From changes to the curriculum to getting Transitional University status or by making the financial case for energy savings, we share the best bits from our sustainability live chat, reports the Guardian UK. 1. Weave sustainability into the curriculum and get students involved: Refurbishment and carbon management will bring about efficiency of resource use and cost savings, but can only take you so far. It is the engagement of your students and staff that will bring about long term improvements…
…Read MorePodcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
Assessing the impact of higher education reforms on student choice
The government’s white paper: “Students at the Heart of the System” is now almost three months old. The consultation has closed, but work continues to assess the impact of its core proposals on student numbers, the Guardian UK reports. These were two: to allow universities to recruit students with entry qualifications at AAB and above [AAB+] without restraint, and to redistribute a “flexible margin” of 20,000 places, top-sliced from all institutions, to those universities with an average net fee no higher than £7,500. Recruitment at ABB and below remains controlled. A more accurate title for the white paper might have been “Student Choice at the Heart of System.”
…Read MoreManaging a university PR disaster
A story by the Education Guardian last week covered the campaign launched against University of the Arts London (UAL) to retract an honorary degree bestowed upon a certain ex-News of the World editor, reports the Guardian UK. Academia has found itself in a series of sticky public relations situations in recent months; in March the London School of Economics was embroiled in a full blown media crisis over its links with Libya and a fortnight ago the University of Wales was criticized for controversial overseas partnerships. It prompts questions over how such PR challenges should be handled…
…Read MoreAcademic shock: Thoughts on teaching international students
It can be a little unsettling for staff faced with a room of international students and–given the cuts to teaching budgets–probably even less time to devote to them, reports the Guardian UK. Questions arise in the lecturer’s mind: Will they be able to cope with the course? What will they have studied before? Is it going to take me extra time to teach them?
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