Impact Evaluation for Equity workshop

This morning I attended the Impact Evaluation for Equity workshop for Canberra universities, hosted at the Australian National University. This was organized by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES). Dr Patricia Vermillion Peirce (ACSES Trials Lead) provided enthusiastic and knowledgeable will facilitation. The idea is to help with evaluation of equity practices at universities. Governments and universities spend a lot of time and money providing programs to disadvantaged groups of students, but do these programs actually work and could they be done better? This is the aim of evaluation. 

As a student of education, I was required to study evaluation techniques, but Patricia covered many more approaches I was not familiar with. One aspect which troubles me with equity issues is where universities are not implementing good teaching practices and need to make up for this with programs for students who are discriminated against as a result. If universites used the type of online, competency based, flexible, nested, RPLed and other techniques which are routine in vocational institutions, then much of the equity programs would not be required. 

In some cases universities simply need to implement what is required by law. As an example it if very simple for universities to provided closed captions on video material. As a result the law requires universities to do this. However, so cliam (falsely) that students have to request this.

McCusker Institute on ‘Shared Prosperity

Greetings from the McCusker Institute at the Australian National University in Canberra. Dr Katherine Trebeck, Economic Change Program Director at The Next Economy, is speaking on ‘Shared Prosperity: the economy we have, the one we need and what we can do to make it better’. This is at a university, so there are slides with references. But the message about the distribution of wealth. At the same time business leaders are talking to government, a few I'm away l. 

Katherine brought the issue by pointing to University of Technology Sydney referring staff being made redundant to stress relief advice. 

The solutions to some intractable problems seem so simple. We can reverse global warming with a carbon tax. Poverty can be eliminated by removing tax breaks for the rich to fund welfare. The solutions are easy but how do we incentivise to do this? 

As a retirement age person who owns the home I live in, with imputed shares and a tax free super balance, I feel guilty. I understand previous governments bribed older voters, but this has reached absurdly generous levels. Couldn't we add "average" to the tax breaks? So the average home, share dividends and super balance would get tax breaks. 

Katherine is presenting examples of companies with a social conscious. However, are these companies funding lobbyists to go to government and demand to pay more tax. 

I suggest universities can help. However, they need to also address their internal inequalities. A meritocracy doesn't have to be winner-takes-all. Only one of Australia's universities is a foreign owned for-profit company. The rest don't need to be run like a caraciture of 19th century capitalism. There are other models which combine academic traditions and social enterprise enterpurship. 

I am a member of my professional body, which employs people to get our views in front of policymakers. Many groups can't afford this, but perhaps students of politics, business and related disciplines could do this for their work experience.

Study or starve? Financial challenges of students studying in Australian and New Zealand Universities.

Greetings from "Study or starve? Financial challenges of students studying in Australian and New Zealand Universities" online from the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES). Professor Karen Charlton from the University of Wollongong, discussed a salutogenic approach, looking at what helped students, rather than just what the problems were. Research shows that disabled, international and indigenous students were at higher risk of financial insecuirty, which interfered with their study. This is of interest, as I was one of those students from a low SES background, who struggled at university.

A difficult issue is unpaid placements. Some professions, such as nursing, have a tradition of long placements being required. These placements are typically unpaid. In effect, universities are complicit in forcing students to work for free. Should universities ban free placements, in the expectation that employers would then be forced to pay the students.

I am on the Australian Computer Society board which sets accreditation requirements for computing degrees. The students can do project work, as an alternative to placements. This helps with international students in Canberra, who have difficulty getting a placement, paid or unpaid, due to security constraints. Perhaps other professions should be doing this.

One option which could help students would be to encourage them to commence their studies at TAFE. They could undertake a short qualification to get an entry level job, before considering university. Also making part time online the default option for university study. Students should not be made to feel bad if it happens they can't get to campus. 

Virtualize the Consumer Economy to Save the World?

Professor Sharon Friel

Professor Sharon Friel, chair of the  "climate change, social equity and health symposium at the ANU argues that consumption by the rich has to be reduced to combat global warming. The Professor suggests that social movements can accomplish this. However, asking rich powerful people to give up what they have has not proved successful so far. I suggest a better approach would be to redefine success and wealth. 

The Internet provides a way to virtualize wealth, decoupling it from material goods. As an example, art has very little physical substance, as does money. Marketers can label the same physical goods so they have more value for some people. We can make the wealthy continue to feel wealthy without having so much "stuff". That should make them feel better, and save the planet.

In a series of talks around the region I pointed out how this is routinely done in the automotive industry, selling versions of essentially the same car as a budget and luxury product. This can also be done in education with the same degree offered online in a low cost, low carbon emissions version, and on campus for those who can afford it. Those willing to pay for the on-campus experience will feel better about it, but receive the same learning as the online student. 

Climate change, social equity and health symposium now online

Paul Girrawah House, welcome to country,

Greetings from the "Extinction thwarted? The nexus between climate change, social equity and health" symposium at the ANU Research School of Physics theatre in Canberra. There is still time to join in free online. The symposium explores the interaction between climate change, social inequality, and disease. How do we fix that? One aspect was suggested Paul Girrawah House in his welcome to country, by learning from indigenous knowledge as part of Voice , Treaty and Truth. This was followed by the ANU Vice Chancellor, Brian Schmidt, pointing out the value of person to person learning. 

ANU Vice Chancellor, Brian Schmidt 

Student Equity Forum at UTS

Greetings from the Student Equity Forum at University of Technology, in Sydney (slides & videos are available). I signed up because it was free, and I happen to be in Sydney. But this turns out to be a big event, both in terms of the more than 100 people present, but also the weight of the topic. Professor Mary O’Kane, chair of the Australian Universities Accord Panel, will be arressing the forum. A main aim of the day is to see that equity is addressed by the Panel.

When I arrived for lunch I did not know anyone here. This is because they are equity practitioners, whereas I am an educator. I am not exactingly sure what equity practitioners are, and feeling very much the outsider. But I did write some points on the panel issues, and made a submission to the Panel, which touches on some of the issues. My preference would be to build equity into the system, much as accessibility is, rather than have it an add-on.

Agenda for the Forum

12.00 pm: Registration and networking lunch

1.15 pm: Doors open to presentation room

1.30 pm: Keynote lecture - Student equity

2.10 pm: Presentation - Sector data analysis

2.30 pm: Q&A Panel - Responding to the Universities Accord discussion paper

3.30 pm: Closing remarks

4.00 pm: Event end & afternoon tea

Energy Transformation with Social Equity

Professor Kenneth Baldwin,ANU ECI Director

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where I am taking part in a symposium on

"Social equity in the energy transformation". ANU researchers project that the crossover to more renewable than fossil fuel electricity generation will happen in Australia by 2025. The question now is not if this will happen, but how to handle the social and economic effects of this. Without action this may make social inequities much worse in Australia.

Topics:

1. Social Equity in Energy Supply
2. Social Equity in Energy Consumption
3. The Emerging Role of Energy Prosumers

ps: I am taking part as a member of the ANU Energy Change Institute and as I teach ICT Sustainability.