AUS Tertiary Update

National bargaining, tripartism back on agendaUnionmembers in New Zealand Rosetta Stone universities will begin to gear upfor this years salary round with a series of meetingsstarting next week to look at bargaining and on-goingtripartite meetings with the Government andvice-chancellors. Ballots will be conducted later this monthto determine whether to initiate bargaining for nationalmulti-employer collective agreements for academic andgeneral staff.Association of University Staff GeneralSecretary, Helen Kelly, said that the AUS Annual Conferenceand Council were recommending that union members again votein support of national bargaining, with the currentsite-based agreements in the seven universities due toexpire on 31 May. Although union members have previouslyvoted on this issue, the technical provisions of theEmployment Relations Act require that a ballot be held againthis year, she said. If the recommendation fornational bargaining is endorsed, bargaining will beinitiated in early April and bargaining is expected to beginby May. Ms Kelly said that last years salaryincreases of between 4 and 7.5 percent throughout the sectorwere made possible by a contribution of $26 million from theGovernment directly attributable to the Tripartite Forumresulting from the national bargaining framework. Thetripartite process has allowed the unions to workconstructively with the Government and vice-chancellors toaddress workplace issues within the universities, includingfunding and salaries, and last years results show that itwas positive for university staff, she said. Continuing participation will allow us to build on lastyears good results and, while funding and salaries willremain a priority, tripartism may allow other issues to beaddressed. These could include workforce development,including building skills and career opportunities,governance and ensuring that universities are working in thenational interest. Ms Kelly said that the tripartiteprocess is the most significant engagement that staff andunions have had in the direction of the New Zealanduniversity sector and that it is important to keep themomentum going. The first meeting of the TripartiteForum will be held on 15 March Also in Tertiary Updatethis week1.Decision expected on UCOL diplomacourse2.More than 300 Saudi students to come to NewZealand3.Glass walls may not increase transparency,National warns4.Students transition between schooland tertiary Rosetta Stone Chinese education 5.Fear and loathing in NorthDunedin6.US student-grant increase, but at aprice7.University to ban gay marriages oncampus8.Crisis threatens Mathematics as RMIT shedsstaff9.Tesco shoppers bag a bargain with OUDecisionexpected on UCOL diploma courseAn announcement on thefuture of the first-year intake for the localpolytechnics Diploma in Glass Design and Productioncourse is expected to be made today by the Wanganui Mayor,Michael Laws. Whanganui UCOL has come under sustainedcriticism following its surprise announcement cancelling thefirst-year intake for the three-year Diploma course onlydays before classes were due to start. UCOL says studentenrolment numbers are in single figures for 2007, making thecourse unsustainable, and that decisions were also based onenrolment tr and financial and academic viability.Itis understood that Mr Laws and the Wanganui DistrictCouncils Cultural and Community Manager, Sally Patrick,have now met with senior UCOL officials and that anagreement in principle has been reached which may save thecourse. Mr Laws said that the agreement was yet to besigned off and put to district councillors and UCOL's glassdepartment staff and students before being made public. All I ask is hold on one more day and lets see whatSanta brought, as I say to my children on Christmas Eve, he said.Earlier, the polytechnic had come undersustained criticism for cancelling the intake in what wasdescribed as an iconic course. Maori Party Co-Leader,Tariana Turia, said that it is New Zealands only tertiaryprogramme majoring in hot and warm glass, and has attractedstudents from all around the country and overseas. Thetechnologies and techniques of glass-making taught on thiscourse are a vital foundation for our glass art communitythroughout the country, she said. The consequences ofthe decision to cancel the course will have a major impacton art galleries, on the local economy, on the tourismindustry and it will also limit our ability to contribute tothe international glass scene. The late cancellation has, itappears, been made without any consultation with theinterested parties.Form the Wanganui ChronicleMorethan 300 Saudi students to come to New ZealandLastweeks announcement that more than 300 Saudi Arabianstudents would study in New Zealand under an expanded SaudiGovernment scholarship programme has received a welcomeresponse from the tertiary-education sector. TheMinister for Tertiary Education, Dr Michael Cullen, saidthat universities are expecting applications from at least350 students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levelfor the 2007 academic year. The expansion of SaudiArabias King Abdullah scholarships programme not onlyboosts export education earnings, it also strengthenscooperation and understanding between New Zealand and thecountries of the Gulf region, he said. Thescholarships could be worth more than ten million dollars ayear to the New Zealand economy, based on estimatedforeign-exchange earnings for an Rosetta Stone French international universitystudent of around $40,000 a year. The New ZealandVice-Chancellors Committee said that the influx of Saudistudents would enrich New Zealand universities, withCommittee Chair, Professor Roy Sharp, saying the initiativeis further recognition of the quality of New Zealanduniversity education.