Lol I’m a phd candidate at that university. I think they’re doing this to look woke. This is a thing universities do to try and hide the fact that they are super conservative institutions.
It’s a bit more complex than this. Most lecturers are qualified, they’re just on insecure casual contracts. Try delivering high equality education knowing you’re on a contract that may or may not be extended. There’s also a gtowing pressure to pass students. This comes from both management and the students themselves. A lot of students feel like they’ve purchased the right to a passing grade. I no longer give students positive feedback because if I do they’ll think it means I should have given them a higher grade.
The merit required for most academic roles is almost inhumanely high. You generally need a phd, publications, conference presentations, extensive teaching experience, and evidence of professional service (peer reviewing, committee memberships etc - often unpaid). In the more practical based degrees (which is where I teach) the hiring criteria may be more focused on industry experience. So these fields may have some non-phd qualified lecturers. Many unit coordinators also do get their phd students to do tutoring (some even lecturing) but this has always been the case and you’ve got to learn to teach somehow.
Seems to be a logical choice, particularly when the universities are moving away from hiring staff based on merit. The unis will end up with a bunch of underqualified lecturers teaching to the only students able to afford the degrees (international students).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-17/qut-defends-removing-merit-from-hiring-policy/103114562
Lol I’m a phd candidate at that university. I think they’re doing this to look woke. This is a thing universities do to try and hide the fact that they are super conservative institutions.
It’s a bit more complex than this. Most lecturers are qualified, they’re just on insecure casual contracts. Try delivering high equality education knowing you’re on a contract that may or may not be extended. There’s also a gtowing pressure to pass students. This comes from both management and the students themselves. A lot of students feel like they’ve purchased the right to a passing grade. I no longer give students positive feedback because if I do they’ll think it means I should have given them a higher grade.
The merit required for most academic roles is almost inhumanely high. You generally need a phd, publications, conference presentations, extensive teaching experience, and evidence of professional service (peer reviewing, committee memberships etc - often unpaid). In the more practical based degrees (which is where I teach) the hiring criteria may be more focused on industry experience. So these fields may have some non-phd qualified lecturers. Many unit coordinators also do get their phd students to do tutoring (some even lecturing) but this has always been the case and you’ve got to learn to teach somehow.