Federal Government's Attempt to Placate TAFEs Angers Universities While Student : Staff Ratios Soar. (November 2, 2011)

Federal Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans yesterday announced that caps would be instituted to limit the number of places in diploma and other below-bachelor level courses for which universities will receive guaranteed funding.

In explanation the minister said: "We want greater collaboration between universities and TAFEs [Technical and Further Education], rather than have universities expand their offerings downwards and push TAFEs out of the market,"

However, Universities Australia was quick to react, calling into question the decision. CEO, Dr Glenn Withers said in a statement said:

The timing of this decision, which comes after universities have already developed and promoted their programs for 2012, creates uncertainty for many universities and their prospective students just months from the new academic year.

Universities ask that Government respects existing commitments, including those currently under offer to students or already reflected in Compact agreements with the Commonwealth. The Government will need to work directly with those universities affected to ensure that these changes do not unduly disadvantage universities and prospective students who have worked within an established policy framework.

We see a pressing need to consult with the Government to further develop these policies, and address legitimate concerns held by many universities. Consultative and co-operative development is by far the most useful mechanism to ensure a workable outcome can be delivered for all parties.

The decision is also a reminder that student demand-driven growth may be subject to controls. This introduces some further uncertainties into university planning.

Concurrently, Professor Frank Larkins of the LH Martin Institute reports that the average number of undergraduates and other coursework students for each university teacher has risen from 25.2 in 2000 to 34.1 prompting National Tertiary Education Union President, Jeannie Rea to comment: "This is having significant flow on impacts. In particular, many students are reporting they are not able to get the engagement from lecturers and tutors they want. We are concerned that this could worsen as universities deal with a new funding system to be introduced from next year, which removes limits on numbers of students they can enrol."

Ms Rea concluded: "[T]he federal government itself recognises, our universities are already significantly underfunded, a situation made worse by the flat lining of the international student market. The base funding review is a chance for the government [to address] this situation and the mounting concerns about the impact of the financial pressures facing out universities."