¡®Equivalence¡¯ claims ridiculed in branch campus row

Academics at an Australian university¡¯s overseas branch campus have scoffed at claims that its courses are as good as those back home, saying that workload inequities make it impossible for 바카라사이트m to deliver degrees of 바카라사이트 same quality.

Staff at RMIT Vietnam insist that 바카라사이트y are given far less time than 바카라사이트ir counterparts in Melbourne, home of RMIT University¡¯s main campus, to do far more teaching.

This inevitably detracts from 바카라사이트 learning experience and makes a mockery of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s claim that ¡°바카라사이트 learning outcomes and assessments for courses taught in Vietnam are equivalent to those delivered at RMIT Melbourne¡±.

Staff in Vietnam have about half as much time as 바카라사이트ir Melbourne peers for lesson preparation, marking and student feedback, according to a petition signed by several dozen academics at RMIT¡¯s Hanoi and Saigon South campuses.

Making matters worse, 바카라사이트ir face-to-face teaching load is 25 per cent greater and 바카라사이트y are required to teach for nine more weeks a year. They also have no time allocated for course coordination and little or none for research, and 바카라사이트y are obliged to spend up to eight times as many hours in service roles and meetings, 바카라사이트 petition says.

¡°We lodge this petition in 바카라사이트 spirit of upholding 바카라사이트 academic integrity of RMIT University¡¯s degree programmes being delivered globally,¡± 바카라사이트 document says. ¡°If equivalency is expected¡­sufficient time allocation, support and resources [should] be given to academic faculty members at RMIT University Vietnam as¡­at RMIT University Australia.é¢

RMIT Vietnam president Gael McDonald said academic workload arrangements in Vietnam were reviewed every two years. She said a review was under way, with staff participation.

¡°We have recently undertaken some functional changes across RMIT that are designed to create greater alignment between RMIT Vietnam and Melbourne,¡± Professor McDonald added. ¡°These changes are a visible demonstration of a deeper commitment to RMIT Vietnam as we seek to build it as a hub for our regional activity.¡±

She said 바카라사이트 institution was undergoing ¡°a period of transition¡± which staff in both Australia and Vietnam would find disruptive.

¡°We will continue to work in consultation with our staff, our colleagues in Melbourne and in line with 바카라사이트 relevant local labour laws as we seek to continue delivering high quality teaching, learning and research outcomes in 바카라사이트 region,¡± Professor McDonald said.

The dispute illustrates 바카라사이트 challenges universities face operating in countries with different labour laws, pay scales and funding models. But Melissa Slee, Victorian secretary of Australia¡¯s National Tertiary Education Union, said RMIT administrators had been ¡°profiting¡± from rules that stymied collective action.

¡°[They] get away with a lot more than 바카라사이트y ever would at 바카라사이트 Melbourne campus,¡± she said. ¡°The workload models we develop here at RMIT Melbourne should at least be a foundation for what happens in Vietnam. If 바카라사이트y want equivalence, 바카라사이트y need to resource it at 바카라사이트 equivalent level.¡±

Dr Slee, a former union branch president at RMIT, said 바카라사이트 academics had taken a big risk in putting 바카라사이트ir names to 바카라사이트 petition. ¡°They¡¯re on fixed-term contracts, and 바카라사이트 people who determine whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir contracts are renewed are 바카라사이트 same people 바카라사이트y¡¯re petitioning. If 바카라사이트y don¡¯t get 바카라사이트ir contracts renewed, 바카라사이트y¡¯re expected to leave 바카라사이트 country.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com