"The Problems That Face Newcastle University Relate to the Crippling Way in Which That University and Others are Being Administered Across Australia." (February 16, 2005)

    "When an institution has a problem managing its resources, it might actually relate to the way in which the university is being governed and administered," The Minister for Education, Science and Training, Brendan Nelson told Federal Parliament on Monday. "The problems that face Newcastle University relate to the crippling way in which that university and others are being administered across Australia. The reality is that the new vice-chancellor is a man who will turn the institution around."

            [Monday, 13 August 2001, Canberra. Senate Committee—References EWRSBE 1350-51]

Senator Carr (Labor)-- Professor Chubb [ANU Vice-Chancellor who previously told the committee that the university system was in crisis] says that... when your infrastructure is eroding and when you see all your equipment and your capacity to provide the resources you need for the staff to do the work that they want to be able to do slowly but surely degrading, then that does not make you very happy at all. How do you respond to that proposition? Is it an exaggeration?

 

Mr Gallagher-- [then First Assistant Secretary Higher Education Division Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.] ...I do not think it is surprising that a committee set up like this one to review the higher education system will draw disaffected submissions from various parts of the sector, including--

 

Senator Carr-- We are talking here about the vice-chancellors.  At Sydney, there were five vice-chancellors putting this position, representing some of the most prestigious institutions in this country. They are hardly what you would call a disaffected group or disaffected individuals. These are not your normal run-of-the-mill agitators--heaven help us.

 

Mr Gallagher-- They are making up for lost time, by the looks of it.

 

Senator Carr-- But is it not, therefore, a concern to the department that we should have such a widespread collection of opinion coming to us saying that the system is in deep crisis?

 

Mr Gallagher-- I put it back to you again that the people who are advocating that position to you are possibly looking for an easy way out rather than fronting up to their management responsibilities.

On October 20, 2003 a TFW News and Views Item entitled "Dr. Nelson Takes an Opportunity to Get off Some Cheap Shots" observed, "Apparently Michael Gallagher's influence on Dr Nelson's view of the academic world has remained long after his departure to become Director, Policy and Planning, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, The Australian National University.

Nothing much seems to have changed in the intervening 16 months. And in the meantime the position of Australia's universities continues to worsen. Below are some opinions voiced in the Higher Education Section (HES) of today's Australian.

Professor Nick Saunders (that new vice-chancellor of the University of Newcastle Dr Nelson mentioned in Parliament) talking about one aspect of the revenue shortfall:  "In 2006 our enterprise bargaining agreement will deliver about $17million in salary increases, of which about $7 million will be covered by anticipated revenue, so we've got a $10 million problem to address." And addressing it appears to mean rather severe staff cuts.

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Australian Education International (AEI) is part of Dr Nelson's Department of Education, Science and Training; it told the HES: "AEI has been liaising with the industry on the softening of growth and enrolment trends. Contributing factors [to a softening of overseas student enrolments] include increased competition, Australian provider fee increases, an expansion in the offshore delivery of courses by Australian institutions and to a lesser degree the appreciation of the Australian dollar."

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Outgoing RMIT University vice-chancellor Chris Whitaker told an Australian Technology Network university conference last week that  increased access to high-quality universities in countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, meant Australian universities would have to work harder, be more competitive and together develop a "brand Australia" to entice the international student market. "International visibility, recognition and status of qualifications - brand value - are significant factors in student choice and in attracting the best researchers and teachers. ...Our research must be world class to inform program renewal, and to attract leading researchers and research students ... [and] our universities need to be organised and managed in ways that enable flexibility and timely responses in the development of programs and services and the recruitment of staff to deliver these to meet demand."

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And while Dr Nelson is being masterful in telling Parliament that the parlous state of the the university sector is caused by their incompetent financial management the Austalian's HES reports that Professor Graeme Hugo, a Federation Fellow, told the Australian Technology Network of universities conference in Melbourne that universities must work harder to keep talent at home or risk a decline in standards, and there is a "lost generation" of academics in Australian universities, according to a new demographic analysis of higher education staff. ...[A] lack of opportunities and a decrease in attractiveness of academic jobs in Australia during the past 20 years resulted in academics in their 40s and 50s outnumbering those in their 20s and 30s by 31.1 per cent. And he told the conference, "The fact that universities will lose between a fifth and a third of their staff in the first two decades of the 21st century means that there are major challenges in being able to attract high quality staff members to replace those being lost."

    The Australian concludes its report on academic staff with Professor Hugo saying, "Australian universities in the next two decades will face an academic staff recruitment challenge of greater magnitude than they have confronted since the 1960s."

On the other hand Dr Nelson appears to believe or would like us to believe that the real problem lies with university mismanagement, and comes the new Senate he'll fix that alright, don't you worry.