In Australia, scandals about the management of public universities continue to be covered in the media. A recent one is the use of billions of dollars to pay consulting firms to tell management which staff to sack and courses to cut because they are not making a profit.
Below is a recent episode of an ABC (Australian equivalent of BBC or PBS in USA) show on the topic, Chaos on Campus.
I tend to avoid engaging too much with media lamenting the state of unversities as I find it too disturbing. However, I was asked to reference the show in something I was asked to write and so felt I should watch it. It was painful.
This is definitely a scandal. However, it got me reflecting on something that I think gets virtually no media coverage and when I talk to people outside the university, they are pretty surprised and shocked. Anecdotal evidence from my colleagues is that attendance at lectures is now typically around 10-30 per cent of enrolment. Even before COVID-19, lectures at UQ were all recorded. Faculty have no choice. But only a few per cent of students watch the videos. This is quite demoralising for faculty.
What does this low level of student engagement mean for learning outcomes?
What is happening elsewhere?
Here are some links from Google AI.
I did not find them that insightful.
One link is an article from The Guardian in Australia from last year. It highlights how moving things to online and lowering standards is driven by financial incentives. This ties in with the scandals in the video. The values of Australian universities are money, marketing, management, and metrics.
What is your own experience with the level of disengagement? How do you think this is affecting student learning? How are you and your colleagues adapting? Are academic standards being lowered? Any suggestions on ways forward?
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