In a case study of a large Australian university the metaphor of panarchy is used as a means of describing and understanding the complex interrelationships of multi-scale institutional projects and the influences of a variety factors on the potential success of e-learning initiatives. The concept of para-analysis is introduced as a management…

Rapid advances in educational and information communications technology (ICT) have encouraged some educators to move beyond traditional face to face and distance education correspondence modes toward a rich, technology mediated e-learning environment. Ready access to multimedia at the desktop has provided the opportunity for educators to develop…

The University of Sydney is a large, research-intensive, campus-based Australian University. Since 2004 a strategic initiative of project-based eLearning support has been creating teams of non-academic and academic staff, who have worked together to develop online resources to meet identified needs. The University's aims in continuing to provide…

This paper will detail three projects which focussed on enhancing online learning at a large Australian distance education University within a School of Business, School of Health and School of Education. Each project had special funding and took quite distinctive project management approaches, which reflect the desire to embed innovation and…

Analyzes and compares the results obtained from administration of the College and University Environmental Scales to college of advanced education and university samples. There appears to be a genuine difference in the learning environments of these two types of institutions. (Author/IRT)

Australian higher education increasingly relies on flexible modes of delivery as a means of attracting and retaining students in a highly competitive global education market. While education is among those disciplines that have been most actively involved in the shift from face-to-face to online learning and teaching, the transition for many…

As higher education has grown and state funding has been constrained, the financial sustainability of institutions of higher education (HE) has become an issue for policy makers and for those who govern and manage these institutions. The challenge for governments is to ensure that increasingly autonomous institutions respond to public interest…

Describes characteristics, mission, and innovations of indigenous higher education in North America, New Zealand, and other countries. Discusses institutions' commitment to community, integration of functions, participation of elders, spiritual elements, use of local language and traditional teaching practices, congenial learning environment, and…

National research policies are today driven by the concept of the "knowledge society", in which development is deemed to follow the application of new ideas. Australia, like other countries, has encouraged partnerships between the universities and industry. This essay examines how Australian scholars in the humanities have responded to…

Examines the challenge institutions face in reconciling long-held academic values and their accompanying work practices with the demands of an external world on which universities have become more reliant. Particular reference is made to developments in Australia and to the potential impact of the "new players" (for-profit and virtual…

Existing research indicates that particular study strategies are deployed with differing success according to certain critical personality factors, most notably a syndrome of characteristics related to internal or external locus of control. Institutional factors that have an effect on study behaviour include Faculty membership (Arts/Science), mode…

In each of the countries studied in this report, colleges and universities have been adapted to national conditions, customs, social structures, and political systems; but familiar trends are visible. Among the most important trends are rapid enrollment growth and a movement toward universal access; rising expenditures; increasing public support;…

A study of education students' perceptions of actual and ideal educational environment showed similarity between student and faculty perceptions of ideal environment, dissimilarity between student actual and ideal perceptions, but little relationship between student perceptions and achievement, sex, educational background, or personality needs.…

The application of a perceived climate measure on a sample of senior level Australian academics is reported. Six factors were identified: organizational conflict and ambiguity; two leadership components (facilitation/supportiveness and directiveness); work group cooperation in policy committees and immediate workgroups; and organizational and…

Summarizes prominent current arguments on academic freedom's endangerment by managerialism and discusses their limitations. Defines a new vision of academic freedom informed by thinking on globalization. Presents findings from interviews with Australian faculty about academic freedom and discusses ways to ensure that academic freedom endures in…