UTAS Whistleblower stuff.
This entry is for the more serious UTAS stuff-ups.
If you know of someone who quit because another staff member wouldn't stop touching them, or maybe you're a 3rd year student and your lecturer "suggested" you could pose nude for them, then this is the blog for you.
At UTAS.WS we hear about these type of incidents (and more) all the time. Anonymity is assured!
Remember, it's for the good of the University of Tasmania...
If you know of someone who quit because another staff member wouldn't stop touching them, or maybe you're a 3rd year student and your lecturer "suggested" you could pose nude for them, then this is the blog for you.
At UTAS.WS we hear about these type of incidents (and more) all the time. Anonymity is assured!
Remember, it's for the good of the University of Tasmania...
This isn't really whistle-blowing, but when I was in third year a person I knew in one of my tutes was sleeping with the tutor!
That's a bit too close to "conflict of interest" I reckon.
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I tutored a 3rd year Statistic class in one of the bigger schools at UTAS. Students needed a password to access the data they were to analyse (why I don't know, it was just made up numbers). Just about every week one student would forget their password, hardly surprising when they had about 6 or so to remember. I'ld send them to see the School computer person and they'ld come back with their password. After several weeks I finally noticed that the students were visibly upset, and in some cases crying.
Even now I'm ashamed that I didn't notice this earlier.
I went to see the computer person with a student who couldn't recall her password and he totally ripped into her about how slack she was, she was crying at the end. I tried to find the Head but he wasn't around. When I protested the Head said "Oh, the Computer person is from Europe so it's OK that he deals with people like that".
I resigned.
The solution to this problem was not extraordinary, they just made a class password for those people who couldn't recall their own password.
This is the sort of crap experience you'll have at UTAS.
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There was this person in one of the Life Science departments who was organising an outside "cultural" event on the telephone all the time. Using the uni phones for personal stuff isn't that bad but he used to swear his head off! with the door open and really loudly, it was F this and F that everywhere.
You'ld see people cringe as they walked past his office.
Why someone didn't stop him I don't know, maybe it was all that "passive" aggression, or in this case not so passive.
The "cultural" event is on again this year...
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A bit more of my personal debacle.
After the second level of complaint(?) the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research Prof Carey Denholm offered me a Masters degree and a "writing up scholarship".
I rang the secretary of the Board of Research and discussed this offer. They said "If you take this you'll be accepting that your degree is a Masters, it will send the wrong signal to the Board."
So I didn't take this offer, but said that I wasn't refusing it.
After another level of complaint and some Lawyer action I enquired whether I could accept the Masters degree, the University of Tasmania said; "No, we will not award J. a Masters degree or any other for his work".
Nice touch.
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My grievence with the University is as an undergraduate. I am a mature age student. I started my degree some years ago but didn't finish. when I talked to my lecturers about re-starting my degree I was told I would get credit for the units I did before. But once I enrolled they reniged. It added an extra year to the time I was expecting to need to get my degree.
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This is from the ABC:
Whistleblowers hung out to dry: report
The Federal Government says it is considering a new report which has found whistleblowers in the public service need greater support and protection.
A national study led by Griffith University says fewer than 2 per cent of public interest whistleblowers get support from their government agency.
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/09/2359501.htm)
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Like Stats Tutor - my concerns come from my experience as a staff member - I was a casual lecturer for a course based in the north of the state (the course no longer exists). Both lecturers for this unit were causal and based in Hobart. The casual pay rates were very low for the amount of work involved, and being based so far away – we couldn’t offer the students any help outside the actual lectures and tutl times. We did our best but I really don’t think the students had very good value from the unit. I never even saw the other members of the department – so there wasn’t any real support or chance to discuss things with them. I wonder how many other small units are taught like this.
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Hi, are you talking about my ex-girlfriend when you mention the pose nude thing?
Because that's what happened to her, she went to see the lecturer about something and he was all "you're very pretty, have you considered posing for paintings?" He said she would make a very good nude study.
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Hi BF,
We may well be, it sounds about the same. As we heard it, this event happened in her third year, in one of the larger Departments and she didn't make a complaint about it. Other than to mention it to some friends.
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My wife who was working at UTAS came home one day. She started swearing at our kids aged 4 & 5.
I was totally shocked by this, and still am.
I had to literally grab her and say what's wrong with you, she burst into tears and said that some f%%k-head male co-worker wouldn't stop touching her.
I rang up the son of a bitch and said stop touching my wife, he said he'ld call security, I agrred and offered to to take it to the hHead of the department.
One hour later I got a confused phone call from his immediate supervisor. STill not sure what that was about.
UTAS is shit esp for women
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I hope you appreciate how it feels to put such an intensely personal event on a public blog.
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Not really WB'ing, but my supervisor told me when he was doing his Honours another student would hide critical equipment in a draw.
To hinder other students? or maybe to ensure that the equipment would be available for their own research.
EDIT {UTAS Blog accepts no liability for this comment}
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Saw this on ABC Mediawatch website.
Author Joel B1 ®
Date/Time 08 Oct 2008 3:40:26pm
Subject Re: Compass - PR outlet or journalism?
This isn't really germane to your comment but I've recently stumbled across a Student Complaints Blog from a "sandstone" uni in Australia and if the comments in it are true then they make these USA institutions look very good.
Is that you people?
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Yes, that's us.
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