. Campbell described it as an overreaction to RNZ. This morning, there’s a bit of split on how this plays for the government. Stuff’s Luke Malpass describes it as good for Labour — an example of decisive action in an election year. RNZ’s Craig McCulloch writes that it’s becoming a larger headache for the government as it faces calls to punish Campbell further and claims it has overreacted.
Reserve Bank supports probe of banking profits
Newsroom’s Jono Milne reports that the Reserve Bank’s chief economist Paul Conway supports a market study on the banking sector. "I think the banking sector would be an appropriate focus for a market study, should the government wish to go there," he said. As Milne explains, market studies are a new tool the government has directed the Commerce Commission to use. So far they’ve exercised the tool three times to investigate petrol prices, supermarkets and currently, building supplies. New commerce minister Duncan Webb said no decisions have yet been made about the focus of the next market study. "However, I am focused on using the tool to ensure markets operate fairly for consumers," he said.
Renters or homeowners? Who is better off now?
As Stuff’s Susan Edmunds reports, economist Shamubeel Eaqub has compared the financial situation for renting and owning, and found nationwide renters were $311 a week better off. In Auckland, they were $452 a week ahead. In Wellington, it was $292 and in Canterbury, $228. Rising interest rates have added cost to home ownership. Chief forecaster at Infometrics Gareth Kiernan says renting is the better option at present. Eaqub does point out two key factors when weighing it up. Renters don’t have security over the length of their tenancies or the rate at which rents go up and homeowners acquire equity over the long term, so unless renters are also saving and investing, they could end up worse-off.
Click and collect
Housing market downturn continues
More than 14,000 people report feeling a quake near Picton last night
Vanuatu battens down the hatches ahead of Cyclone Judy’s arrival
Man who used road cones to divert traffic away from a police drink-driving checkpoint says he was “just trying to help a few people out”
Last week reports suggested that many Auckland’s beaches were all good for swimming but 19 still remain off limits
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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Sporting snippets
I have always maintained that nothing compares to cricket fans reacting to a momentous match. Here’s how UK cricket writers reacted to “one of the most incredible test matches of all time” and yesterday’s Black Caps victory
“Two excellent teams. Two quality coaches. All that’s needed now is three fair referees, and we should have ourselves a heck of a series” — Stuff’s Marc Hinton on the NBL grand final ahead of the first game between the Breakers and the Sydney Kings on Friday
As someone who went to university in the 70s I agree with the summation of lectures as an incredibly passive way to learn. If after a particularly hectic weekend you were too hungover to make lectures on Monday morning you simply borrowed someone else's notes. These were probably less than good.
My degree was in engineering so there were practical demonstrations to see. This is not easy in a lecture theatre with perhaps 100 other students and no video link on a screen.
I found my best learning was at the weekly group meetings with a professor and perhaps ten other students. The idea was that the group discussed things to do with whatever they were meant to be learning. I eventually went into education myself and experience tells me that those professors probably got a few good ideas from their students to help with their own research.
The idea of a lecture theatre is largely a hang over from the middle ages when there was no internet, and paper was expensive. It is also partially a hangover of universities being dominated by one church or another and lectures were sermons as much as anything.
A major source of learning these days is Youtube. The quality and veracity is variable but the principle is good.
My suggestion for the way forward is as follows.
Aotearoa has need for expertise in many areas. The universities can maintain their role in degree level courses but also diversify into other areas. The courses can be run mainly online with hubs set up in secondary schools in provintial towns or similar institutions where students can meet face to face without the expense of living close to campus. They could do this with a video link to lecturers and professors to give guidance with problems. The technology is already there.
There would be an obvious overseas market that could be tapped into here as well.
Universities are meant to be places of innovation and original thought but too much they are bound by the strait jacket of the past.