Recent reforms in Australian higher education with particular reference to institutional amalgamations

The recent reforms in Australian higher education system envisaged the creation of a unified national system at the expense of the binary system with a smaller number of larger institutions through institutional mergers. The Green Paper quoted the La Trobe Lincoln merger as an exemplar. This paper examines the outcomes of these reforms in general with particular emphasis on La Trobe Lincoln merger, based on an evaluation of relevant archival material and interviews with all key personnel of both institutions and the merged university including the goals and academic rationale set for the merger and the progress made during the first three years, along with future trends.     

Restructuring higher education systems through institutional mergers: Australian experience, 1981–1983

This paper reviews Australian experience over the period 1981–1983 in order to illustrate how institutional mergers can be used to tackle system-wide as well as local institutional problems in higher education. It also illustrates some of the tensions and complications that arise in a federal political system where the legal control for two out of three sectors of tertiary education lies at one level of government and funding responsibility at another. The background and context to the mergers are explained, an analysis is provided of how institutions and state governments reacted to Federal Government coercion, and an attempt is made to assess outcomes.     

Academics’ perceptions of collaboration in higher education course design

ABSTRACT

There is little empirical research related to the readiness and capacity of academics for team-based collaboration. This case study used the existing literature about collaboration as a term of reference to examine the perceptions of a group of academics engaged in course design and how prepared they were individually and as teams for collaboration. The study found that participants recognised and understood the key elements that distinguish collaboration from other forms of interaction. However, they did not express a depth of understanding about the cognitive and social capacities required for collaboration and the skills, structures and processes necessary to enable team-based collaborative practice. While the participants felt they were willing and largely prepared as individuals for collaboration, closer scrutiny indicated substantial variation in their reports about the willingness, knowledge and skills of the teams on which they served. In addition, participants reported that current conditions at the institutional level serve as inhibitors to collaboration in course design. This included the absence of committed leadership and organisational supports for collaboration. Participants described the dominant culture as more supportive of individualised, competitive and hierarchical work practices. Under these work conditions, participants noted a reliance on individuals’ goodwill to collaborate in the absence of broader organisational structures and support.     

高等教育大众化与制度创新

制度创新是美英德日四国高等教育大众化进程的共同特征 ,亦是我国实现高等教育大众化的一种必然选择。我国实现高等教育大众化的制度创新 ,应以办学模式的创新、管理体制的创新和投资体制的创新为重点。     

Diversity in Australian higher education?

This study explores systematic relationships between management attitudes about recent transitions in the funding and structure of higher education in Australia (Meek and Goedegebuure, 1989) and the domains of the taxonomy emerging from ongoing organisational effectiveness research based on these institutions (Lysons, 1990b). The results reinforce the integrity of the previously established 4 group framework and flesh-out more fine-grained issues which may militate against the smooth transition of amalgamated institutions to university status, on the one hand, and the enhancement of diversity on the other.     

Distance education in Australian higher education — a history

Distance education, usually described in Australia as ‘external studies’ has a long history in Australian universities, although the situation since about 1965 has been marked by very considerable new development in all tertiary institutions. No longer is external study the very courageous innovation it was when the University of Queensland established a Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911; indeed it has become a very significant feature of Australian higher education generally. Reasons behind the introduction and expansion of external study extend beyond simply meeting the needs of people in rural areas, though these were important in the early stages. This article considers the wider policy issues affecting developments in Australian states, while also drawing attention to previously undocumented proposals in the nineteen thirties that established a base from which post‐World War II policy has been derived.     

MOOCs,institutional policy and change dynamics in higher education

The last couple of years have witnessed a growing debate about online learning in higher education, notably in response to the global massive open online course (MOOC) phenomenon. This paper explores these developments from an institutional policy perspective, drawing on an analysis of the initial stages of different approaches to MOOCs and e-learning being taken up at three Australian universities. It points to four commonalities emerging from the institutional constructions of these initiatives including (1) the use of e-learning policy as a vehicle for curriculum redesign; (2) an emphasis on internal curriculum redesign as a core rationale for MOOCs; (3) a desire to capitalise on promotional opportunities but a reticence around wholly embracing the concept and structure of MOOCs and (4) the absence of access-driven concerns in university policy despite the prominence of such concerns in broader public debate. The approach is framed by a consideration of change dynamics in higher education and highlights the emphasis on internal university work within the policy narrative, suggesting this could represent an attempt to reframe the debate about MOOCs away from popular arguments about systemic disruption and instead use them to progress forms of change that align to broader strategic objectives.     

Making sense of institutional positioning in Finnish higher education

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper examines how institutional positioning has emerged in the meaning-making activities between Finnish higher education institutions and the Ministry of...     

Making sense of institutional positioning in Finnish higher education

This paper examines how institutional positioning has emerged in the meaning-making activities between Finnish higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of the performance agreement documents of all higher education institutions filed with the ministry for contract periods 2010–2012 and 2013–2016. The results show that, in the first cycle, higher education institutions used profiling vocabulary in vastly different ways, and their lists of priority areas were quite wide ranging. By the second cycle, profiling statements had become more specific and structurally more alike, but the lists of priority areas continued to have a wide scope. As a response, the Ministry has consistently demanded and rewarded more focused profiling efforts and used the concepts of profiling to support other steering measures.     

Associations between research and teaching in Australian higher education

This article describes results of an empirical investigation of the relationship between research and undergraduate teaching in Australian higher education. Two research indexes (weighted number of publications, and number of research activities) were used. Scores on a Likert-type scale of reported commitment to teaching undergraduate students formed the main criterion of teaching effectiveness. This was supplemented by student ratings in one of the aggregate-level analyses. The results revealed typically no relation or a negative relation between teaching and research at the level of the individual and at the level of the department, across all subject areas. The only exceptions concerned one group of former colleges of education. Further analysis by staff self-rating of academic quality showed that there existed one group of staff, mainly in the universities, who were committed to teaching and highly active researchers. However, the data did not support a causal interpretation of the association. It is concluded that there is no evidence in these results to indicate the existence of a simple functional association between high research output and the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching. Some implications for policy and student course choice are discussed.     

Economies of scale and scope in Australian higher education

This paper estimates economies of scale and scope for 36 Australian universities using a multiple-input, multiple-output cost function over the period 1998–2006. The three inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff and physical capital. The five outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants, and publications. The findings indicate that ray economies of scale hold up to about 120% of current mean output though product-specific economies of scale hold only for undergraduate teaching. Global economies of scope prevail in the sector, increasing with the level of mean output, while product-specific economies of scope arise for all outputs except publications. A cost efficiency index constructed using the sector benchmark indicates that the universities of Ballarat, Southern Cross and Flinders have a high level of cost efficiency, while New South Wales, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and James Cook are cost inefficient.     

Assessing institutional performance in higher education: a managerial perspective

Although many institutions are expending considerable effort in attempts to assess institutional performance and to utilize the results in improving performance, there are many impediments to the success of these endeavours. These include conceptual problems with the notion of institutional performance, inadequacies in the current measurement techniques and judgement procedures, and the mis-match between the results produced and management's information requirements. Institutional management in higher education has unique characteristics which give rise to particular information needs. The existing approaches to institutional evaluation vary in their ability to provide information meeting management's requirements.     

Contract cheating in Australian higher education: a comparison of non-university higher education providers and universities

Abstract

This article reports on one aspect of a nationally funded research project on contract cheating in Australian higher education. The project explored students' and educators’ experiences of contract cheating, and the contextual factors that may influence it. This article reports the key findings from non-university higher education providers (NUHEPs). It compares survey responses from 961 students and 91 educators at four NUHEPs with previously reported findings from eight universities (14,086 students and 1,147 staff). NUHEP and university students report engaging in contract cheating in similar ways. However, while NUHEP educators spend more time teaching academic literacies and discussing contract cheating, NUHEP students are 12 times more likely than university students to report use of a professional academic writing service. Both NUHEP and university educators require systematic professional development regarding the relationship between the teaching and learning environment and students’ contract cheating behaviour. NUHEPs need to be cognisant of students’ vulnerability to commercial contract cheating services, and ensure they have access to timely academic and social support.     

The Australian higher education quality assurance framework

The Australian government initiated a review of higher education in 2008. One of the outcomes of the review was the formation of a national regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), with responsibilities to: register all higher education providers, accredit the courses of the non self-accrediting providers, assure quality against externally set standards and reduce risk by monitoring institutional performance on various measures. One of the key changes in Australian higher education quality assurance is the shift from a ‘fitness-for-purpose’ approach to quality assurance to a compliance-driven approach using an externally developed set of standards monitored by the national regulator, which has legislated powers to place sanctions on universities and other providers for non-compliance. This article outlines the new framework introduced by the government and analyses its limitations in assuring and improving quality in core and support areas. It cautions universities against being dominated by TEQSA's compliance agenda. Rather, it encourages the development and maintenance of shared governance principles and strong internal quality improvement processes along with the establishment of an outcomes focus, which will stand the test of external compliance auditing while allowing the institution to pursue its own educational objectives. The article is based on the authors’ experience and reflection on external, improvement-led quality audits in Australia over the past decade compared with the present compliance-oriented audits now required for institutional registration and ongoing accreditation.     

高等院校组织趋同的制度逻辑

讨论高等教育领域趋同问题有三个基本的制度前提,即组织分层、制度的功能和制度标准化。在政府主导分层的系统下,自致合法地位的院校通过采用已经在先附合法地位的院校中实行的具有标准化和合法性的制度,而努力获得高声望院校所具有的合法性。这些标准化的制度其功能不仅包括解决组织运行效率,而且还承担着提供合法地位以及获取资源的功用。     

Dimensions and domains of organisational effectiveness in Australian higher education

Research in US higher educational institutions over more than a decade has produced dimensions defining aspects of inputs, processes and outcomes which are important for organisational effectiveness (OE) (Cameron, 1978). Furthermore, these dimensions have been shown to vary systematically to define the domain of each type of institution (e.g., ivy league versus regional college).A significant step in the process of exploring various relationships impacting on effectiveness in Australian higher education would be to derive a classification along the lines of Cameron's work. This paper first reviews research in Australian higher education testing Cameron's dimensions and exploring aspects of organisational climate which appear to represent equally important dimensions of organisational effectiveness (Lysons and Ryder, 1988, 1989).This study then undertakes a combined analysis of Cameron and of Jones and James (1979) variables to identify a more comprehensive set of dimensions. Discriminant procedures successfully predict and further define the single taxonomy suggested by the previous work involving organisational climate only (Lysons, 1990). Finally, the implications of these findings with particular regard to very recent structural adjustments in the higher education system are discussed including reference to further OE research directions undertaken in this ongoing program.