Greenwich University's response to the Education Minister's statement

Since all Norfolk Island ISPs are currently being blocked by DegreeInfo.com, John Walsh of Brannah, owner of Greenwich University, has asked me to post his response to the recent statement by the Australian Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr. Brendan Nelson. Walsh of Brannagh’s comments are in ALL CAPS.

Statement by Australian Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr. Brendan Nelson
11 October, 2002 Min 202/02

Protecting Australian Higher Education

Amendments to be shortly introduced into Federal Parliament will significantly boost protection for the integrity of Australia's higher education system, which currently earns the country more than $4 billion a year in export income. The proposed amendments to the Higher Education Funding Act (HEFA) will, for the first time, bring external territories such as Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) group under the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes.

The National Protocols were agreed to in 2000 by the States and mainland Territories and the Commonwealth through the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

[BUT ARE NOT BEING FOLLOWED IN THE VARIOUS STATES]

The amendments will require higher education providers wishing to establish themselves in Australia's external territories to meet the same standards as those applied to providers in Australia's mainland States and Territories.

[GREENWICH MET ALL THE STANDARDS APPLYING IN 1997 AND 1998 WHICH STANDARDS WERE SUPPLIED TO THE NORFOLK ISLAND GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMONWEALTH AND MEETS ALL THE PROPOSED NEW STANDARDS]

The changes mean that unless a person or body is listed as self-accrediting on the Register of the Australian Qualifications Framework or approved by the Minister for Education, Science and Training in line with the National Protocols, they will be unable in an external territory to: operate as a university or other higher education provider; offer or purport to offer higher education awards or courses; and use the title "university".

[BUT THIS WILL NOT BE APPLIED TO THE OTHER STATES AND TERRITORIES]

Failure to observe the new requirements will result in fines for each breach of the provisions. The Bill will override the operation of the Greenwich University Act 1998 (Norfolk Island).

[THE COMMONWEALTH IS TOO FRIGHTENED TO DIRECTLY EFFECT REPEAL OF THE GREENWICH UNIVERSITY ACT SO IT HIDES THIS IN AN ACT TO DO WITH FUNDING, KNOWING THAT GREENWICH NEITHER RECEIVES NOR HAS REQUESTED FUNDING]

Greenwich University was assessed by the Commonwealth in December 2000 as not meeting the standards expected of an Australian university

[THIS IS UNTRUE READ THE SUBMISSIONS AND THE SO-CALLED REPORT THE REVIEWERS SPENT LESS THAN FOUR HOURS AT THE UNIVERSITY, DID NOT SPEAK TO ONE FACULTY MEMBER, NOT ONE STUDENT, NOR ONE GRADUATE, AND DID NOT READ ANY OF OUR CURRICULUM]

and has since had over 18 months to address deficiencies and provide evidence that it could meet expected quality standards.

[THE NORFOLK ISLAND GOVERNMENT TWICE WROTE TO DR. KEMP (THEN EDUCATION MINISTER) TO ASK WHAT THE ALLEGED DEFICIENCIES WERE AND DID NOT RECEIVE A REPLY. THE UNIVERSITY ENGAGED AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT (DR. CRAWFORD) WHO SPENT 14 DAYS AT THE UNIVERSITY AND WROTE A REPORT INDICATING HE COULD NOT FIND ANY DEFICIENCIES, AND THEN ON TWO OCCASIONS HE PERSONALLY HAND DELIVERED THE REPORT AND ITS FOLLOW UP TO DR. KEMP'S OFFICE AND DID NOT RECEIVE A REPLY. THE UNIVERSITY ITSELF WROTE TO KEMP AND DID NOT RECEIVE A REPLY. THE UNIVERSITY WROTE TO BRENDAN NELSON DIRECTLY AND RECEIVED A NON-REPLY FROM A PUBLIC SERVANT.]

In the meantime Greenwich University has continued to operate and market its courses overseas, describing itself as an institution approved by legislation of an external territory of Australia and formally approved by the Commonwealth of Australia

[THIS IS A TRUE STATEMENT OF LEGAL FACT. THE COMMONWEALTH ASKED THE UNIVERSITY TO RELOCATE TO NORFOLK ISLAND AND WAS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE INTRODUCTION OF AND THE PASSING OF THE LEGISLATION.]

The continued operation, without accreditation

[GREENWICH, LIKE ALL OTHER LEGALLY ESTABLISHED UNIVERSITIES, IS ACCREDITED BY WAY OF ITS ACT OF PARLIAMENT. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY A UNIVERSITY CAN BE ACCREDITED]

of any institution has the capacity to damage Australia's reputation as a high quality, quality-assured provider of higher education. Under the legislative amendments, the Minister for Education, Science and Training will become an accreditation agency for any providers wishing to operate in the external territories

[IN OTHER WORDS THE MINISTER IS SETTING HIMSELF ABOVE THE NORFOLK ISLAND PARLIAMENT THUS MAKING THE NORFOLK ISLAND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY REDUNDANT]

In addition the legislative changes require bodies such as the International University of America Pty Ltd, a company registered on Norfolk Island, to cease using the title "university" in its company name. Use of the title "university" in the external territories will require the Minister's permission. This strong action will require our external territories to come into line with the rest of mainland Australia

[IT WOULD BEHOVE MUCH OF MAINLAND AUSTRALIA TO COME INTO LINE WITH NORFOLK ISLAND]

and will go a long way towards protecting the international standing of Australian higher education. Also, a public warning about fake degrees and unauthorised higher education institutions has been posted on my Department's website at http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/alert/ I will be discussing these issues with my State colleagues today at an Education Ministers' meeting in Ballarat, Victoria

[AND SHALL DECLINE TO DISCUSS WITH THE NORFOLK ISLAND MINISTER OR THE NORFOLK ISLAND PARLIAMENT AND SHALL IN GENERAL TREAT NORFOLK ISLAND WITH COMPLETE CONTEMPT.]

For further information: Dr Nelson's Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Laila Lacis 0412 040 034

 

It sounds like the most interesting story has to do with why Norfolk Island ISPs are being blocked.

As for the other stuff, it looks like a lesson in not getting within the target sights of people in authority.

 

That's the first I've heard this. Any documentation?

As for all Norfolk Island ISPs being blocked -- I'll look into this, but my impression was that just one IP number from Norfolk Island was blocked. Of course, depending on the size of Norfolk Island and the number of ISPs, perhaps this amounts to blocking all of NI??

 

Any More News about Greenwich?

Hi folks,

I found Dr. Bear's initial post on this thread about Greenwich quite alarming. Are they IGreenwich) literally being run off by the powers that be in Australia? Any more news about this situation? If only part of their side of the story is true, then this is a horrible abuse of power. I was reading over their Business Ethics degree info and I was quite interested until I found out that they were unaccredited and perhaps suspect. Maybe THEY aren't the problem?

Karen B

 

Ms. Blotnicky --

Noticed your post, and thought it might be worth mentioning that an AQF-recognized brick-and-mortar public university in Australia--Charles Sturt University--offers an MA in professional and applied ethics by distance learning for a price range that is, I think, competitive (circa US$3-4K, depending on the exchange rate).

Best of luck in your search.


Cheers,

 

Greenwich was welcomed, maybe it was encouraged. I don't know.

They are the only university in Australian jurisdiction to be evaluated for accreditation. A committee was formed for the sole purpose of investigating Greenwich.

For all of the other universities an act of the state or territorial government is all that is required.

The Australian government was blindsided by the Greenwich move to Norfolk Island. What appeared to be a good idea suddenly turned sour when academics at other universities voiced concerns.

Perhaps the rest of the Australian education system has a vested interest in seeing Greenwich fail.

Whatever Greenwich University is, it is not a diploma mill as it is frequently referred to in Australia.

 

Greenwich did not follow the standard procedures within Australia. They took more of a back door route and then they flaunted the establishment by claiming Austrailian accreditation instead of Norfolk Island accreditation. I'm not arguing that what happened to Greenwich was fair or unfair only that it is not surprising.

 

flouted

 

Are you suggesting that there are no requirements that a new university must meet in order to be recognized in Australia?

I don't think that I believe that. If it's true, then what assurance do we have that one or more government recognized universities in that country aren't degree mills?

My understanding is that, like in the United States, education is a state responsibility in Australia. Each state sets up a procedure for evaluating and approving new universities. This can apparently be a rather grueling process for private universities, if the experience of Bond University is representative.

But despite being state institutions, most of the universities funding is federal. And apparently there are lots of evaluations involved with establishing and maintaining eligibility.

Finally there seem to be schemes for coordinating education in the various states at each level, so that vocational qualifications, TAFE diplomas and university credit is roughly equivalent nationwide. (This is what the AQF does, as I understand it.)

If this short account has any validity, then the problem with Greenwich is obvious.

Norfolk Island is a tiny territory of some 1500 people. It has no higher education institutions of its own, nor (I would assume) any procedures in place to oversee their creation. But Canberra, in an attempt to be anti-colonialist or something, delegated state-like powers to them to manage their own educational system.

So along comes Walsh and Greenwich. The island votes him an act, then for some incomprehensible reason the minister back in Canberra signs it, and suddenly Greenwich is a "fully accredited" member of Australia's well regarded educational system.

Unfortunately, up until now nobody has been able or willing to describe what quality assurance procedures were followed prior to the act being passed and signed, nor how these procedures compare to what takes place on the Australian mainland or what is necessary to receive American regional accreditation.

And conveniently, Greenwich isn't federally funded, so the QA oversight that comes as a condition of funding doesn't apply. And since Greenwich aims to educate a primarily foreign student body, they can live with the idea that the AQF finds no comparability with mainland degrees and credits.

It has that act, so it's "accredited". That's all foreign students need to know.

In my opinion, legal permission to operate without a credible quality assurance process is more similar to state approval (in this case it's territorial approval) than it is to what Americans understand by the word "accreditation".

So, what Greenwich seems to me to be is Australia's first "state-approved" school, the Australian version of Cal Coast. Actually its status doesn't seem much different on NI than it was in Hawaii, except that more grandiose claims are being made.

That's my opinion, anyway.

 

I like that even better!

 

I think that both 'flouted' and 'flaunted' are probably appropriate in this case.

 

did these greenwich guys manage to get into this UNESCO world university guide thing? if so, they almost made it, i guess...
does anyone know?

greets,
trigger

 

Trigger: "did these greenwich guys manage to get into this UNESCO world university guide thing?"

John: No. An even more logical place for gaining credibility would be joining the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and appearing in their huge annual Yearbook. Also very helpful would be applying (successfully) to be removed from the State of Oregon's "not legal here" list.

PS: I still find it curious that all Norfolk Island ISPs are still blocked by DegreeInfo. John Walsh of Brannagh told me that he has never posted here, but might wish to, and at least would like to read what people are writing about his school.

 

Perhaps it's because Norfolk Island stole the DegreeInfo smilies?


P.S. If smilies worked then I might have used one here.