policy & reform
Obstacle course
Universities today face a set of rapidly evolving challenges. Here’ s how some experts on the sector want to address them. By Louis White
Research grants cut, Australian Government funding falling, up to two-thirds of students no longer attending lectures, rapidly evolving digital technology and the make-up of the academic staff are just some of the big issues confronting the tertiary sector in 2014.
Not only do universities around Australia have to battle all of the above but also the relatively new Australian Government has called on former Liberal education minister David Kemp and his previous policy adviser Andrew Norton to review the current uncapped system of university places.
And there is competition to face, too. Australian universities are competing on a global scale for international students and the only comforting factor there is that the Australian dollar has dropped below parity with the US dollar.
The plethora of issues facing higher education won’ t dissipate any time soon. Campus Review talked to some key figures in and around the sector to get their views on how it should handle the hot topics this year and beyond.
What FIXES DOES the demand-driven system NEED?“ We are entering the third year of the demand-driven system, so it should now be possible to see from evidence if it is achieving its aims and if its enormous cost has been worthwhile,” professor Warren Bebbington, vice-chancellor and president, University of Adelaide, says.
“ The Norton / Kemp Review will hopefully provide the much needed insights into the impact of the system. And we will need a government open to the recommendations of that review and willing to change the system as appropriate.
There is already speculation about what significant changes there will be.
“ With careful thought, [ we could develop ] better and much less costly ways to lift participation of low-SES students than simply uncapping enrolments,” Bebbington says.
Norton released a paper in August last year arguing strongly against the reintroduction of caps on university places, saying it would be a“ policy tragedy”.
“ Primarily, uncapped university enrolments have allowed institutions to be flexible and to grow in areas where there is demand without having to seek additional places from the department, as was the case previously,” Monish Paul, lead partner national education and WA public sector, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, says.
“ Removing the caps has provided universities with a greater ability to respond to the economy’ s skills needs and uncapping enrolments has supported the broadening participation agenda by enabling universities to enrol students who would not otherwise have been able to access a tertiary education.”
Still, there is a need for the system to be modified. As Paul acknowledges, there have been some disadvantages to uncapping university places. For example, he believes the additional revenue universities have received has offset or masked some of the structural problems within institutions as some have focused on growing market share, rather than optimising current services.
“ Some institutions and related educational offerings, particularly
8 | campusreview. com. au