‘Profitable for the country’. An Australian historical perspective of the contested purpose of public universities

This article analyses the social contract formulated between state and university, in the period 1850–1930. Using contemporary records–for example, legislation, parliamentary debates, university acts, newspaper articles, senate and professorial board minutes, and similar–this article examines how Australia’s early scholarly community contested and negotiated what it believed to be the purpose of higher education, with a sometimes-conflicting view held by the state. The analysis indicates that, from the outset, certain paradoxes have inscribed into these foundational negotiations. Conflicting narratives of opportunity and privilege positioned universities, simultaneously, as agents for social inclusion and maintainers of social privilege. The purpose of knowledge as either/both pure and practical has been another point of contestation. Consequently, universities vacillate between acts of social conservatism and progressivism. These tensions remain apparent in the modern purpose of higher education institutions

Reinterpreting higher education quality in response to policies of mass education: the Australian experience

This article explores the relationship between mass education, higher education quality and policy development in Australia in the period 2008–2014, during which access to higher education was significantly increased. Over this time, which included a change of national government, the discursive relationship between mass higher education and higher education quality shifted from conceptualising quality as a function of economic productivity, through educational transformation and academic standards, to market competition and efficiency. Throughout, the student was more often positioned as a servant towards higher education quality, rather than its benefactor

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts

Policies and programs to address higher education disadvantage reveal four distinct approaches, each revealing certain assumptions about the nature of educational disadvantage. These are: creating mass higher education systems; redistributing or allocating certain places to disadvantaged students; changing the cultural practices of institutions; and shifting the policy focus from access towards higher education outcomes or benefits. Using the Australian higher education sector as a case study, each of these approaches is defined, identified and examined in regard to its impact on widening access and participation in higher education. An alternative approach – a fifth act – is proposed; one which concentrates on the need to understand the identity of the student, both in terms of how he/she understands disadvantage and what he/she wants out of higher education

Perceptions of Academics and Students as Customers: A survey of administrative staff in higher education

This article examines the extent to which university administrative staff perceive academics and students as customers. These perceptions have an effect on the provision of quality customer service. The role of administrative staff in the educational experience for students has been generally ignored in academic research. A discussion of quality service provision in higher education can be enhanced by a consideration of the perceptions held by administrative staff of academics and students as customers. Administrative staff perceptions were analysed by surveying staff from Curtin University’s Academic Registrar’s Offfice (ARO). Findings of this survey indicate that administrative staff have ambivalent feelings towards academics as customers and highlight interpersonal skills between the two groups as a major challenge in facilitating quality customer service. In dealing with students, administrative staff move beyond the processes of mere service-providers and incorporate a mentor role into their processes. Administrative staff tend to relate closely to students, perceiving them as internal customers

Recognition of prior learning: the accelerated rate of change in Australian universities

The recognition of prior learning (RPL) is a cornerstone of the lifelong learning policies of most developed nations. Yet the scholarly view in Australia has been that, unlike other post‐compulsory education sectors, universities have erected barriers to limit the development of RPL. This paper re‐examines the current policy environment and finds evidence that universities are now more active in developing and promoting RPL, as evidenced by the rich detail of information contained in recent policies, as well as the accessibility of this information on the web. Recognition of prior learning policies are examined in detail to shed light further on the state of play of RPL in the Australian higher education sector

Unlocking the gates to the peasants: are policies of ‘fairness’ or ‘inclusion’ more important for equity in higher education?

Attempts to make higher education more equitable more readily succeed at the aggregate (sector) level than at the institutional, with students from disadvantaged groups being overrepresented in low-status institutions. It is suggested that this is because policies of ‘fairness’ (i.e. proportional representation) dominate the contemporary policy framework and are strongly resisted by elite universities. However, using the Australian higher education sector as an example, this paper argues that equity policy is actually a mix of ‘proportional fairness’ and ‘inclusion’ and elite institutions resist not because the policy is deficient but because it might actually work. An alternative approach to higher education equity policy is proposed; one which requires elite institutions to engage meaningfully with disadvantaged students but allows them to retain their status advantage

Australian universities, generic skills and lifelong learning

The concept of lifelong learning implies a cycle where the learner contributes prior learning into a new learning environment and sees that learning upgraded. In recent years, a range of internal and external pressures have encouraged Australian universities to identify the meta or generic skills embedded in tertiary study. Using a content analysis of relevant university policy documents, this study assesses how the Australian higher education sector has presented this discussion through the notion of ‘graduate attributes’ and then analyses the implications of this conceptual transition. This article argues that the shift from a notion of generic skills to graduate attributes both reinforces and encourages universities to concentrate their participation in lifelong learning at one particular end of the cycle. This study suggests that, whilst informal experience is increasingly incorporated into university admission processes and even into credit for courses, progression towards a more equitable and accessible higher education sector remains patchy at best

‘Missing the Target’ – A Critical Examination of Policy Frameworks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Inclusion into the Allied Health Professions

Objective This paper focuses on critically examining the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in policy frameworks by regulatory health peak bodies against the backdrop of the Government’s response to the Closing the Gap (2020) report. Method Websites of ten allied health professional bodies were searched and analysed as policy as text. Results Of the ten professions examined, the search strategy identified 9 professions were signatories or co-signatories on Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) and three professions made mention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander equity strategies to enter the profession as part of accreditation standards. Conclusions Professional bodies were found to use discourses of recognition in the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with reference to the development of measurable accountabilities in the future. Implications The contested value of setting targets to generate meaningful action by policy players is likely to restrict momentum in this space

Australian universities, generic skills and lifelong learning

The concept of lifelong learning implies a cycle where the learner contributes prior learning into a new learning environment and sees that learning upgraded. In recent years, a range of internal and external pressures have encouraged Australian universities to identify the meta or generic skills embedded in tertiary study. Using a content analysis of relevant university policy documents, this study assesses how the Australian higher education sector has presented this discussion through the notion of ‘graduate attributes’ and then analyses the implications of this conceptual transition. This article argues that the shift from a notion of generic skills to graduate attributes both reinforces and encourages universities to concentrate their participation in lifelong learning at one particular end of the cycle. This study suggests that, whilst informal experience is increasingly incorporated into university admission processes and even into credit for courses, progression towards a more equitable and accessible higher education sector remains patchy at best

Reconceptualising post-PhD research pathways: a model to create new postdoctoral positions and improve the quality of postdoctoral training in Australia

Focusing on the developmental needs of early career postdoctoral fellows – the lifeblood of an internationally competitive researchintensive university – this paper suggests an inextricably linked, two pronged approach to improving research performance at Australian universities. The first is to reconceptualise post-PhD research pathways and in doing so conceive a mechanism for creating new postdoctoral positions; the second is to develop a coherent programme of policies, processes and practices in postdoctoral education and training. In this way, Australian universities will increase their success in attracting and retaining the brightest and best postdoctoral students from all over the world and thereby improve research performanc