THEUniversityofCanberraandruralNSW'sCharlesSturtUniversityhaveconfirmedtheyareexploringtheestablishmentofaUS-style"systemuniversity".
Whilethepairdenytheyarediscussingamerger,UniversityofCanberravice-chancellorStephenParkerhaspreviouslyadvocatedthattheuniversities,TAFEcollegesandschoolsinasystemwouldretaintheirowngoverningbodiesbuthaveacommonboardoftrustees.
CharlesSturtUniversityvice-chancellorIanGoulteryesterdayconfirmedtotheHEShehadrecentlymetProfessorParker.
"Discussionswerenothingasgrandasamergerbutwehaveagreedtohaveaseriousdiscussionaboutsystems,"hesaid.
ThelatestdevelopmentfollowstheMayalliancebetweentheAustralianNationalUniversityandtheUniversityofSouthAustralia,andmayforeshadowfurtheralliances,mergersandrestructuringsexpectedtobetriggeredbytheGovernment'sresearchperformanceexercise.
TheUS-stylesystemsmodelisaimedatgivinguniversitiesgreatercloutinglobalnetworks.
ProfessorParker,aformerseniordeputyvice-chancelloratMonashUniversity,toldtheHESinFebruarythatiftheaimwastopropelanAustralianuniversityintotheworldtop20,twoGroupofEightuniversitiesinSydneyorMelbournecouldbemerged.
"Ifyouwanttogetintothetop20oftheShanghaiJiaoTongUniversityrankings,itwouldrequireahugeimprovementbytheleadingGo8universities,butifyouaddMelbourneandMonashyouwouldalmostgettotheleveloftheUniversityofTokyo."
ProfessorParker,inarecentspeech,saidthebestsystemsmodelwastheStateUniversityofNewYork,whichhad64constituentinstitutionsunderthegovernanceofaboardoftrustees.
Underthismodel,twoorthreeuniversitieswouldjoinwithTAFEsorspecialistorcommunitycolleges,andadoptanewsystemnamewhileretainingtheirownnameoraversionofit.
Underasystemsapproach,"thememberinstitutionsmightretaintheircurrentgoverningoradvisorybodies,withchangestomembershipandfunction,buttherewouldbeaboardoftrustees,governorsorregentsoverthem,"ProfessorParkersaid.
Thetrusteeswouldmakedecisionsaboutwhatshouldbetaughtandwhere,whichresearchspecialisationsshouldbeencouragedandhowmobilityacrossthesystemmightbepromoted.Theywouldbeunderafiduciarydutytoactinthebestinterestsofthesystemandwouldbeindependentfromgovernment.
Anticipatingapossiblelocalbacklash,hesaidthatwhilelocalcommunitiesmightfeeltheywerelosingcontrolovertheirtertiaryinstitutions,theywere"gainingthescaleandreach"offeredbydistance-learningtechnologies,staffandstudentmovement,andgreaterappliedlocalresearch.
Whileuniversitysystemswouldhaveadefinable,geographiclocation,theirstudentcatchmentscouldcrossstateboundaries.
ProfessorGoultertoldtheHESthatsystemswouldhelpuniversitiescopewithaprojectedmedium-termdipinschool-leavers,increaseddemandforre-skillingamongworkersandtoenrolpoor,indigenous,ruralandremoteanddisengagedstudentstohelpthecountrycopewithwidespreadskillsshortages.
Askedifsystemsmeantredundancies,ProfessorGoultersaid:"Thisisnotaboutcost-cuttingbutexpanding,notcontractingbutenhancingourquality,scaleandreach."
ThemoveisinlinewithcallsbyInnovation,Industry,ScienceandResearchMinisterKimCarrforgreatercollaboration.
ProfessorGoultersaidtheGovernmentshouldsetupabillion-dollarfundtohelpyoungeruniversitiesintheirtransitiontoasystemsapproach."Wearelookingatasystemfor2020.Aworld-classsectorwithworld-classsystemsdoesn'tcomefreeofcharge.
"Thereneedstobefundingfortransition;someolderuniversitieshavesignificantholdingsof$1billionorsoandsimilarlevelsoffundsneedtobeavailableforthissystemfor2020,"hesaid.
however,NationalTertiaryEducationUnionNSWdivisionsecretaryChrisGamesaidsuchachangewouldhavetobeaccompaniedbyaworkloadimpactanalysissincethebiggestissuefacingacademicandgeneralstaffwas"explodingworkloads".Shepredictedstudentswerelikelytofavourasystemsapproachifitmeantanincreaseinenablingtechnologies,butnotifitwasexpensiveordowngradedinvolvementofstaffwhosupportedtheirstudies.
MovesduringthepastdecadetoreducereplicationofcoursessuchasenvisagedundertheANU-UNiSAdealhaveregularlybeenopposedbyacademics.
TheleadershipcentresoftheUniversityofCanberraandCharlesSturtareonlyaboutfourhoursapartbycar.Theuniversitieswereestablishedin1990and1989,respectively,growingoutoftwowell-regardedcollegesoffurthereducation.
