Articles by Christopher Harris

Technology

This top Sydney uni has a $500 million surplus. Now there’s talk of job cuts

“This increased investment has not, however, led to improvements in student or staff satisfaction with our professional service experience,” it said. The discussion paper reminded staff that the institution was among the worst in the country for student experience and placed last for student support services. “Why are there so many managers?” one staff member asked in feedback collected as part of the report. Another said: “It takes weeks to get a simple decision.” The report said half of all people who were “supervisors” oversaw four direct reports or fewer, while 19 per cent of supervisors had two or fewer direct reports. Staff at the institution have been given “thought starters” and asked to respond to the issues raised in the report, which also says “it is possible we will find adjustments to our staffing levels will be required”.

Technology

‘I had to sit on the floor’: Sydney University adds thousands of extra students

He noted classes for law subjects were smaller, but classes for his arts politics major – which costs $50,000 – had up to 40 people crammed into a 60-minute tutorial. “This does have a direct impact on your grades – usually 10 per cent of your mark is based on tutorial participation,” he said. “It is pretty disappointing. Parts of it do take away from the university experience. You can’t have the same level of rigorous participation in classes.” University of Sydney pro vice chancellor Professor Adam Bridgeman said there was space for all students on campus. He said it was not the university’s intention to reduce the number of local students.