Concern over timeline for Australian performance funding scheme

Australian universities have expressed concern about 바카라사이트 government¡¯s timeline for 바카라사이트 introduction of a performance-related funding scheme to guide 바카라사이트 allocation of teaching grants.

Under a scheme with echoes of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s teaching excellence framework, ministers want to use data on student retention, satisfaction and graduate employment to determine individual institutions¡¯ share of additional teaching grants ¨C initially expected to total about A$70 million (?39 million) ¨C after a funding freeze is lifted in 2020.

But 바카라사이트 government is yet to announce 바카라사이트 panel that will advise on 바카라사이트 scheme¡¯s implementation. Once assembled, 바카라사이트 group will have until 바카라사이트 end of March to produce an interim report, with final advice due by July, ahead of 바카라사이트 first assessment 바카라사이트 following month.

Margaret Sheil, vice-chancellor of Queensland University of Technology, warned that Australia¡¯s research assessment exercise had taken years to construct.

¡°I know how hard it is to develop sensible metrics in research. It¡¯s even more difficult in teaching,¡± said Professor Sheil, former chief executive of 바카라사이트 Australian Research Council.

¡°It¡¯s hard to get a robust framework that drives meaningful change. You get very perverse outcomes if you¡¯re not careful.¡±

Professor Sheil said that 바카라사이트 scheme¡¯s ostensible goals ¨C improved retention, teaching quality and graduate employment ¨C?are already key priorities for universities. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what problem 바카라사이트 government is trying to solve,¡± she said.

Gwilym Croucher, principal policy adviser at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne, described 바카라사이트 timeline for 바카라사이트 new system as ambitious but ¡°doable¡±. He said that 바카라사이트 proposal is ¡°modest¡± because it involves a relatively small amount of funding and legislation is not required to establish 바카라사이트 scheme.

But he agreed that 바카라사이트 government had underestimated 바카라사이트 complexity of creating a performance-based funding scheme, noting that similar initiatives had been established and abandoned in Australian and US states.

¡°The evidence is that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t necessarily produce 바카라사이트 outcomes 바카라사이트 public and students are looking for,¡± Dr Croucher said.

Andrew Harvey, director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research at La Trobe University, said that while 바카라사이트 government had acknowledged 바카라사이트 difficulty of measuring performance, it was downplaying 바카라사이트 challenges.

¡°Once you start crunching 바카라사이트 data, it¡¯s very hard to get consistent indicators,¡± he said. ¡°Employment is negatively correlated with all of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r indicators, and so is student satisfaction. So you¡¯re forced to make arbitrary decisions about which ones you should prioritise.¡±

Dr Harvey said that student satisfaction was not a measure of teaching quality. ¡°The fact that it¡¯s not correlated with retention, success or completion tells us something about 바카라사이트 limitations of all those metrics,¡± he said.

He said?바카라사이트 project also requires a ¡°trade-off¡± between accuracy and simplicity. ¡°If it¡¯s going to make one or two million dollars¡¯ difference to universities, you run 바카라사이트 risk that 바카라사이트 cost of compliance and analysis becomes excessive,¡± he added.

¡°You need to balance 바카라사이트 complexity so that it¡¯s intelligible to students and universities can comply without having to employ armies of new people.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com