Thomas, thank you for your presentation.
As a faculty member of a new university (the university status was
awarded only two years ago) an issue that has impacted on many academic
staff members is the new requirement for them to undertake research.
This is an issue because the university, which was previously a
polytechnic and prior to that a technical school (the last two
positions extending over a 100 year span), has a large population of
staff who have never been required to engage in formal research
methods. Here I am referring to highly skilled people who have taught
trades, skills and so on, that in some cases feel disenfranchised or
devalued. I was talking to one such colleague today who has taught here
for 28 years, although his association goes back 35 years. His attitude
is that he sees no place for himself in the university and is seeking
early retirement. My concern is that we are losing a vital core of
knowledge and wisdom.
These people have a dual burden because advancement and funding are
dependent upon their previous research outputs and academic
achievement. In many cases they have neither. The government in New
Zealand has recently imposed on universities a funding regime that is
performance based, dependent upon research output. All academic staff
are required to submit their 4 top research outputs (out of a suggested
50 refereed publications), which are then assessed by a panel to grade
the staff. The grades range from A (of which there will be very few) to
R (research inactive). The universities are then funded according to
how many As, Bs, etc. While I do not personally have any real issue
with the Performance Based Research Funding (PBRF) programme, it is
only one source of funds, the secondary result is that staff who have
produced research outputs have been awarded mediocre grades. This has
tended to have an adverse impact on morale according to a report in a
local daily. The combined result of these (the sudden requirement for
research and the imposition of new advancement schemes) has meant that
many are feeling somewhat demoralised.
From my own perspective, I am one whose attitude is that this is the
best opportunity to build a university of the future. It presents an
excellent chance in a unique environment in which Auckland is the
largest Polynesian city, combining the widespread and unique Pacific
peoples' cultures into a cohesive whole.
So, my questions are:
In the transition to a university, what do you see as the human impact
on academic staff?
How has this been managed to ensure that people are not disadvantaged?
What kind of strategy do you have in place for those staff who now want
to engage in research, but have no experience?
Respectfully
Alan Litchfield
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Alan T Litchfield, MNZCS
Lecturer, module coordinator
School of Computer and Information Sciences
Auckland University of Technology
New Zealand
http://www.aut.ac.nz/cis
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