As reported earlier in Salient, Fredric was placed on interim suspension early this month pending investigation, and later filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) challenging the suspension by OUSA General Manager Darel Hall.

Under the terms of the agreement the sum of the settlement is confidential, and when spoken to by Salient, Fredric refused to confirm any figures. However, sources close to the organisation have said that the settlement was around $35,000, which is slightly less than a year’s salary for the Critic Editor.

Fredric was called to a meeting with Hall on Friday 3 May, during which Hall informed Fredric that he would be suspended “on an interim basis” until the following Tuesday, when Hall would make a final decision as to whether Fredric would remain suspended while Hall investigated complaints from five members of both Critic and OUSA staff. Hall also instructed Fredric not to speak to Critic staff nor to return to the premises without express permission. In a letter given to Fredric at the meeting, Hall cited potential health and safety issues to staff due to long hours of work and risks to Critic’s business relations, along with concerns about frequent lateness to and absence from the office.

In the affidavit filed in support of his ERA claim, Fredric rejected Hall’s suggestion that the allegations were serious enough to give rise to suspension. Fredric said that staff health and safety and business relations would not be affected by his return to work. In response to the allegations about his hours of work, Fredric wrote that flexible working hours had been common for many years at Critic, and although he may not always be present in the office, he continued to work an average of 60 hours every week. As Fredric often worked late nights to meet production deadlines, he said it was not practical to be at work at 9am, but staff were always able to contact him via phone, email or Facebook if necessary.
“Staff can get things done even if I am working flexible hours and go home at the time they normally would even if I wasn’t there.”
If reinstated, Fredric offered to “cooperate fully with the process of dealing with complaints”, and work under any reasonable conditions placed on him.

The employment issue became public knowledge when police were called to the Critic offices on Monday 6 May when Fredric refused to leave after being issued with a Trespass Notice by a Campus Watch guard. Fredric was attempting to attend a staff meeting at the Critic offices in order to explain the situation to staff, and ensure that his reputation wasn’t damaged.

Following a meeting on Tuesday 7 May, during which Fredric outlined his submissions as to why he should be reinstated during the investigation, Hall confirmed that Fredric would remain on suspension with full pay during the investigation.

On Thursday 9 May Fredric’s lawyer filed the ERA claim, which requested that the Authority order immediate reinstatement while the claim was being investigated. The claim also requested compensation from OUSA, and that the matter be dealt with under urgency, rather than through the usual time-frames and mediation steps usually required in employment disputes.

The claim sets out Fredric’s grounds for disputing the suspension, namely; that he was not given any prior warning or opportunity to comment; that his employment contract does not state that he is able to be suspended, that the allegations against him had not been clearly set out, and that the complaints raised should have been dealt with in a performance management, rather than disciplinary, process. As a result, it was argued, the suspension was unlawful and completely unjustified. A hearing date was set down for Monday 20 May, but was cancelled due to the out-of-court settlement.

Acting Editor Sam McChesney will oversee the production of the last issue of the semester this week. The role will be advertised from next Monday at the latest.

[NOTE: This story has been updated from the original version posted early on Tuesday 21 May following legal consultation.]

The man, a cleaner at the Cumberland Hall of Residence, also attempted to gain access to residents’ rooms. He was removed from duties after residents expressed concerns to Hall management, who then raised the matter with the cleaning contractor.

Victoria University awards contracts for cleaning services to private providers. Associate Director of Student Accommodation Nick Merrett said that the University was not responsible for dealing with the incidents under this arrangement, despite operating the Hall in which the alleged offending took place.

“It is the contractor’s responsibility to investigate the allegations that have been made,” said Merrett.

“The contractor has advised the University that on Saturday 4 May, the cleaner was removed from cleaning duties at all Victoria residential halls and instructed not to return to any University sites.”

Despite the instruction not to return to University property, one of the victims sighted the man at the Kelburn campus following her incident.

“You’d think they’d get rid of him completely. I can’t believe they’re still employing him at all, to be honest. It’s quite crazy.”

The man watched at least three students at Cumberland through a 2 cm gap where the door to a shower room does not quite meet the wall. Salient spoke to a female Cumberland resident, one of the three students watched through the gap by the man, who said he had been “creepy” to her before.

“[He had previously] told me I was pretty and stuff, and I just brushed it off … I went to have a shower one day, and he saw me as he was waiting for the lift, and I walked past and heard the lift go and so I thought, ‘He’s gone, I’ll be fine’—I’d heard about [him watching another person] looking through the gap.

“So I was about to get changed, and I could see him right there, leaning in. He’d obviously left the lift and was pretending to clean around the door. I froze, and got really scared, and was like ‘Can you go away?’… and hid in the shower for ten minutes before I could do anything again.”

The student talked to her RA, who called Residential Life Manager Ben Pereira, arranging a meeting that night. An hour later, the student was told the man would be barred entry to Cumberland and have his swipe cards revoked.

Another Cumberland resident who spoke to Salient had been approached in her room by the man.

“He just came and knocked on my door, and he had ten cents, and he asked if it was mine and it wasn’t. He’s done that to a couple of other girls too.

“He asked me what my name was, and went to shake my hand and then started stroking it and stuff, saying that I was really beautiful. Then he gave me all his hours, and told me I should go and talk to him [when he was working],” she said.

A third student reported the man knocked on a girl’s door and “told her she had nice legs”.

All students spoken to praised the Hall management’s handling of the situation, with the first student being reassured the man would not be at Cumberland any longer, and offered an RA escort to and from her room.

“They took it seriously, which was good,” she said.

VUWSA Equity Officer Matthew Ellison described the alleged behaviour of the man as “abhorrent”, and was pleased with accounts of the actions taken by Hall management.

“Such behaviour … is of particular concern when it’s from someone who had access to the buildings where these students live,” said Ellison.

Ellison hoped the employee’s barring from Cumberland would also result in a termination of employment at any Victoria property. He encouraged students not to stay silent on such issues.

“If students have similar complaints … report it to an RA. If it’s not followed up or dealt with properly VUWSA will advocate for students who are being harassed, abused or treated unfairly,” said Ellison.

Helen Sullivan, General Manager of the Sexual Abuse Help Foundation, encouraged students affected by this or similar incidents not to “shrug off ” such events, as patterns of abuse are likely to continue unless someone speaks up.

“It is not uncommon for people to… think it is just creepy or gross but not worth making a fuss about, so they don’t tell anyone. However, as in this instance, such behaviour may not be an isolated event so speaking to someone who can take it further is really helpful.

“More could be done to ensure that student accommodation is safer for the students living there,” said Sullivan.

Cumberland Hall is situated on upper Willis St and houses 227 students. Previously under the management of uStay, this is the first year the Hall has been under University management.

The Sexual Abuse Help Foundation can be contacted through their website, wellingtonhelp.org.nz.

The Sunday Star-Times (SST) broke the story of an anonymous whistleblower who came forward to reveal that the website assignment4u.co.nz was more than just the “academic counselling” service it claimed to be.

The whistleblower, a former employee of the company, claimed that Assignment4u sells essays to international students with poor English for up to $600 per assignment.

While the company is based in Auckland, at least one person claiming to be from Victoria has advertised on the website, and a downloadable assignment for Victoria’s International Marketing course is for sale on the site.

The University maintains there is no current evidence that Victoria students have been involved in the service. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Penny Boumelha said there would be serious consequences for any students caught cheating.

“Victoria… has severe penalties in place for those who attempt to take credit for work this is not their own.”

Victoria had 814 international students at the start of the 2012 academic year.

The SST was able to buy an essay from the company for $270, which a media lecturer at the University of Canterbury graded at a B-plus level.

NZQA has since asked the SST to share their information, as during its own investigation in 2009 it could not find enough evidence to proceed. A second complaint via an anonymous letter in February this year was also not acted upon, as the evidence available was “too old” to provide viable evidence for prosecution.

Dr Karen Poutasi, NZQA’s Chief Executive, said that they could not have attempted to buy an assignment from the company as this could have impeded any potential prosecution.

“We cannot be seen to be breaking the law, being party to breaking the law or encouraging others to break the law, so there is a risk of entrapment if we were to request an assignment.”

Under law changes in 2011, NZQA was granted the power to prosecute anyone advertising or providing cheating services, but has not yet done so.

NZUSA President Pete Hodkinson has appeared to downplay the allegations, urging caution as “the scale of this particular form of cheating has yet to be proved.

“We believe one of the underlying areas of risk here is that tertiary education is being under-resourced… it’s not surprising that cracks start to appear.”

Tertiary Education Union president Lesley Francey has blamed the Government, saying that National’s 20-per-cent reduction in spending on tertiary education had forced universities to cut student support services and increase tutorial sizes, making study more difficult for international students and preventing staff from having as much contact with students.

Francey also claimed that union members had felt pressure from their institutions to pass students, as universities were having to make up funding shortfalls.

”If our members were allowed to exercise professional judgment some of these students wouldn’t pass.”’

Minister for Tertiary Education Steven Joyce, who said he was “very disappointed” at not having been informed about the allegations prior to the story breaking, has dismissed the claims.

“With the greatest respect, that’s a load of rubbish. The universities are very protective of their reputations,” said Joyce.

The registered owner and director of Assignment4u, Steven Quan Li, has not been seen since the story broke. Pengju Chen, who owns the office where the SST collected its purchased assignment from, has also disappeared.

New Zealand actively tries to attract international students, and the Government has a stated target of $5 billion in revenue from international students by 2025, double the current level. Victoria’s tuition fees for international students range from $20,850 per year for a Bachelor of Arts degree to $58,500 per year for a Master of Marine Conservation qualification.

What It Means for Students

The defining message to students from the 2013 Budget is to stay in New Zealand, and don’t be old, with a number of changes to crack down on overseas borrowers and mature students.

Overseas borrowers will face fixed repayment obligations, stricter repayment thresholds, and sanctions for serious defaulters (including border arrest for the worst offenders). In addition, the Student Loan and Allowance stand-down period will be increased for permanent residents and Australian citizens, meaning they must have lived in New Zealand for three years before receiving an allowance or loan. The previous period was two years.

Further, information-sharing between government departments will see contact details from passport applications shared with the IRD
to track down loan defaulters. The changes are expected to save $106 million in total.

Older students will receive less Government support, with $30 million to be saved from the Student Allowance Scheme through cuts to the eligibility of older borrowers. Over-40s will only be able to claim the allowance for a maximum of three years, saving an expected $9.3 million over four years. Over the same time period, $7.9 million will be saved by making over-65s ineligible for a Student Allowance. The total cost of the Student Allowance Scheme is budgeted for $574 million in 2013.

It’s not all bad news, with Science and Engineering students likely to see slightly cheaper course fees after a two-per-cent increase in funding to those subjects. This is in line with a Government focus on subject areas expected to yield the highest economic benefits. In total, $27.2 million went to Science and Engineering ($17.3 and $9.3 million, respectively).

Overall, the Government budgeted an extra $52 million towards Student Loans, due to the average cost of each borrower’s loan growing. This increase in average loan cost can be attributed to the extra borrowing students are doing as a result of cuts to allowances under the National Government. The average cost per loan is expected to increase, although it is unclear by how much.

As a whole, fewer people are taking loans out each year. Loan numbers peaked in 2010 as a response to the recession, when more people entered study as the employment market soured.

A greater proportion of students now get loans than used to—79 per cent of students got a loan in 2008, and the proportion peaked at 88 per cent in 2011 before beginning to decline. It is now 83 per cent, and is expected to fall a further five per cent in the next four years.

The introduction of Voluntary Student Membership has saved the Government $8.8 million per year, and will continue do so each year. However, this cost is not ‘saved’ so much as moved somewhere else, as the costs of union membership have been absorbed into Student Services Levies in many cases, which most people pay through borrowing from the Student Loan Scheme anyway.

Finally, money for Government-funded scholarships increased by 10.5 per cent to $12.8 million, which older students are sure to be eyeing keenly.

What It Means for Institutions

Institutions in the tertiary-education sector fared better than students in this year’s Budget, with increases of funding to a number of key areas, and no major cuts.

The total spend on tertiary education was up 2.6 per cent from 2012, and is now $2.9 billion. $130 million dollars of new, re-prioritised
funding has been allocated to target a number of key focus areas within and across institutions. This excludes the Student Loan and Allowance Schemes, which come under Social Development spending.

The Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) has seen a 4.9-per-cent boost. The value of the fund is now $269 million, and Steven Joyce has indicated this will continue to rise over the coming years. Universities compete for a share of the $269 million from the PBRF based on the quality of their research, which is evaluated every six years.

As mentioned in the student section above, the Government has provided two per cent extra funding to Science and Engineering programmes. Universities with strong Science and Engineering faculties stand to gain from the expected increase in funding extra students will bring.

Part of universities’ funding comes under the Student Achievement Component (SAC), which is roughly based on the number of enrolments a University has, and goes towards direct teaching and learning costs. SAC funding received a very modest 0.9-per-cent increase to $2.04 billion, proportionally less than the 2.6-per-cent increase given to tertiary education as a whole. Once inflation is accounted for, this is a 0.1-per-cent increase. The low SAC allocation may mean students paying more for things like course fees, or some courses being cut.

The term ‘tertiary institutions’ here does not strictly mean only universities, as it also covers polytechnics, industry training providers, wananga, and other providers—it is these institutions which will see much of this new funding. Though it is true that the benefits of extra funding handed to tertiary institutions will be passed on to students, these benefits are targeted to certain groups.

Training for Māori and Pasifika tradespeople has seen an increase of $7.4 million, and trades training for the Canterbury region has also seen a sizeable increase to fill the needs of the Canterbury rebuild.

You can apply for a repayment holiday for the maximum time of one year—which decreases from three years on 1 April 2012—by completing a form. You will need to supply your departure date, how long you intend to be away, and any repayment information to the IRD.

If you are paying tax in New Zealand while overseas, payments will still be deducted from your income.

As of 1 April 2014, two new loan-balance divisions have been introduced. If your loan balance is between $30,000 and $45,000 you must pay $3000 towards your loan each year, between $45,000 and $60,000 the amount due is $4000, and for those earning over $60,000 the amount due per year is $5000.

“Over the last five years, National has restricted access to tertiary education through cuts to student loans and allowances in successive budgets, and 2013 is no exception,”

“National’s strangling of student allowances will see student numbers fall and student debt grow, as older New Zealanders are forced to borrow more to live while they study.

“Moves to crack down on overseas borrowers are also unfair and unnecessarily punitive.

“These changes … make it more likely that students will move overseas to study, and less likely that they will want to return to live in New Zealand.”

Steven Joyce, Minister for Tertiary Education:

“We have been determined to achieve a sustainable level of student support, while maintaining interest-free student loans and targeting additional support to students who need it most.”

“New Zealand continues to have one of the most generous student support systems in the world, with students having access to interest-free student loans and, for many, student allowances as well.”

VUWSA President Rory McCourt:

“Sadly this budget has missed the opportunity to invest properly in tertiary education and students. Instead, it tells individuals and businesses not to retrain and head back to uni or polytech.

“Budgets are about priorities. We think investing in tertiary education and students should be this Government’s priority.

“What we’ll see is less mature students taking up study. It makes much less financial sense to become a nurse or a doctor with a huge student loan when you’re older than 40. Many will say ‘nah, I’ll leave it’.”

Grant Robertson, deputy Labour Party leader:

“Joyce said he wanted to ‘dampen demand’ for tertiary education. Sadly he is succeeding. and pushing grads away too.”

Megan Woods, Labour Tertiary Education Spokesperson:

“This budget is a rerun of the Government’s cost-cutting approach to education. The squeeze on eligibility for student support has tightened with the message being sent to those over 40 years that the Government will not back them to retrain.

“There’s no encouragement of graduates to stay in NZ. Just the opposite––put this year’s changes to policing student loan repayments for overseas borrowers together with last year’s reduction in the repayment holiday, and I fear many educated and skilled people will simply leave for their OE, develop their careers and find it too difficult to come home. Still no investment approach to tertiary education from National.”

Sharn Riggs, TEU National Secretary:

“This Government is stripping money away from students, both directly through their loans, allowances, and higher fees, and indirectly by attacking the quality of their education.

“Instead it is subsidising $29 million to private education companies to help them make a profit rather than investing in local communities’ public education institutions.

Bill English, Minister of Finance:

“The Government is also reining in big rises in student allowance costs by focussing on younger learners and on people studying for their first degrees.

“Students of all ages will continue to have access to the interest-free student loan scheme.”

Keith Ng, journalist and blogger at Public Address:

“The Government is getting pretty aggressive about collecting debt from students overseas.

“It’s a little horrifying in terms of its aggressiveness, but I also think it makes sense in a lot of ways. Aside from raising the amount of money which is collected, it’ll also make it less attractive to try to flee your student loan debt,

“It’s a big, hideous stick, but I guess good policy doesn’t have to be all carrots.”

Provisional data in the 2012 Annual Report released by Victoria University shows that only 66.6 per cent of all students have successfully completed their degrees, while only 58.2 per cent of Māori and 52.7 per cent of Pasifika students have ticked the graduated box.

But in the last year, there has been a push from the Government to improve student outcomes.

At the beginning of 2012, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce announced that the Government would contribute $115 million annually to Student Achievement Component funding (SAC) to tertiary institutions for the direct cost of teaching and learning.

However, tertiary institutions’ access to funding relies on their levels of student performance; for example, the number of students who successfully complete courses and EFTS units.

VUWSA President Rory McCourt acknowledged that there was room for improvement, but said the University had increased its rates of study completion over the last few years and was performing better than other institutions around the country. McCourt said the students’ association is “really proud” of the continual increases in Victoria’s completion rates, especially among Māori and Pasifika students.

“There’s always more we can do to lift the numbers of students who make it through, like building strong support services and the University embracing feedback from our 700-plus Class Reps,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh was also celebrating the outgoing graduates’ success, saying that graduation was a time to “celebrate the culmination of months, or years, of study, dedication and effort.”

“With their diverse range of skills and attributes, our graduates make a valuable contribution to New Zealand’s economy and society, and I wish them every success for their future endeavours,” he said.

Despite poor achievement rates, most students who graduated enjoyed the satisfaction of graduating last week.

Five ceremonies were held at the Michael Fowler Centre last week along with two traditional street parades of staff and graduands who walked from Lambton Quay to Civic Square where they were given the thumbs-up by Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.

The graduation saw 35 PhDs along with 2415 degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded.

For new graduate and Weir House Assistant Head of Hall Rayleen Hirini, graduation was the end of seven years of juggling study, work and motherhood. Seven years ago, Rayleen, 45, had a meeting with the Kaiwaowao (Māori Liasion Officer) who encouraged her in her pursuit to study the Māori language and a Bachelor of Arts in Māori Resource Management.

“It took me seven years’ part-time study while working, and the last four years have been working full-time as Night Manager at Weir House while continuing to study.”

Rayleen plans to continue working at Weir House and then use her degree when she is ready.

Another graduate, 22, who has completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Media Studies, said the graduation process was great.

“But the University could offer more than one free drink, I guess.”

The next graduation ceremony will be held in December.

Know Ya Academicals

Academic dress generally includes a gown with a separate hood, and usually a square academic cap, tam, or bonnet.

Academic hoods originated in the Middle Ages when leaders sat close to fires, while the plebs sat further away and wore fur. Hence, hoods for undergraduate degrees have fur, while postgraduate degrees have no fur.

As for the crème de la crème of robes, a Doctoral graduate wears the same as a graduate receiving a Masters, except the gown is completely silk, either black or scarlet, with the option to wear a cloth gown.

The release of the latest Household Labour Force Survey by Statistics New Zealand shows the unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds dropped by 4.1 per cent to 10.9 per cent from December 2012 to the March 2013. This is the lowest rate since September 2009.

The survey also shows that 8800 more 20- to 24-year-olds have entered study, and that 11,200 more student-age New Zealanders found employment in the year to March.

Statistics New Zealand’s industry and labour statistics manager Diane Ramsay suggested the overall improvement in labour market conditions experienced was different to previous years.

“We usually see actual unemployment rise in March quarters as a result of seasonal factors, such as students entering the job market. We didn’t see this happen this quarter,” Ramsay said.

The positive trends have not reached students, with VUWSA Vice-President (Welfare) Simon Tapp reporting “unprecedented hardship”.

“The Hardship Committee has given out nearly $20,000 more in the first few months of the year than it did for the same time last year, VUWSA’s Free Bread service is attracting queues before it even opens,” said Tapp.

Students spoken to by Salient still felt it was difficult to find work at all, let alone work with flexible hours. One third-year Film student would like to work, but felt VUWSA and the University should be doing more to assist individuals who were struggling to find jobs.

“You are competing with so many students in the same situation… one of the biggest problems is finding a job that works around University.

“Some of us aren’t eligible for allowances and would rather work part-time than add more money to our mounting student loan,” she said.

The survey also showed a rise in the national employment rate from 62.7 per cent in the December 2012 quarter to 63.7 per cent in the March 2013 quarter.

The FBI is investigating the US Inland Revenue Service for illegally targeting conservative political groups. Tea Partiers are said to be spitting tax.

A German man has taken successful legal action against Google after the search engine’s autocomplete linked his name with ‘scientology’ and ‘fraud’. While the man’s name is unknown, Salient feels for all the other Tom Cruises and John Travoltas of the world.

Iraqi drinkers have beer-ed the cost of their failings under Islam’s moral code, with 12 dead after a row of alcohol stores in Baghdad were attacked by gunmen. Salient prefers the normal way of doing shots.

A prominent sportsperson has earned publicity after doing something outside the sporting arena. Media figures are rapidly paring down their estimations of the player’s character after a thorough evaluation based on athleticism and hand-eye coordination proved inaccurate.

A North Carolina family walked down the street naked last week, after the Lord told them—you guessed it—to get naked and walk down the street. Local authorities evaluated them physically and mentally, and concluded that “they didn’t have any problems, short of [not having] any clothes on”. Salient salutes the family for providing the first religious experience we can really get behind.

THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT A WAKE

Brighton Dama Zanthe, a 34-year-old Zimbabwean man, surprised friends and family last week when he woke up the day before his funeral—just in time for his presumed-to-be-dead body to be transported to the hospital, rather than the funeral parlour. Zanthe was put on life support for two days, after which he left, apparently fine. This is not the first such event in Zimbabwe: earlier this year, a woman thought to have died during sex woke up screaming after she was placed into a coffin, apparently preferring to fake her own death over faking an orgasm.

WARTS AND ALL

In nearby Swaziland, a new law bans witches from flying or hovering over 150 metres in the air. The law was put into place after a man was caught flying a toy helicopter rigged with a video camera. “A witch on a broomstick should not fly above the [150-metre] limit,” said Sabelo Dlamini of the country’s civil aviation authority. Many Swazi people believe in the power of black magic, which Salient has learnt is different to the NZL-32 which won the 1995 America’s Cup.