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Government reporting requirements
“ onerous”
A report on red tape says universities are struggling to meet the requirements of government reporting.
Australian universities are calling for a review of their reporting obligations after it was revealed that some are spending almost $ 1 million each to meet the data requirements of one government department.
According to the PhillipsKPA report on university red tape, universities expended around 66,000 staff days and $ 26
The effort involved in one report is already very high … there is a need to rationalise these data collections. million meeting just 18 of 46 reporting requirements by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education in 2011.
The report found that reporting requirements were not proportionate to the funding provided.
It found that the cost of reporting was higher for smaller targeted programs, including the Disability Support Program, Learning and Teaching Grants, Learning and Teaching Fellowships and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme. In some cases, for every $ 1000 in funding, $ 30 was lost in complying with the cost of reporting data to government.
The study only looked at direct staff costs and did not include capital or indirect costs, which are estimated to surpass 40 per cent of total costs for universities.
David Phillips, director of PhillipsKPA, believes that a more sophisticated model for governance and management of information is needed.
Phillips said the model should be centred on the development of a national higher education data collection and a national higher education information repository which would consolidate relevant data – one of the recommendations that emerged from the analysis.
“ The effort involved in one report is already very high. Multiply that by the number of different authorities which require submissions, then add more reports for grant applications and so on, you will start to see that there is a need to rationalise these data collections,” Phillips said.
He said policy change is needed to lessen the amount of data-gathering required.
Belinda Robinson, chief executive of universities peak body, Universities Australia, who commissioned the report, said while they support the recommendations made in the report, she said“ they don’ t go far enough”. Robinson said there are“ a plethora” of agencies that have“ tentacles that reach into the day-to-day operations of universities”.
In addition to providing reports to DIISRTE, universities are also expected to provide information to the Tertiary Education Quality Authority, Excellence in Research for Australia, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the Department of Defence, the Australian Research Council and state and territory governments.
Robinson said a Productivity Commission review is urgently needed on university regulation and reporting, which should cover all government agencies and jurisdictions.
“ The dead weight of unnecessary, redundant and duplicative regulation and reporting not only leads to waste in the allocation of university and government resources, it also diverts substantial funds away from the core business of universities – teaching, scholarship and research,” she said.
Robinson said what this report shows is that the university sector is“ groaning under the weight of an ever increasing regulatory and reporting load” and that DIISRTE reporting requirements are just the tip of the iceberg.
The report recommends DIISRTE develop standardised templates for reporting requirements, as well as listing the requirements of related agencies that also seek information from universities. It has also recommended developing ways to enhance government understanding of higher education through training, workshops and staff exchanges. n
www. campusreview. com. au April 2013 | 5