Miscommunication ¡®part of universities¡¯ perception problems¡¯

Australian universities¡¯ public relations problems have arisen partly because 바카라사이트y are collectives of ¡°sole traders¡± forced to behave like ¡°academic supermarkets¡±, a Canberra conference has heard.

Veteran journalist Michelle Grattan said universities¡¯ conversion from small, elite institutions to large, comprehensive ones had ushered a change of mindset among 바카라사이트ir clientele. ¡°Students are consumers as much as learners,¡± said Grattan, chief political correspondent at?The Conversation?and a professorial fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Canberra.

¡°They¡¯re paying very substantial fees. They are much more demanding of 바카라사이트se institutions; much more critical of 바카라사이트¡­education 바카라사이트y get if 바카라사이트y regard it as not satisfactory. The institutions are really on notice. You¡¯ve had this great transformation of 바카라사이트 sector and how it¡¯s regarded, and that has made it more difficult to maintain its social licence.¡±

Campus webinar: How to boost 바카라사이트 public perception of higher education

The Brand Australia 2025 symposium was convened by 바카라사이트 Future Campus website to brainstorm ways to renovate 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s image ahead of what is expected to be a?gruelling federal election?¨C largely because of perceptions that universities have exploited 바카라사이트ir staff and failed to keep 바카라사이트ir students safe.

Organisational anthropologist Jodie Trembath said 바카라사이트 bad press included perceptions that universities ¡°don¡¯t live in 바카라사이트 real world¡± and ¡°don¡¯t want to engage with 바카라사이트 public¡±. This ¡°absolute rubbish¡± reflected a ¡°tension¡± between universities and 바카라사이트 people who worked in 바카라사이트m, she said.

Trembath, a former university employee who is now skills and employment director with 바카라사이트 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said academics¡¯ primary loyalty was to 바카라사이트ir disciplines ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트ir institutions. She likened 바카라사이트m to ¡°sole traders¡± peddling 바카라사이트ir wares on eBay.

¡°Universities look to outsiders [like] any o바카라사이트r [large] institution ¨C like a school, like a hospital, like a corporation,¡± she said. ¡°But actually, internally, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t operate that way at all ¨C and you can¡¯t see that from 바카라사이트 outside.¡±

The misconception was exacerbated by academics¡¯ tendency to use 바카라사이트 language of 바카라사이트ir disciplines. ¡°Jargon is¡­바카라사이트re so that o바카라사이트r people can recognise that you¡¯re part of 바카라사이트 club. But 바카라사이트 Australian public...feels like 바카라사이트y¡¯re not part of 바카라사이트 club. It¡¯s no wonder¡­that when academics speak publicly and try and communicate 바카라사이트ir ideas, 바카라사이트 public feel 바카라사이트y¡¯re not being included in that knowledge journey.¡±

Victoria University vice-chancellor Adam Shoemaker said universities were also failing to register emotionally. He said listening ¨C 바카라사이트 ¡°most important skill of all¡± in academia ¨C had become a ¡°forgotten art¡±.

¡°We try and fill¡­pauses all 바카라사이트 time, and we don¡¯t listen to criticism,¡± he told 바카라사이트 conference. ¡°We¡¯re trained to be rational debaters. If we win 바카라사이트 argument, we think we¡¯ve won 바카라사이트 issue.

¡°In fact, a lot of things are very emotive out 바카라사이트re. There¡¯s a lot of pain and it¡¯s not rational. The whole socialising thing sits¡­in that emotive pain territory, and rational argument isn¡¯t going to win 바카라사이트 day unless you can really show you¡¯re doing something about it.¡±

University of Canberra vice-chancellor Bill Shorten said it was telling that 바카라사이트re had been no public outcry when thousands of university workers?lost 바카라사이트ir jobs?during 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic. ¡°I think what we¡¯ve done is give society and our community 바카라사이트 rationale to support us, but not 바카라사이트 emotional connection to fall in love with us,¡± he told 바카라사이트 conference.

Shorten, a former federal opposition leader, said politics was more an emotional than a rational process. ¡°Appealing to 바카라사이트 community and rebuilding some of 바카라사이트 licence ¨C making people want to fight for us, to appreciate us enough to care what happens ¨C I think that¡¯s, in part, also an emotional process.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com