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Purpose – Teaching and unit evaluations surveys are used to assess the quality of teaching and the quality of the unit of study. An analysis of teaching and unit evaluation survey practices in Australian universities suggests significant changes. One key change discussed in the paper is the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of surveys with the results used to assess and reward academic staff performance. The change in the direction is largely driven by the introduction of performance-based funding as part of quality assurance arrangements. The paper aims to outline the current trends and changes and the implications in the future such as increased scrutiny of teaching and intrusion to academic autonomy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of current teaching and unit evaluation practices across the Australian university sector. The paper presents the case of an Australian university that has introduced performance-based reward using various measures to assess and reward academic staff such as the outcome of student satisfaction surveys. The analysis of external quality audit findings related to teacher and unit evaluations is also presented. Findings – The findings suggest a shift in trend from the use of voluntary to mandatory tools to assess and reward quality teaching. The case of an Australian university outlined in the paper and the approach taken by seven other universities is largely driven by performance-based funding. One of the key concerns for many in higher education is the intrusion of academic autonomy with increased focus on outcomes and less emphasis on resources needed to produce excellence in learning and teaching and research. The increased reliance on student happiness as a measure of educational quality raises the questions on whether high student satisfaction would strengthen academic rigour and student attainment of learning outcomes and generic skills which are seen as key factors in graduate exit standards. Practical implications – The renewal of quality assurance and performance-based funding using student satisfaction as a measure of educational quality will result in increased use of student voice to assess learning and teaching outcomes. Such direction will increase the accountability on academics to improve student experience and the measures will be used to assess academic staff performance. Originality/value – The paper outlines the trends and changes in the teacher and unit evaluations in Australian universities and its implications in the future. The paper also provides a case of an Australian university that has recently made teacher and unit evaluations compulsory with the results used in academic staff annual performance review and linking reward with performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the diverse rendering of the idea of nation and the role of universities in nation-building in the 1950s Murray and Hughes Parry Reports in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. This paper provides trans-Tasman comparisons that reflect the different national and international interests, positioning of science and the humanities and desired academic and student subject positions and power relations. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a Foucauldian genealogical approach that is informed by Wodak’s (2011) historical discourse analysis in order to analyse the reports’ discursive constructions of the national role of universities, the positioning of science and humanities and the development of desired academics and student subjectivities and power relations. Findings – The analysis reveals the different positioning of Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand in relation to the Empire and the Cold War. It also demonstrates how Australian national interests were represented in these reports as largely economic and defence related, while Aotearoa/New Zealand national interests were about economic, social and cultural nation-building. These differences were also matched by diverse weightings attached to university science and the humanities education. There is also a hailing of traditional, enlightenment-inspired discourses about desired academic and student subjectivities and power relations in Australia that contrasts with the emergence of early traces of more contemporary discourses about equity and diversity in universities in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the value of transnational analysis in contributing to historiography about university education. The Foucauldian discourse analysis approach extends existing Australian historiography about universities during this period and represents a key contribution to Aotearoa/New Zealand historiography that has explored academic and student subjectivities to a lesser extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the arrival of Colombo Plan Scholars in New Zealand and consider ways in which their experience helped to bridge distances between "east and west", as well as to create connections that traversed geographical and cultural boundaries. Design/methodology/approach -- It draws on contemporary newspaper articles to ascertain how public talk about the Colombo Plan programme shaped initial engagements between New Zealand and the scholarship holders. The paper then analyses archival files from the Department of External Affairs to present an overview of the university courses undertaken by Colombo plan scholars. The final section of the paper draws on oral and archival sources to examine individual encounters between former Colombo Plan scholars and New Zealanders. Findings -- The paper argues that while the public aims of the Colombo Plan focused on the containment of communism and the development of post-colonial connections in the South East Asian region, individual encounters between Colombo Plan scholars and New Zealanders played a role in changing social attitudes in what had been a deeply mono-cultural society. Originality/value -- The paper draws on previously unpublished archival and documentary evidence and oral sources to examine a unique aspect of the history of international education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to analyse non-indigenous student resistance to indigenous history and to improve non-indigenous students' engagement with indigenous history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Australia has enjoyed two decades of growth in international student enrolments. This phenomenon, combined with the evolution of quality assurance policy frameworks, has stimulated interest in the social and academic experiences of international students and their educational outcomes. The Australian Universities Quality Agency's (AUQA) second round of quality audits assessed and reported on the performance of Australian universities in the area of "internationalisation". AUQA findings and recommendations for required action send powerful messages to guide university priorities, practices and strategies in pursuit of quality enhancement in relation to student engagement. This paper seeks to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a thematic analysis approach to explore "internationalisation" in 14 AUQA audit reports published between 2006 and 2010. Findings – This paper identifies three key areas arising from AUQA audit reports that form a basis for discussion in this paper. These areas are: the social and academic engagement of both international and local students, and matters relating to English language standards and support. Observations arising from AUQA university reports direct attention to examples of initiatives that appear to be enriching the quality of the student engagement and indicate where further development may be required. Practical implications – In seeking strategies for enhanced student experience, AUQA supports collaboration across universities in devising models for identifying student needs and creating mechanisms that bring about quality student experience, engagement and language outcomes. This analysis of the reports will likely assist those stakeholders working in universities who wish to identify successful approaches to promote the engagement of international students and refine existing useful and positive strategies in implementing and developing ideas in their own individual university contexts. Originality/value – Analysis of the substantial text of AUQA reports have been underexploited by researchers to date. This paper is likely to be of interest to those stakeholders of international education in universities, not only in Australia but in other national contexts where international students are significantly represented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that Australia’s first two universities were connected to class status. It challenges the idea that these universities extended the “educational franchise” at their outset, by interrogating the characteristics of the student population in comparison with the characteristics of the population in the colonies. It looks at the curricula within the university system to show it is always “interested”, never neutral – it may be unique to the social, cultural, political and economic location of each university, but ultimately it benefits those who hold power in these locations. Design/methodology/approach – This research involves empirical analysis of characteristics of university students in Australia in the 1850s, including country of birth, religion, age, previous education and fathers’ occupation, as well as population demographics from the censuses that took place in the colonies of NSW and Victoria at that time. It also involves an analysis of the sociology of knowledge in nineteenth century Australian universities in light of this empirical data. Findings – Socio-political influences on the establishment of the first universities in Australia highlight the power of conferring legitimacy to particular areas of knowledge and to whom this knowledge was made available. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to using the student data for the first three years of enrolment because in order to make comparisons between the student population and the population of the colonies, the student data needed to be from a time as close to the population census as possible. The Sydney census was in 1851, so student data from the University of Sydney was 1852-1854. The Melbourne census was in 1854, so student data from the University of Melbourne was 1855-1857. Originality/value – Australian historiography suggests that early universities in Australia were open to all, regardless of background. This paper challenges this orthodoxy through empirical findings and theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of renewal undertaken in a large undergraduate financial reporting subject. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken in the subject is one in which student engagement is critical. Selected quantitative and qualitative data from university course and student feedback surveys were used to assess the effectiveness of the renewal process. Findings – The renewal process led to increased student engagement, and influenced student learning by demonstrating the relevance of financial reporting regulation. Feedback was also positive in relation to the level of resources, especially technological, provided in the subject. Originality/value – Engaging with students is a critical task in any subject, but especially in a technical accounting subject, as students may not necessarily see the value in the content. This article reveals possibilities for academics to engage with their students and for their students to engage with the subject material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — This paper aims to explore the ways in which recent ‘managerial’ changes in Australian universities affect academics' experiences of their working lives; and the significance of time and space in academics' resistance to managerialism. Design/methodology/approach — This paper draws on interviews with 27 academics from eight Australian universities, in which they explored their experiences of managerialism. The analysis reported here focuses on academics' experiences of time and space in the managerial university. A Foucauldian approach to power and resistance underpins the overall research approach employed in this study. Findings — The paper finds that academics in this study argued that managerial practices in their universities imposed significant time-burdens in already full workloads. However, many of them also employed time and space — often in highly creative way — in resisting these same practices. Much of this resistance involves academics ‘fiddling’ time and space from themselves in order to fulfil their obligations as teachers and research. Such resistance has implications for further academic demoralisation and burnout. Originality/value — While other studies have acknowledged academics' opposition to managerialism in their universities, this study focus specifically on the ways in which this opposition is enacted in resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying motivations of Australian and international students for studying accounting and entering the accounting profession. Design/methodology/approach – The study reports results from a cohort of second-year accounting students drawing on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to assess intentions and behaviours in making decisions, particularly in relation to employment choice. The study utilises a validated attitude to accounting scale (AAS) which measures how the accounting profession is viewed by students generally, and more specifically, differences in attitudes towards accounting and the accounting profession between Australian and international students. Findings – The study finds that students have a positive attitude towards accounting as a profession. However, there are significant differences between Australian and international students' levels of interest in accounting and attitudes towards the work of accountants. Research limitations/implications – It is recognised that the differences in attitudes towards accounting between Australian and international students may be linked with motivations to pursue accounting based on personal, cultural and social influences. A limitation of the study is that international students are treated as a homogeneous group. Practical implications – The findings of the study have implications for marketing accounting education internationally; in particular, acknowledging the impact of different attitudes towards accounting by international students. Originality/value – The study not only addresses motivation to study accounting but also attitudes towards the accounting profession. By applying the TRA, the study has identified that government policy may influence motivation of international students towards accounting and the accounting profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the determinants of taking out government-funded student loans for university study in Australia. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of the various factors which affect students' decisions on funding their tertiary study using student loans or through other means. Findings - The study finds that the probability of taking out student loans for the full cost of university is largely influenced by students' socioeconomic status. Other major influences on this decision include students' demographic and university enrolment characteristics. Research limitations/implications - A limitation of the work is that only a neighbourhood (rather than an individual-level) measure of socioeconomic status was available, and future research should seek to address this. Practical implications - The research shows that the parameters of loan schemes do not seem to be able to over-ride the influence that family background has on loan taking behaviour. That is, poor students use loans regardless of the parameters of the loans scheme in order to overcome short-term credit constraints. In other words, these student loan schemes channel funds to those without other means of funding their higher education. Originality/value - By showing the impact that income contingent provisions have on loan taking behaviour, the paper informs policy makers of potential impacts from modifying loans schemes to reflect this characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Despite the increasing attention of organizational commitment in the management literature, most studies predominantly focus on full-time workers in traditional work settings. This paper examined the antecedents of organizational commitment among casual academics working in the tertiary education sector in Australia. Design/methodology/approach -- A questionnaire survey was developed and distributed to casual academics working in a large Australian public university. Findings -- Analysis of the data shows that personal characteristics (gender, marital status, family responsibilities and education), job-related characteristics (supervisor support, co-worker support, role clarity and resource availability) and job involvement characteristics (tenure, second job and post-graduate study at the employing university) all impact on organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications -- Australian tertiary institutions are prominent employers of casual workers, however, very little is known about the work behavior of this group of academics. The results of this study highlight important directions for implementing strategies to increase casual academic's organizational commitment. Organization commitment is important because it is known association with other important organizational variables such as turnover, absenteeism and work effort. Originality/value -- Given the increasing reliance on casual academics in tertiary institutions, this study provides the first step in better understanding the factors that affect the organization commitment of casual academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - In this paper teaching excellence awards are evaluated, with an eye to improving them. Design/methodology/approach - Literature is reviewed and an analytic framework developed in Canada is modified to apply to the University of Sydney's Vice Chancellor Outstanding Teaching Award. Data come from 60 respondents familiar with the Sydney award and web research on the Australian Group of Eight research-intensive universities. Findings - Among the conclusions reached are that the Sydney award is supported even by those who have been unsuccessful in applying for it, that awards alone do not make teaching the equal to research in a university that identifies itself as a research university, awards that integrate into the university's strategic direction are powerful, and that awards that have a continuing profile ease that integration. Research limitations/implications - Along the way, several contentious points are discussed including the relationship of awards to promotion and the importance of pedagogic awareness of the reflective practitioner in picking out outstanding teachers who can articulate their approach to benefit others and to integrate with the larger purposes of the university beyond their own classroom. Originality/value - Some practical means to enhance the impact of teaching awards are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent writings have demonstrated how accounting provides a facilitating or conflict resolving role in organisations and society. However, some studies have argued that conflict creating and conflict-enhancing roles of accounting are equally prominent and in some cases may overshadow accounting's facilitating roles. This paper provides evidence supporting the latter thesis within an enterprise bargaining context. Using the University of New England, as a case study, the paper highlights how opposing parties engage similar accounting technologies to support their positions in the bargaining process. The paper draws on the 1992 union heterogeneity and employer equivocality model of Amernic and Craig to argue that the perceived facilitating roles of accounting not only disappear, but accounting also becomes largely obstructive in reaching a settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than a decade after Australian universities first responded to the requirements of the EEO/AA legislative framework, women remain marginalised and seriously under- represented in Australian universities. This paper provides a snapshot of the current status of women’s participation in the senior levels of universities and examines some of the reasons why universities are still providing a “chilly climate” for women and other minority actors. It is argued that Australian universities can no longer afford to frustrate, alienate and marginalise some of their most creative organisational actors when they are facing a new era of rapid change and competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – In the context of universities implementing education for sustainability (EfS), the aim of the research presented here is to review the extent to which capabilities related to sustainability are represented by the capabilities generally sought by employers, and to determine whether these are incorporated in the graduate capability statements of Australian universities. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the discussion of graduate capabilities and those associated with sustainability, a web-based survey of university graduate attribute statements was undertaken. Findings – Generally, Australian universities have established frameworks of graduate capabilities that relate to the broad needs of employers. Of eight capabilities listed as important by employers, six were identified at some two-thirds of universities. Just under half of the universities' statements contained references to sustainability, while all the literature derived sustainability capabilities, except for “systems/holistic thinking”, are represented to some degree. Those most strongly represented included understanding of social justice and equity; skills in communication and cooperation; and having commitment to social justice and equity. Practical implications – Apparently, in Australian universities, the framework for the development of sustainability capabilities is broadly in place, but not all have sustainability capabilities in place. This framework supports the implementation of EfS, but without development of pedagogy to underlie implementation, the authors have little insight about the extent of implementation, and whether graduates leave with sustainability capabilities. Originality/value – Uniquely this research identifies the extent to which Australian universities are providing direction in the development of capabilities related to the requirements of employers, and for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]