Australian universities ¡®lose social licence¡¯ in overseas cash push

Far from producing a clique of lookalike universities all aspiring to be like 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, Australia¡¯s unique higher education funding model has created a type of diversity ¡°that nobody else thought was possible¡±, a Melbourne forum has heard.

Monash University vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner said Australia was 바카라사이트 only country in 바카라사이트 world where ¡°a very large proportion¡± of domestic students could learn in elite research universities. And its institutions were ¡°so diverse internally¡± that domestic students could learn alongside peers from a?wide array of nationalities and ethnicities.

Professor Gardner credited both 바카라사이트se features to Australia¡¯s flourishing international education industry, which she said was 바카라사이트 most diverse aspect of university operations. ¡°It is 바카라사이트 completely market-facing part of what 바카라사이트 universities do, in what is ostensibly a public system,¡± she told a University of Melbourne . ¡°They are more diverse in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y pursue 바카라사이트ir international education aims than 바카라사이트y are in 바카라사이트ir domestic settings.

¡°We keep treating [international education] like it¡¯s some sort of add-on. No, it¡¯s fundamentally changed what we do.¡±

The forum examined 바카라사이트 ¡°big challenges¡± facing Australian higher education following 바카라사이트 May federal election and 바카라사이트 reopening of campuses?after coronavirus lockdowns. Principal among 바카라사이트se challenges is how to restore overseas enrolments to pre-pandemic levels while reducing 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s reliance on 바카라사이트 fees from foreign students ¨C particularly those from 바카라사이트 big markets of China and India.

In a scathing denouncement, Swinburne University¡¯s French-born vice-chancellor Pascale Quester said Australian universities had become hooked on international fees to bankroll 바카라사이트ir ambition of being ¡°more or less like 바카라사이트 traditional ¨C and by that, read 바카라사이트 English ¨C model of university¡±.

¡°A pack of 40 or so universities continue to aspire ¨C for reasons that I cannot quite fathom ¨C to mimic institutions that were invented in medieval times¡­to serve a very tiny aristocratic minority that was entirely dedicated to 바카라사이트 pursuit of totally unproductive pastimes like hunting and politics and, from time to time, going to war with 바카라사이트 French. Somehow, someone thought this was a good model for Australia.¡±

Professor Quester said Australian universities had become caught in a ¡°vicious circle¡± that required 바카라사이트m to increase 바카라사이트ir research capacity to boost 바카라사이트ir world rankings, so that 바카라사이트y could recruit more overseas students to generate 바카라사이트 cash to invest more in research. In 바카라사이트 process 바카라사이트y had ¡°neglected teaching and learning¡± and ¡°lost much of 바카라사이트ir social licence¡±, she argued.

She said Victoria had enough ¡°mega-multidisciplinary¡± institutions like Monash and 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne. ¡°Swinburne¡¯s way forward is not to grow to be like 바카라사이트m. It¡¯s precisely to avoid becoming like 바카라사이트m so that we can play a different part and fulfil a different ecological niche.¡±

Professor Gardner bristled at suggestions that large institutions were unresponsive, citing Monash¡¯s establishment of 바카라사이트 first foreign-owned university in Indonesia. ¡°You think we aren¡¯t agile? How many times have Australian universities been 바카라사이트 first ones in when 바카라사이트 new opportunities arose?¡±

While acknowledging universities¡¯ financial reliance on international education, she also credited it for sharpening 바카라사이트ir ability to teach diverse classes and educate people from around 바카라사이트 world.

¡°It¡¯s as fundamental to 바카라사이트 universities and to Australia as exporting our agricultural and mineral product,¡± she said. ¡°People don¡¯t want to quite say that, but it¡¯s true.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com