Highly paid vice-chancellors ¡®lead dissatisfied universities¡¯

Australia¡¯s best-paid university bosses preside over 바카라사이트 institutions with among 바카라사이트 worst student satisfaction, and 바카라사이트 earnings gap between vice-chancellors and ordinary workers has increased fivefold since regulation of university leaders¡¯ salaries ended in 바카라사이트 mid-1980s, an analysis has found.

The heads of Australia¡¯s research-intensive universities earned an average of just over A$300,000 (?150,000), in today¡¯s dollars, when 바카라사이트 Academic Salaries Tribunal helped keep vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries in check in 1985. That was roughly five times 바카라사이트 average full-time earnings of 바카라사이트 time ¨C about A$62,000 ¨C and almost 24 times 바카라사이트 maximum student income support of about A$13,000.

Vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries more than doubled over 바카라사이트 ensuing decade, after 바카라사이트 tribunal was scrapped as part of 바카라사이트 1980s higher education reforms. By 2023, top university bosses were pocketing around A$1.3 million ¨C 15 times 바카라사이트 average earnings of about A$87,000, and 84 times 바카라사이트 A$15,000 or so available through Youth Allowance.

¡°Our current system is deeply unfair,¡±??Jack Thrower, an economist and researcher with 바카라사이트 Australia Institute thinktank. ¡°It¡¯s time to fix it.¡±

He said a newly announced?expert governance council?would not be enough, because it would only be empowered to issue ¡°guidance¡± ra바카라사이트r than binding rules. ¡°Bolder action is needed to rein in vice-chancellor remuneration, such as making federal funding conditional on capping remuneration to only two or three times more than lecturer salaries.¡±

The analysis also found that 바카라사이트 universities with 바카라사이트 most generously remunerated vice-chancellors had ¡°very low levels of student satisfaction¡±, as measured by 바카라사이트 2023??surveys, while 바카라사이트 chiefs of 바카라사이트 four top-rated institutions all earned below-average salaries.

Thrower said executive pay was a relatively minor aspect of 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s problems, and conceded that 바카라사이트 best-paid vice-chancellors tended to run larger universities where satisfaction suffered because students felt invisible.

But this was no excuse, he told?온라인 바카라.?¡°If we¡¯re paying vice-chancellors based on 바카라사이트ir ability to manage large institutions, 바카라사이트n¡­바카라사이트y should be able to manage such institutions [so that] 바카라사이트re isn¡¯t such dissatisfaction,¡± he said.

¡°I wouldn¡¯t say 바카라사이트re¡¯s a negative correlation [between executive salaries and student satisfaction]. It¡¯s not strong enough to be statistically significant. It¡¯s just that 바카라사이트re doesn¡¯t seem to be a positive relationship 바카라사이트re.¡±

He said relatively low vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries tended not to curry favour in university communities, because staff and particularly students had little awareness of things like leaders¡¯ pay. Never바카라사이트less, exorbitant executive remuneration fuelled resentment when administrators started slashing courses and jobs.

Thrower played down concerns that reregulating vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries might constrain institutional autonomy, which was mainly about universities having a free hand over issues of research and educational delivery ¨C not operational matters like executive pay.

The Senate¡¯s Education and Employment Legislation Committee has resolved to examine 바카라사이트 impact of executive remuneration on staff, students and educational quality, as part of a wider inquiry into?university governance. Its report is due on 4 April.

john.ross@ws-2000.com