Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE

1. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE (Mainly HECS in 1990s) Source:DEST Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

2. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE • Teaching and learning • Quality: The Institutional Assessment Framework (progress, attrition etc) • The DEST ‘Performance’ fund • Employers’ evaluation and recruitment strategies?? • Quantity: Discipline Quotas for loan-supported domestic UG students (who repay later via the Higher Ed Contribution Scheme, HECS, income contingently) • % cohort maxima for domestic UG ‘fee-payers’ (who may also be loan supported) • Scholarships for Equity groups • Collaboration and Structural Reform fund: eg encourage articulation • T&L is a break even or marginally ‘profitable’ activity Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

3. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE Research Quality: An imminent RQF (RAE): publication quality and impact will be key Infrastructure funds (modest) currently tied mainly to funding, publications. Input biased. Quantity: Enhanced Research Council funds In the US, as research intensiveness rises, so do student: staff ratios (Rizzo). Generalisable? Public funded research is a loss-making activity. Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

4. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE Internationalism Quality of teaching: AUQA, ESOS legislation, competition Quantity of international students: Historic wish for cash flow (little if any real profit) Quantity of Australian students taking transnational study (c.0.5% of total)…needs to rise. OS-HELP loans to support introduced 2005 (small amount) Need for post-colonial, post-national approaches International students can be profitable, but broadly have not been. Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

5. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE Community Engagement and Entrepreneurial Activity Lack of Federal/State coordation/cohesion has lead to: virtually no support from States local government and Universities do not have mutual understanding Possible Third-Stream Funding…but likely to be focused on technology transfer and exploitation in narrow sense: nb income stream will probably never be large Community Engagement should be a mutual break-even activity; entrepreneurial efforts should be moderately profitable. Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

6. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE Eliciting Public Interest: The level of engagement Public do not understand ROI, social rate of return etc (nor politicians, apparently…) Public view education still as elitist, and social diversity in HE has not improved in last decade (has HECS ‘enhanced’??) University academics need to reclaim the public intellectual role Dominant role of HE in research, and economic innovation not understood (cf this week’s self-justifying Business Council of Australia report) Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor

7. Australia: Funding Incentives, regulation, markets and the public interest in HE Thanks for your attention. Prof Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor