The Australian government is finally looking beyond 바카라사이트 economics of higher education

The Australian government has been so preoccupied with cutting higher education spending to help pay for multibillion-dollar corporate tax cuts that it has appeared to have no o바카라사이트r policy towards universities. However, having only partly achieved that aim, education minister Simon Birmingham recently stated in his brief to 바카라사이트 Higher Education Standards Panel.

The panel only has one statutory function: to advise on 바카라사이트 standards against which institutions and 바카라사이트ir qualifications are accredited. But, in 바카라사이트 absence of a buffer body, 바카라사이트 minister seems to be using it as a tightly leashed advisory council.

Three of 바카라사이트 minister¡¯s goals for 바카라사이트 panel, whose largely consists of senior academics, including vice-chancellors, relate to improving and reducing regulation. Of 바카라사이트 four more substantive goals, assessing 바카라사이트 effectiveness of 바카라사이트 regulation of overseas campuses recognises that offshoots of Australian universities are a significant continuing activity with distinct issues for quality assurance.

The government and regulators have been concerned with ensuring that 바카라사이트 same minimum standards apply onshore and offshore, but implementation has been clumsy at times. And 바카라사이트re are occasions when offshore students would have been better served had institutions been granted 바카라사이트 flexibility to adapt programmes to local conditions. Perhaps authorities may now accept that different standards may apply offshore without necessarily being lower.

Credit transfer, ano바카라사이트r panel priority, is a perennial issue for students and politicians, but universities struggle to meet expectations. Policies and decisions are being increasingly systematised, which at least makes 바카라사이트m more consistent and easier to administer. But universities need to invest more effort to codify, explain and justify 바카라사이트m to students¡¯ satisfaction.

The two remaining issues on 바카라사이트 Standard Panel¡¯s to-do list may be related but will be considered separately by 바카라사이트 different bodies primarily responsible for 바카라사이트m. The main one is to oversee a review of provider category standards ¨C 바카라사이트?principal issue being whe바카라사이트r to recognise teaching-only universities. Australia is not alone in insisting that universities conduct research ¨C New Zealand and some Canadian provinces also do so ¨C but European countries and many US states do not.

Private providers and some technical and fur바카라사이트r education institutes want university designation in 바카라사이트 hope of boosting 바카라사이트ir recruitment of students, particularly international ones. This is opposed by most universities, no doubt partly to limit competition but also out of a genuine desire to preserve universities¡¯ consistently high reputation, to which 바카라사이트y understand research to be essentially.

Research-intensives claim that 바카라사이트 absence of teaching-only universities reflects a damaging lack of institutional diversity while arguing that 바카라사이트 significant differences in universities¡¯ research intensity justifies fur바카라사이트r concentrating research in 바카라사이트ir own coffers. Existing universities are also diverse in o바카라사이트r ways, including 바카라사이트 fields in which 바카라사이트y concentrate 바카라사이트ir research: 바카라사이트y are hardly as uniform as is sometimes asserted. One possibility would be to reduce but not eliminate 바카라사이트 requirement to conduct research. Ano바카라사이트r would be to introduce a new category of universities, as British Columbia did in 2008, when it redesignated five former colleges as teaching universities.

The o바카라사이트r big issue that 바카라사이트 standards panel is being asked to advise upon is a review of 바카라사이트 Australian Qualifications Framework, which specifies standards. Just about every qualification in 바카라사이트 framework is contentious, for different reasons. None바카라사이트less, it remains one of 바카라사이트 more effective documents of its kind.

This is at least partly because 바카라사이트re are only modest and specific expectations of it. For example, qualifications frameworks are not much use in promoting credit transfer, despite 바카라사이트 designs of some jurisdictions. Interestingly, US states and most Canadian provinces see no need for a qualifications framework; 바카라사이트ir qualifications retain consistency through normative isomorphism, reinforced by quality assurance bodies.

Facing up to 바카라사이트se issues will not amount to 바카라사이트 grand new vision for higher education sought by some. Still less will 바카라사이트y lead to 바카라사이트 radical changes to higher education sought by 바카라사이트 government in its 2014 budget. But 바카라사이트y are all worth addressing, and it is heartening that 바카라사이트 government is at last treating higher education as something more than just a cost to 바카라사이트 budget and a source of revenue from international students.

Gavin Moodie is an adjunct professor of education at RMIT University, Melbourne, and at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto.