nick saunders vice-chancellor and president
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The future of Higher Education in Australia: A Vice-Chancellor’s perspective. Nick Saunders Vice-Chancellor and President. Current Characteristics of Australia’s Higher Education Sector. Uncertainty Discomfort Opportunity. The Nelson Agenda. Building Better Foundations - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Nick SaundersVice-Chancellor and President
The future of Higher Education in Australia:A Vice-Chancellor’s perspective
• Uncertainty
• Discomfort
• Opportunity
Current Characteristics of Australia’s Higher Education Sector
• Building Better Foundations
• Building University Diversity
• Research Quality Framework
• Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
• National Governance Protocols
• Workplace Relations
• VET – University linkage
• Voluntary Student Unionism
The Nelson Agenda
“Re-aligning Commonwealth-State responsibilities”• Almost all Australian universities established by State
legislation yet almost all government funding for them comes from the Commonwealth
• Other issues– Commercial activities, management of intellectual property
– Governance arrangements
– Reporting requirements
– Recognition and accreditation
– State taxes, general legislative requirements
Building Better Foundations
Building Better Foundations: Vice-Chancellors’ Views
• Not the main game
• Need for a national vision for higher education
• It ain’t broke, so why fix it?
• Devil in the detail
• State relationship valued
• Moderation of political influence
Source: C.Ewan (2005) Draft Report to DEST
Building University Diversity
“What is a university?”
• Approval and accreditation– MCEETYA protocols
• Breadth of activity– Research?
– Comprehensive teaching programs?
• Nature of the university experience
“I have sometimes thought of it as a series of individual faculty entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance over parking.”
From Clark Kerr, The Uses of the University, Harvard University Press, 1964.
“The multiversity is an inconsistent institution. It is not one community but several – the community of the undergraduate and the postgraduate; the community of the humanist…the social scientist and…the scientist; the communities of the professional schools; the community of all the non-academic personnel; the community of the administrators.
Its edges are fuzzy – it reaches out to alumni, legislators, farmers, businessman…..it looks far into the past and far into the future, and is often at odds with the present….Devoted to equality of opportunity, it is itself a class society.”
From Clark Kerr, The Uses of the University, Harvard University Press, 1964
Building University Diversity: Vice-Chancellors’ Views
• Mixed
• Traditional view prevails - full range of awards - education across number of disciplines - research active - community engagement - commitment to public good
• Arguments put forward by AVCC - are about quality and reputation - are NOT about limiting competition or private providers
Source: Quality and Diversity: A framework for approving higher education providers, AVCC, 2005
• No current institutional assessment of research quality (other than AUQA)
• Commonwealth funding linked to quantitative measures (a mix of inputs and outputs)– Research grants - publications
– HDR student numbers - HDR student completions
• Funding formulae have changed behaviour
Research Quality Framework
• Aims to assess QUALITY and IMPACT of publicly-funded research in Australia
• Emerging system– Most (or all) University staff– Peer-review panels, broad discipline focus
– Rating scale sensitive to discipline differences
• Implementation delayed until at least 2007
Research Quality Framework
Unresolved Issues• Assessment process
• Research training
• Measurement of impact
• Multidisciplinary research
• Early career researchers
• “Third stream” funding
Research Quality Framework
• Aims to reward and provide incentives for excellence in learning and teaching
• $252 million over 3 years (2006-2008)
• Two stage process– Stage 1: strong strategic framework (eligibility)
– Stage 2: performance-based allocation
• Indicators– Graduate perceptions (CEQ)
– Graduate outcomes (GDS)
– Student progression
Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
• Data on indicators collected by DEST
• Institution given opportunity to submit context statement
• Expert Panel– considers scores and university statement
– recommends score amendments, if indicated
– recommends to Minister where the scores demonstrate clear differences in learning and teaching
outcomes
• Minister makes determination
Learning and Teaching Performance Fund: Process
Workplace Relations
• Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs)
• Workplace Productivity Program
Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements
• Choice in agreement making• Direct relationships with employees• Workplace flexibility• Productivity and performance• Freedom of association
• Building Better Foundations
• Building University Diversity
• Research Quality Framework
• Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
• National Governance Protocols
• Workplace Relations
• VET – University linkage
• Voluntary Student Unionism
The Nelson Agenda
Funding the Higher Education Sector
•Thanks for the freebies.
Thanks for the freebies
Thanks for the mergers, HECS and poor indexation.
Photographs courtesy of National Library of Australia and AUSPIC
Thanks for fees, red tape and…
Growth in university student numbers 1950 – 2003
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1,000,00019
50
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
Source: DEST Higher Education Student Statistics (incl. unpublished data)
Note: Includes all domestic and international (offshore and onshore) undergraduate and postgraduate students
Commonwealth Expenses 2004 - 05
Source: Treasury’s 2004 – 05 Budget paper
% total outlay
General public services 6.2
Defence 7.5
Health 18.2
Higher Education 2.5
Schools 3.8
Social security and welfare 43.0
Recreation and culture 1.2
Fuel and energy 2.0
Transport and communication 2.3
Average Annual Increase (1998 – 2004)
Index %
Schools Index 5.5
Average Weekly Earnings 4.5
Labor Force Index (Education) 3.8
Safety Net Adjustment 1.7
Impact of Under Indexation since 1996
State Contributions to Universities (2003)
State Contribution
$ millions
Payroll Tax Paid
$ millions
NSW 21.4 102.8
Victoria 58.4 80.5
Queensland 42.7 48.3
Western Australia 43.5 36.7
South Australia 23.0 22.9
Tasmania 6.5 6.8
Northern Territory 3.4 2.7
ACT 2.0 21.8
Source: Building Better Foundations for Higher Education in Australia, DEST 2005
University Income by Source
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
State
Other
Student Fees
HECS
Commonwealth
Funding Per Commonwealth Funded Student Place, 2000 - 2008
End of Year Financial Results for NSW Universities$ million
2003 2004
Charles Sturt 10.5 4.0Macquarie 19.2 20.6
Southern Cross (2.7) (5.9)
New England 4.0 3.0
New South Wales 16.6 (9.9)
Newcastle (3.5) (26.9)
Sydney 94.7 77.9
UTS 12.4 (12.2)
Western Sydney 0.0 (26.9)
Wollongong 16.5 25.4
Total 168.5 49.0
Source: Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament 2005 Volume Two
“The role of Australian universities has changed beyond recognition in the past 30 years. …..They provide professional qualifications as well as generalist studies; basic research together with fee-for-service consulting; and teaching ranges from undergraduate humanities and science to in-house corporate training.
These disparate and sometimes conflicting roles have made the traditional government funding arrangements obsolete.”
From S.P. King (2001). The Funding of Higher Education in Australia: Overview and Alternatives Aust. Econ. Rev. 34:190-4
Index of revenue 1997 - 2003
0.90
1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
1.60
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Newcastle
Al l unis
Newcastle revenue vs expenditure 1997 - 2004
0.90
1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
1.60
1.70
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
revenueexpenditure
Financial Performance (Adjusted)
“No pressure, no diamonds”- Mary Case
• Mission
• Focus
• Partnerships
• Flexibility
Grasping the Opportunity will depend on: