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This paper outlines the key issues of remotely invigilated online exams (RIOEs) and presents ways to avoid and resolve the issues for educators who are considering implementing them. The purpose of this paper is to share the lessons learned during the process of implementing and evaluating RIOEs and highlight the key considerations required to conduct RIOEs more seamlessly, whilst minimising students' cognitive load. With the continued growth, and future importance of online tertiary education, this paper provides an important contribution to the understanding of the best methods and practices by which to conduct online examinations and provides a foundation for continued research and enhancement of effective RIOEs. The paper follows an extensive Action Learning process to develop and present a case study that was conducted across nine fully online business courses in a start-up venture for the University of South Australia. Cognitive load theory underpins the case study, which enabled the researchers to gain profound understanding into the RIOE process, identify issues and offer resolutions. RIOEs require more systematic and effective design compared to traditional paper-based exams and should be supplemented by early and clear communication with students. Educators should enable and encourage students to rehearse the exam service access procedures prior to their exams and students should be provided with real-time responsive technical support for any ad hoc issues that may present during the exam. These factors play a critical role in ensuring the successful implementation of RIOEs.

Staff and students at small regional campuses often consider them to be a learning environment with many advantages. Students can benefit from the opportunities for enhanced access to staff provided by factors such as small classes and a compact campus. International students from non-English-speaking backgrounds are one group for whom these factors can be particularly helpful in their adjustment to a new society as well as in their continuing study program. This belief is tested in the study described in this paper. Factors identified by international students as influencing their learning at a small campus situated a considerable distance from the state capital indicate strengths to be built on and celebrated and areas that call for the development of strategies to improve the quality of that learning environment. Former international student graduates were surveyed concerning their perceptions of their regional Australian university experience and the professional preparation it provided. Other Australian higher education institutions, particularly those with regional campuses, can make use of the insights gained through the study: as well as having implications for the provision of a quality learning experience and environment for all students, not only international students, they also have a bearing on international marketing strategies.

Random butterfly matrices were introduced by Parker in 1995 to remove the need for pivoting when using Gaussian elimination. The growing applications of butterfly matrices have often eclipsed the mathematical understanding of how or why butterfly matrices are able to accomplish these given tasks. To help begin to close this gap using theoretical and numerical approaches, we explore the impact on the growth factor of preconditioning a linear system by butterfly matrices. These results are compared to other common methods found in randomized numerical linear algebra. In these experiments, we show that preconditioning using butterfly matrices has a more significant dampening impact on large growth factors than other common preconditioned and a smaller increase to minimal growth factor systems. Moreover, we are able to determine the full distribution of the growth factors for a subclass of random butterfly matrices. Previous results by Trefethen and Schreiber relating to the distribution of random growth factors were limited to empirical estimates of the first moment for Ginibre matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outlines the use of teams of professionals and a Graduate Qualities framework at the University of South Australia to develop students' generic skills within a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Explains the Graduate Qualities framework, discusses its importance to government, employees, and universities, and includes a summary of Graduate Qualities implementation and Graduate Qualities grids. (Author/LRW)

A first year accounting course at an Australian university implemented strategies to develop skill areas valued by industry. Small groups of students collaborated on case studies downloaded from the course Web site, which also provided support resources, past tests and answers, and a discussion room. Assessment was based on preparation and completeness rather than accuracy, and included peer assessment. (TD)

This paper outlines the key issues of remotely invigilated online exams (RIOEs) and presents ways to avoid and resolve the issues for educators who are considering implementing them. The purpose of this paper is to share the lessons learned during the process of implementing and evaluating RIOEs and highlight the key considerations required to conduct RIOEs more seamlessly, whilst minimising students' cognitive load. With the continued growth, and future importance of online tertiary education, this paper provides an important contribution to the understanding of the best methods and practices by which to conduct online examinations and provides a foundation for continued research and enhancement of effective RIOEs. The paper follows an extensive Action Learning process to develop and present a case study that was conducted across nine fully online business courses in a start-up venture for the University of South Australia. Cognitive load theory underpins the case study, which enabled the researchers to gain profound understanding into the RIOE process, identify issues and offer resolutions. RIOEs require more systematic and effective design compared to traditional paper-based exams and should be supplemented by early and clear communication with students. Educators should enable and encourage students to rehearse the exam service access procedures prior to their exams and students should be provided with real-time responsive technical support for any ad hoc issues that may present during the exam. These factors play a critical role in ensuring the successful implementation of RIOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the approach taken to use teams of diverse professionals and a Graduate Qualities framework to develop students' generic skills within a Bachelor of Commerce degree. The Graduate Qualities framework is closely aligned with the Professional Requierments of the Australian accounting professional bodies and the generic skills of the Australian Council for Educational Research. The pressure to embed the development of generic skills into university courses comes from three areas: the government, employers and the universities. With the impending trialing of Graduate Skills Assessment in universities, the increasing interest by the accounting profession to produce broader thinking graduates and universities' management to improve their institutional ratings, academics will be required to develop students' generic skills through the teaching and learning environment they provide in their subjects. This paper also outlines the changes implemented as an outcome of this process that resulted in students changing their behaviour, improving their generic skills and achieving higher learning outcomes in the subjects involved. This paper suggests that a subject development team composed of a diverse group of experts and the use of a Graduate Qualities framework will better enable subject coordinators to meet the increasing demands of the government, employers and the university to produce students with enhanced generic skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterizes an effective profit sharing plan. Basic questions involved in organizing an effective profit sharing plan; Principal methods by which a firm can contribute to the profit sharing fund; Major decisions facing firms in relation to profit sharing.