policy & reform
Time for universities to rethink and reinvent
After a decade of relative stability, the tertiary education sector has entered an uncertain period, in which business models are changing rapidly and funding sources are less certain.
The core strength of Australian tertiary institutions is undiminished and they continue to compare well with international benchmarks. But a convergence of factors is forcing the industry to undergo rapid and fundamental change, putting at risk the relative funding certainty it has previously enjoyed. Those factors include technological disruption, regulatory pressures and increased competition.
Technology is changing the mechanisms by which education is delivered. The internet, low-cost computing and ubiquitous global access to cheap bandwidth means that on-demand
As universities navigate their way through a period of unprecedented change, it may be time for them to embrace proven business management approaches. By Marc Englaro
online education often delivers a better experience than the traditional lecture theatre, which defines so many of today’ s universities.
The climate of reduced public funding from both sides of politics, means that not only has the total available funding decreased, but this has come at a time when the regulatory framework has been loosened, increasing competition among Australian universities for the enrolment of students and their related revenue.
To compound this, the historically strong education export industry( which can also be thought of as the importing of students), is under threat from the higher Australian dollar and increased competition from new entrants like the United States.
In the private sector, the convergence of technological revolution and increased competition typically leads to radical shifts.
The organisations that are first to embrace change and reinvent themselves survive, while the laggards that do not adapt wither and die or are snatched up by the stronger organisations that acquire the weak in sector consolidation.
Recently, the University of Ballarat and Monash University’ s Gippsland campus announced that it would merge to become the Federation University Australia( FedUni). Through the amalgamation, FedUni is expected to be able to offer students more choice, more opportunity and the ability to undertake their studies locally. So, will we continue to see Australian universities merge or close in coming years? To quote a recent higher education report from Ernst & Young, Australian universities need to transform fundamentally or prepare to fail. This begs the question, however: what characteristics will the surviving universities exhibit?
Clearly academic quality will be important, but traditionally universities have been measured on research output and academic publications which may not be closely connected to the demands of their customers – that is, its students and indirectly, employers. Will future measures of prestige be based on graduate employability, salaries and career prospects?
20 | campusreview. com. au