ATAR Notes: Forum
Uni Stuff => General University Discussion and Queries => Topic started by: costargh on December 27, 2008, 12:35:41 am
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http://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria-uni-loses-top-scholar-20081226-75ln.html
Victoria Uni loses top scholar
A LEADING Melbourne education expert has resigned from the governing body of the embattled Victoria University, just weeks after speaking out strongly against hundreds of job cuts and campus closures at the institution.
Professor Richard Teese, a member of the university's governing council, publicly criticised the slashing of up to 270 jobs at an open council meeting in late October.
"VU is a community of scholars, yet it is about to lose significant numbers of its academics/teachers," minutes of the meeting record Professor Teese as saying.
"Council was urged to have more involvement to mitigate the (staff) losses, so that no cuts that are made are deeper than required."
Professor Teese — one of the designers of Victoria's state-school funding system and director of Melbourne University's Centre for Postcompulsory Education and Lifelong Learning — resigned from the council in early December.
He declined to comment when contacted by The Age.
The damaging resignation rounds out a troubled year for the western suburbs-based university.
Just weeks after vice-chancellor Elizabeth Harman announced the academic and general staff job losses in mid-October, it was revealed that the university's Melton and Sunbury campuses would stop taking new students.
Victoria University has also controversially threatened to sue a senior academic, who is also a council member, for defamation after he accused the vice-chancellor of manufacturing a cash crisis to justify the job cuts.
The legal threat against economist James Doughney sparked claims from academics that the university was gagging academic freedom of speech — an accusation strongly denied by the institution.
In a further blow to the university, the head of its resource committee, George Buckland, has quit his post in opposition to the staff cuts, campus shutdowns and the financial position of the university.
Speaking at the same October council meeting as Professor Teese, Mr Buckland said the size of the redundancies had surprised his committee.
He also noted that from July it had become apparent that the university's cost-saving initiatives were not going to be met. "In this context, Mr Buckland added that he therefore found it difficult to discharge his duties as chair of the resources committee," the minutes state.
Mr Buckland did not resign from the governing council, on which he has served since 1995.
Mr Buckland and Professor Teese supported a motion put to the meeting by Dr Doughney that the university's decision to cut jobs be suspended. The motion was defeated.
University management was unavailable for comment.
Professor Harman told the council meeting the redundancies were due to an imbalance in operating spending and the university would take into account other cost-saving measures.
Several Victoria University professors have slammed the institution's decision to use the State Government's solicitor to threaten legal action against Dr Doughney, saying it undermines academic freedom.
Earlier this month, the Government solicitor sent a letter to the academic on behalf of the chancellor, Justice Frank Vincent, demanding he withdraw and apologise for "false and defamatory allegations" regarding the job cuts.
In October, The Age revealed that Dr Doughney, an elected staff representative on the council, had written to state and federal MPs accusing Professor Harman of using a "pea-and-thimble trick" to create a cash crisis to justify the job cuts.
Dr Doughney is president of the Victorian tertiary union.
Justice Vincent has defended his decision to engage the Government's solicitor, saying the legal letter was sent after advice from senior counsel.
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meh there is no freedom of speech issue here unless the argument is that defamation laws themselves are somehow wrong.
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Excuse me, neg karmaing because someone posts an article that has negative comments about your university is immature and is shooting the messenger.
Who Whom What (+/-) For What Where When
Odette. (+41/-0) costargh (+97/-7) - Meanie :( In topic Today at 10:43:11 AM
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eeewwww VU TAFE ..........
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eeewwww VU TAFE ..........
well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.
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Theres a petition going around melton to try and save the VU campus. Last time i checked there were like 15 signatures XD
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eeewwww VU TAFE ..........
well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.
they both consist of a university too.
so naturally theyd be up the top of the list in TAFEs?
where does swinburne sit?
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well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.
VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO
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Excuse me, neg karmaing because someone posts an article that has negative comments about your university is immature and is shooting the messenger.
Who Whom What (+/-) For What Where When
Odette. (+41/-0) costargh (+97/-7) - Meanie :( In topic Today at 10:43:11 AM
Sorry it's just I'm kinda sick of people making negative comments about VU or posting information that does that... or something similar... most of you don't even go to the Uni, *sigh* Whatever... I'm sorry, it's just getting annoying, I know VU isn't the greatest Uni but it's still a decent Uni. >_> Don't worry I'll refrain from karmaing (is that a word?)you or others who make these sorts of posts/threads... :)
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well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.
VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO
I'm not sure what your intention there is but i'm well aware VU isn't the greatest uni out there. You don't have to degrade it further but capitalizing IMO to sound like some smart ass because frankily VU DOES have a innovative and well established TAFE. If you have a problem with that then you can start a petition to close VU down for all i care.
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LOL geez. I wasn't trying to offend anyone, I was just simply making a statement. As i said b4 "IMO".
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well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.
VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO
Take a look... VU isn't the worst ranked Uni
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sorry i was meant to say "VU is amongst the worst" - my apologies ;)
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i'm well aware VU isn't the greatest uni out there.
pointing out the obvious
You don't have to degrade it further but capitalizing IMO to sound like some smart ass
how about imho, would that satisfy your judgement
frankily VU DOES have a innovative and well established TAFE.
universities running tafe courses, we have arrived to a very sad day indeed
can i just say if anybody out there is considering going to this university, youre better off repeating year 12. it is RUBBISH spelt with capslock. i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.
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i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.
i'm wasn't basing this on evidence. don't plan on hunting me down if i'm incorrect.
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Excuse me, neg karmaing because someone posts an article that has negative comments about your university is immature and is shooting the messenger.
Who Whom What (+/-) For What Where When
Odette. (+41/-0) costargh (+97/-7) - Meanie :( In topic Today at 10:43:11 AM
Wait for accusations of being "Anti-VU" :p
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i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.
i'm wasn't basing this on evidence. don't plan on hunting me down if i'm incorrect.
Go osmoitser ! u rock ! :D +1
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Yeh I must be "anti VU" because I posted one solitary article about it. (I can't remember posting another article about VIC UNI, correct me if im wrong)
Apparently many members on this site seem to feel that if a person posts an educationally related article on these forums that tends to discredit an institute/course then the poster MUST share those views; thus persecution from some VN members. Hmmm now I know how it feels to be Brendan!
Hmmm and I also wonder why no-one has neg karmed be for posting articles about Melbourne Uni's Melbourne Model and the controversy surrounding that! Maybe because no one at Melb Uni feels threatened by an article painting their University in a negative light?
However if I post an article about what is generally perceived as 'not the greatest university in melbourne' I am immediately called a 'meanie' lol hmmm.
I dont mean to sound pedantic or over-dramatic and I speak to Odette and think shes a lovely person, I just think its interesting to see that maybe its the person who is insecure about their choice of University that feels threatened about an article and decides to take it out on the poster. Hmmm
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I don't think it's really fair to assume that Odette feels threatened because she negatively karmas a post which has a negative outlook on VU, just as it isn't fair for her to assume that you hate VU because you posted that article.
As someone who gets negative comments about her choices in education (Christmas was terrible for me in that respect), there is a limit as to how much you want to hear on the negative side, especially when you know you can make it work but nobody believes you. It's not about feeling threatened, more about feeling frustrated.
I don't think anyone is really in the wrong here.
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I don't assume- she said so in a PM
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I don't think it's really fair to assume that Odette feels threatened because she negatively karmas a post which has a negative outlook on VU, just as it isn't fair for her to assume that you hate VU because you posted that article.
As someone who gets negative comments about her choices in education (Christmas was terrible for me in that respect), there is a limit as to how much you want to hear on the negative side, especially when you know you can make it work but nobody believes you. It's not about feeling threatened, more about feeling frustrated.
I don't think anyone is really in the wrong here.
Thanks Eriny, that's exactly how I feel, I just couldn't find the words to express how I felt. (Not so good at communicating things to others, most of the time it comes out wrong).
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As I've said in previous threads before though; if you don't like an article write a letter to the newspaper that published it.
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As I've said in previous threads before though; if you don't like an article write a letter to the newspaper that published it.
Rather than take it out on the messenger.
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I HEARD THAT VU IS WORSE THAN TAFE. IS THIS TRUE?
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I HEARD THAT VU IS WORSE THAN TAFE. IS THIS TRUE?
how the fuck does that make sense. They offer different courses so how can you compare the two?
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Sorry it's just I'm kinda sick of people making negative comments about VU or posting information that does that... or something similar... most of you don't even go to the Uni, *sigh*
The article itself did not make "negative comments" about VU. It simply reported the facts, just as costargh did by simply copying and pasting it. It is only becomes "negative" when you choose to input your own values to interpret the facts.
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The article itself did not make "negative comments" about VU. It simply reported the facts, just as costargh did by simply copying and pasting it. It is only "negative" because you choose to input your own values to interpret the facts.
i don't really understand this whole topic or what you're saying, but i'll agree just for the sake of agreeing with you
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i agree with osmoister, what was the point of this topic?
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There wasn't any until Odette expressed her values as opinions on the topic, and the users wielded their flamethrowers and Molotov cocktails.
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i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.
but you still cant assume that either i believe.
you walk about with a degree and the degree is a degree.
you can work as a solicitor or barrister with a law degree from VU like a person with a law degree from monash too?
I HEARD THAT VU IS WORSE THAN TAFE. IS THIS TRUE?
how the fuck does that make sense. They offer different courses so how can you compare the two?
+1 ....
i dont think anyone would really say such a thing either??
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^ Yeah. If you say, got a law degree from VU, there's nothing stopping you from practising. Or from getting a masters or whatever from somewhere else.
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i think darlok was being facetious.
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VU is awesome cuz they hold free seminars yay.