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Higher Education Review ProcessVarieties of Excellence: Diversity, Specialisation and Regional EngagementforewordEarly into the debate of higher education reform, I drew attention to the assertion that Australia does not have a university ranked in the international top 50 or 100. The fact is that it never has - although there are a number of parts of Australian universities that are already world-class in every sense of the word. The Vice-Chancellor of The University of Melbourne, Professor Alan Gilbert, and even the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mr Ian Macfarlane, also made similar comments in the context of funding and policy settings. The purpose of stimulating debate about our place in the ‘university world’ is two-fold. Whilst not all Australians may understand the critically important contribution made by universities to the economic and social development of their country, they become much more engaged when they hear that Australia is not amongst ‘the world’s best’. Engaging a broader section of Australian society whose hard work underwrites two-thirds of what happens in universities is fundamental to achieving important policy outcomes. The second reason for considering Australia’s position in relation to the best in the world is that under the current policy settings, would Australia ever on any league table be likely to achieve a world ranking on any league table of comparisons. Australia’s universities each have different missions and structures, specific strengths and increasingly service different demands. The current policy and funding framework for higher education has encouraged universities to compete rather than collaborate. It has worked against excellence, diversity of educational experience and - in some cases - institutional independence. There is already diversity in the Australian higher education sector, but there is also significant replication. Many Australians struggle to understand why all universities should seek to offer courses that duplicate one another. A large number of courses are provided in a majority of institutions. For example, the field ‘business and management’ is offered at all 39 universities. Some 20 per cent of units on offer have fewer than five students enrolled and more than 4 200 have only one student enrolled. In some cases, especially humanities, this is necessary. But is there not scope to consider rationalising course offerings without financial penalty to institutions or students? Why can a student not enrol in an institution but undertake a portion of their coursework with another university by distance education? This paper canvases a range of options for university diversity and specialisation across particular courses or fields of study, and across particular teaching and research activities. A re-creation of the binary model of ‘research’ and ‘teaching’ institutions is not a realistic option. Nor is it desirable. Surely universities should be encouraged to specialise in particular fields of research, teaching and scholarship rather than be effectively forced by virtue of funding arrangements to offer everything to all possible students. It is not the role of Government to ‘hand-pick’ one or two institutions for elevation to world-class status, but it is the role of Government to provide a policy framework which might facilitate this goal being achieved if it were the vision of an institution to do so. The system should enable each institution to achieve its maximum potential whether globally, nationally, or locally. The demands on the universities and the campuses in the regions of Australia are onerous and increasing. Meeting the social, economic and cultural expectations of the communities which they serve is not always recognised under the current funding arrangements. Similarly, though there are already models of university collaboration, more encouragement should be given for building partnerships with other institutions, businesses, research agencies and communities. Most submissions to the Higher Education Review argue for a more diverse system of higher education in Australia with an enhanced role for specialisation and differentiation, and some rationalisation. The Government will not support a model that compromises equity of opportunity and significantly limits student choice. It will not support a model that in any way undermines the role of smaller universities, especially those in the regions. Nor will it endorse a framework that further burdens institutions in terms of monitoring and reporting. Our challenge is to determine how best this can be reasonably achieved while continuing to meet the varied needs of students, industry and Australian society.
The Honourable Brendan Nelson MP
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Any comments or
queries should be sent to:
highered@dest.gov.au
Department of Education, Science and Training
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