Job Discussion Forums

[slapntickle]

An increasingly heavy reliance on academic casual positions – believed to have risen by 221% between 1989 and 2013 – has prompted universities to question whether staffing patterns are undermining the education experience of students, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.

“The question remains whether a continuation of the trend to use an increasing proportion of contingent employment is sustainable and whether it benefits higher education in Australia,” says a working paper jointly written by the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association and the LH Martin Institute.

The paper says casual positions increased by 221% between 1989 and 2013. This compares with a growth of 144% for fixed-term staff and 43% for continuing staff. When broken down into role, the paper found that 82% of teaching-only staff were employed on a casual basis, whereas only 2% of research-only and 1% of teaching and research staff were casuals. By contrast, 85% of research-only staff were on fixed-term contracts while three-quarters of teaching and research staff were employed on a continuing basis.

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160708173051608