In conversation with: Professor Richard James

John Clarke,Karen Nelson

doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.v5i1.222

Abstract

In 2011, Richard James wrote in the Foreword to Nelson, Clarke, Kift, and Creagh’s (2012) monograph on Australasian literature on the First Year Experience that: The trend towards universal participation will usher in dramatic changes in the character of the first year in higher education. … (p. iii) In an interview at the University of Melbourne, Australia in July 2013 between Richard James and John Clarke, Co-editor of the International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, these and related issues were explored. The interview picks up where the Foreword left off: focussing on universal participation.

Highlights

In 2011, Richard James wrote in the Foreword to Nelson, Clarke, Kift, and Creagh’s (2012) monograph on Australasian literature on the First Year Experience that
The trend towards universal participation will usher in dramatic changes in the character of the first year in higher education
What goes on in Australian higher education is very much determined these days by the nature of the international student market

Summary

Professor Richard James

Professor Richard James is Pro ViceChancellor (Equity and Student Engagement) and a Professor of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Richard has wide-ranging research interests in higher education that centre on the quality of the student experience. His research program spans access and equity, the transition to university, student finances, student engagement, quality assurance and academic standards. He has published widely on the effects of social class on higher education aspirations and participation. Richard is a regular public commentator on higher education policy. Richard has led significant national studies of equity and student finances for Universities Australia that were influential in the 2008 Review of Australian Higher Education

Introduction

Standards now are

Universities will need to do more to