Submission to the Higher Education Base Funding Review March 2011
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The University of Sydney Submission to the Higher Education Base Funding Review March 2011 Contents 1. Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. 3 2. Structure and content of our submission .............................................................................................. 4 3. Defining key terms and objectives ......................................................................................................... 5 4. A changing operating environment ........................................................................................................ 6 5. Time to move on from the Relative Funding Model .............................................................................. 6 6. Problems with using historical costs data to determine future funding levels ................................. 7 7. Enduring principles to underpin public investment in higher education ........................................... 7 8. Overview of the University’s current circumstances, key issues and challenges .......................... 10 8.1 Comparing 1990 and 2010 .............................................................................................................. 10 8.1.1 The University in 1990 ............................................................................................................. 11 8.1.2 The University in 2010 ............................................................................................................. 11 8.2 The factors that have contributed to the trends ............................................................................... 12 8.3 How the University manages disciplinary funding shortfalls ............................................................ 12 8.3.1 Possible adverse impacts on teaching quality ......................................................................... 13 8.3.2 The success of full fee provision through our Summer School ............................................... 15 8.4 The University Economic Model ...................................................................................................... 15 8.5 Key current challenges .................................................................................................................... 16 8.5.1 The relationship between education and research .................................................................. 16 8.5.2 The costs of supporting research ............................................................................................ 18 8.5.3 Preparing the next generation of researchers ......................................................................... 20 8.5.4 Sustaining and measuring quality ............................................................................................ 21 8.5.5 Workplace learning .................................................................................................................. 24 8.5.6 Developing and maintaining infrastructure .............................................................................. 26 8.5.7 Providing high quality student support services and amenities ............................................... 28 8.5.8 Access and support for other students with particular needs .................................................. 29 8.5.9 The trend to postgraduate coursework provision .................................................................... 31 8.5.10 Disciplinary specific challenges ............................................................................................... 32 Agriculture...................... .......................................................................................................................... 32 Archaeology........................ ..................................................................................................................... 33 Architecture and related fields…………………… ..................................................................................... 34 Dentistry…………………….. .................................................................................................................... 34 Engineering........................... ................................................................................................................... 35 Law.......................................... ................................................................................................................. 35 Medicine.................................. ................................................................................................................. 36 1 Music........................................ ................................................................................................................ 36 Performance Studies............... ................................................................................................................. 36 Pharmacy................................... .............................................................................................................. 36 Social Work............................ .................................................................................................................. 37 Veterinary Sciences.............. ................................................................................................................... 37 9. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 38 Appendices........................... .................................................................................................................... 40 Appendix 1 Base Funding Review Consultation Questions ..................................................................... 40 Appendix 2 The University of Sydney Key Indicators, 1990 and 2010 .................................................... 42 Appendix 3 The University of Sydney Economic Model........................................................................... 45 Appendix 4 Estimating the proportion of base funding used to support research at the University of Sydney..................................... ................................................................................................................ 46 Appendix 5 Costing undergraduate research programs .......................................................................... 48 Appendix 6 Sample Student Service Fee Schedules.............................................................................. 50 University of Sydney Faculty submissions.............................................................................from page 55. Appendix 7 The Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning submission ................................................. Appendix 8 The Faculty of Dentistry submission ......................................................................................... Appendix 9 The Faculty of Veterinary Science submission ....................................................................... Appendix 10 The Sydney Medical School submission ................................................................................. Appendix 11 The Sydney Conservatorium of Music submission ................................................................. 2 1. Executive summary Our core argument Our core argument is that the current cluster funding framework (based as it is on the Relative Funding Model – RFM – established over twenty years ago) has passed its use by date. We do not believe that further tweaking or short term fixes to the current arrangements will be sufficient to underpin in the long term a high quality Australian higher education system. Indeed, we argue that rearranging the current funding clusters within a fixed funding envelope would simply serve to shift the problem instead of address it seriously. Such an outcome would simply mean that in five to ten years time, another review will be required to iron out new anomalies that have emerged. The base funding framework needs to be replaced at an appropriate time by a new transparent and rational approach. This should be principles-based and built around a clear statement of purpose. It should be based on a robust understanding of the actual costs of sustaining high quality educational environments in different disciplines and settings. It should be responsive to reasonable changes in costs incurred by providers over time. The Review, together with the imminent shift to the demand-driven system provide a rare opportunity, indeed imperative, for consensus to finally be reached about the vital importance of moving to a higher education base funding framework that is capable of achieving nationally agreed objectives for the future of the sector. The key outcomes we seek The Australian Government is currently pursuing greater transparency and accountability in relation to the costs and quality of publicly funded research, research training and the clinical training for health professionals. We see the Base Funding Review as providing a similar window of opportunity to put Australia on a clear path towards achieving transparency and accountability in the funding and delivery of higher education teaching and learning. We feel that the Review Panel would do the nation a great service if it could look beyond the enormous amount of detail and