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Murdoch University vice chancellor Eeva Leinonen . Photo : Ross Swanborough
Room for improvement
Regulator investigates Murdoch University and registers it for four years rather than seven .
By Wade Zaglas
An investigation into Perth ’ s Murdoch University by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency ( TEQSA ) has resulted in the institution having its operating licence renewed for only four years rather than the customary seven .
However , Times Higher Education ( THE ) has reported that the country ’ s higher education regulator has not taken a hard line on the university , allowing it to address problems identified through a confidential and “ voluntary undertaking ”.
“ After assessing the university ’ s registration renewal application , on 9 June 2021 TEQSA concluded that Murdoch was at risk of not continuing to meet the relevant requirements of Higher Education Standards Framework ( Threshold Standards ) 2015 ,” the peak body said .
Three key risks were identified in the statement : 1 . Whether the university ’ s governing body has “ sufficiently managed and mitigated material risks identified in its operations ”.
2 . The extent to which the Academic Council “ adequately identifies , mitigates and maintains oversight of material risks that impact teaching and learning quality at Murdoch ”.
3 “ Course review and improvement activities ( Standard 5.3.4 ) and the extent to which Murdoch has established systematic benchmarking of student performance data across comparable courses .”
TEQSA decided not to put conditions on the university , however , instead affording it the ability to reach full compliance through a range of “ voluntary undertakings ”. These include reports that identify risks and areas of future non-compliance and “ address them in a timely and effective manner ”.
The higher education regulator said such reports , which were already being commissioned by Murdoch , “ reflect [ ed ] a commitment to continuous improvement ”.
Despite the shorter licence to operate , Murdoch ’ s vice-chancellor Eeva Leinonen said the university ’ s re-registration was an “ important decision ” in maintaining its university status .
“ This ensures we continue in our goal of striving to provide the best teaching , learning and research outcomes , and continue our proud history of providing inclusive education to all who can benefit , irrespective of social standing and background ,” she said .
“ Our voluntary undertakings set out the actions we will be taking to address the identified risks and allow us to demonstrate ongoing improvements to our corporate and academic governance arrangements and external benchmarking of student performance across courses .”
Murdoch University was one of several Australian universities that were scrutinised in a broadcast of ABC TV ’ s Four Corners ’ Cash Cows program in 2019 . The chief complaint relating to Murdoch ’ s operations was its international student admissions .
Since then , the university has been investigated by TEQSA three times , THE reported , and the Department of Home Affairs increased the university ’ s immigration risk ranking temporarily .
TEQSA concluded that Murdoch was at risk of not continuing to meet the relevant requirements of Higher Education Standards Framework ( Threshold Standards ) 2015 .
THE argues that TEQSA has provided scant detail into its investigation of Murdoch ’ s international student admissions and English-language proficiency requirements , while it released far more detailed information on the substantial recommendations the University of Tasmania was forced to comply with for re-registration .
The regulator also published clear details of the six conditions placed on Charles Sturt University for registration that year , one being the temporary suspension of enrolment at some of its campuses .
In October 2019 , the regulator said that Murdoch University ’ s “ inconsistent application of its own admissions practices ” had resulted in “ ill-equipped ” students being admitted to the university with little chance of completing their course successfully . However , it followed this up by saying the university had subsequently “ responded appropriately to these issues ”.
While many in the higher education sector were bemused by the revelations of the ABC TV ’ s Cash Cows program , others slammed it . The International Education Association of Australia ( IEAA ) labelled it as biased and ignorant of the benefit international students bring to Australia
“ Each time the Four Corners producers focus on Australia ’ s international education sector they seem intent on finding as many negative angles as possible . Any media outlet can string together a group of disaffected academics , students and even education agents ,” CEO of the IEAA Phil Honeywood said .
“ The fact that the program ’ s producers and reporters continually choose to ignore the incredibly positive outcomes that Australia is achieving with our 450,000 overseas students is cause for real concern .” ■
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