Vice-Chancellor welcomes Federal Budget ‘09 initiatives
The Vice-Chancellor has welcomed the initiatives announced by the Treasurer in the Budget this year for the next four years. The recognition by the Government of the importance of education and innovation to the economic health is a particularly important ‘up front’ principle stated in the Budget papers. The recognition by the Government of the important recommendations in the Bradley and Cutler reviews of higher education and innovation respectively also needs to be applauded, particularly in the context of the current economic circumstances.
The commitment to expand the number of places supported by the Government is consistent with the commitment to see an increase in the number of graduates who will drive the economy in the future. Importantly, the Government will improve mechanisms for supporting students while they study, including the introduction of relocation scholarships for those students who need to move to their place of study. This is of particular importance to UNE as we move to increase our on campus enrolments. The government is to introduce increased funding to support the attainment of low SES participation. UNE performs above the norm in this area, so there may be particular benefit to us in this new funding. Added to this, the Government has committed to improving the indexation of Government funding provided for teaching places from 2012. This will provide welcome funding for provision of modern education as well as better conditions for staff.
The Government has made significant adjustment to the funding arrangements for student places in the fields of education and nursing. These changes are aimed at making these courses more attractive and more sustainable for Universities to offer these important programs. This will be important for UNE. The Deputy Prime Minister also indicated that the cluster funding model and the level of funding per discipline cluster will be subject to a detailed audit as part of the up-coming consultation with the higher education sector.
In research, the Government has announced significant funding increases through a number of mechanisms. There will be significant increases in the support for research infrastructure and the formulae used for allocation of funds will be varied to both provide and incentive for and to reward the attraction of funds from a wider variety of sources other than the ARC and the NHMRC. These changes are likely to be particularly relevant to UNE where the level of non-ARC and non-NHMRC funding is already strong. There is also increased support for research collaborations between institutions and industry and increased support for postgraduate students.
On a broader scale, the government is to introduce new elements into the operational funding mix for universities, including performance measures and ‘compacts’ that will set new incentive-based structures to government funding. Support for infrastructure development over the next few years will come from different sources, including the Education Investment Fund and other transition measures prior to the new operational environment in 2012. The number of Universities supported through Round 2 of the EIF announced in the budget is relatively small, but a further general round and a new specialist round of applications will be called this year for announcement early in 2010. The government will also introduce a new Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency which will have a significant role in assessing and reporting on quality issues at all institutions in the sector.
Finally, the Government has committed to a review of the funding of regional universities for both their teaching and research functions. The importance of universities such as UNE to the local community and economy is recognised, especially in the context of student access and the provision of skill sets in regional communities. The Government wishes to fully assess how best to support these types of institutions in the context of the other changes to the system that are being introduced, particularly through the new student demand system. Funding of $402M is to be provided over the next four years to assist structural adjustment as Universities adapt to the new funding environment set for 2012.
Understandably, many of the budget initiatives are to be phased over the next few years as the University system is changed to one based on student demand. Structural adjustments have been allowed for over the next few years leading up to the introduction of the new system in 2012. The package announced in the budget is a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to improving higher education and innovation in Australia, and is a welcome step forward that provides many opportunities for UNE.
Alan Pettigrew
12 May 2009
