Be bold, Australian reviewers urge sector

Australia’s universities could be rewarded for kicking national goals when they bat for their local communities, under ideas to be explored through the country’s once-in-a-generation higher education review.

A discussion paper for the Australian Universities Accord hints at new revenue streams for universities that pursue localised missions with countrywide spin-offs.

“Where providers make a distinctive contribution to national objectives through community, location-based or specialised economic development, how should this contribution be identified and invested in?” the paper asks.

“How should the contribution of different institutions and providers to key national objectives specific to their location, specialist expertise or community focus be appropriately financed?”

The accord’s six-member panel has signalled that it will leave no stone unturned as it grills stakeholders for suggestions about funding, regulation, links with vocational education, “coherent” national governance and the optimum “mix of providers”.

The document poses 49 questions covering areas from the student experience, learning environments and admissions mechanisms to academic integrity, community engagement and employment practices. It asks for ideas on improving research and infrastructure funding, meeting future skills needs, cultivating a lifelong learning “culture” and sharing the spoils of international education more evenly among institutions.

The accord is “a unique opportunity to capture the abilities and achievements of the sector, and to re-imagine it for the future over a 10, 20 and 30-year horizon”, the paper insists. “Be bold in your comments and submissions. What needs to change?”

The paper is being released as sector representatives gather in Canberra for the annual Universities Australia Conference. The accord will be a “blueprint for real and long-lasting change”, according to the education minister, Jason Clare, who will address the conference at a Parliament House dinner on 22 February.

Mr Clare will beg the sector to “work together to imagine something different”, according to a draft of his speech. “If we can do that, then next year the hard work of implementing them begins.

“Not everything we think of will be right. Not everything we think of will we be able to do. And not everything we do will make a difference straight away.”

In a pitch for support from his political opponents, Mr Clare will say that “real” reform endures only in a bipartisan environment.

The paper suggests that a rolling target might be set for higher education attainment. It says that while the proportion of degree-educated young adults is now well above the 40 per cent benchmark proposed by former higher education reviewer Denise Bradley – and about three percentage points above the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average – Australia still lags behind about a dozen European and east Asian countries on this measure.

“What should the long-term targets be for Australia’s higher education attainment by 2030 and 2040, and how should these be set and adjusted over time?” the paper asks.

It also seeks guidance on which parts of the former government’s Job-ready Graduates reforms should be retained and which should be “altered”. The paper cites “widespread concerns” about the package’s impacts – particularly on female and Indigenous students, who attracted some of the “largest fee increases” – but acknowledges popular aspects such as the flexible “funding envelope” given to each institution.

The paper devotes relatively little space to some of the sector’s most burning issues, including student poverty and the underpayment of casual academics. But it acknowledges increasing living costs “as a significant barrier to successful participation” and says the voices of “people with lived experience” should be “at the centre” of initiatives to broaden access.

The accord panel has already received more than 180 submissions and 1,900 survey responses. The paper says an interim report in June “will articulate priorities and directions for the system, and present options for how to make those priorities a reality”.

The panel will subsequently undertake further consultation to “refine its observations, explore the grounds for consensus and prioritise recommendations for the final report” in December.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com