Educators discuss models of collaboration

May 18, 2007

Fifty educators from around the nation gathered at the University of New England this week to discuss models of collaboration that are helping to preserve the diversity of courses available to Australia's tertiary students.

Delegates to the forum on "Collaboration to offer small courses / subjects", funded by the Federal Government's Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, reported on current collaborative projects and discussed the potential for further inter-institutional collaboration.

"The depth of course options traditionally offered at Australian universities can be threatened when declining numbers of students or staff in any particular course renders it unfeasible," explained UNE's Dr Belinda Tynan, one of the conveners of the forum. "However, universities can continue to offer these small courses and maintain a high level of subject diversity through creative collaboration between each other, alternative institutions, and the private sector."

Dr Tynan, Associate Professor Kerry Dunne, and Dr Robyn Smyth – all from UNE – convened the forum in association with Professor Elizabeth McDonald (pictured here), Director of the Grants Scheme at the Carrick Institute. The two-day forum, on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 May, brought together academics from universities around Australia, as well as delegates from TAFE and industry, and members of the Carrick Institute. The participants heard reports on the collaborative delivery of courses in fields as diverse as languages, physics, mathematics, mining, creative writing, biostatistics, and screen production.

Dr Dunne gave a presentation on the "UNE blended model" – a cooperative model through which UNE delivers language courses to students enrolled at other universities. Examples of other models presented included a reciprocal sharing of physics units between UNE and Murdoch University in Perth, and an eight-university collaboration for developing a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.

UNE's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor David Rich, in drawing the forum to a close, emphasised the need for strong leadership – and a definite purpose – in collaborative projects.

After the forum, Professor McDonald said: "In the presentations and discussions, we've seen the development of people's thinking and the challenges they've faced – and survived. The participants have gained from seeing how others have approached things."

"There's a sense that people want to carry this forward," she added.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of Professor Elizabeth McDonald displayed here expands to include the three UNE-based conveners of the forum: (from left) Associate Professor Kerry Dunne, Dr Belinda Tynan, and Dr Robyn Smyth.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at May 18, 2007 06:07 PM