To an outsider, this could seem like a golden age for higher education.
Over the past decade, Australian universities have drastically increased research activity while teaching record numbers of students – all with less government funding than 20 years ago.
Policy makers seem to have created the equivalent of a magic pudding: the more money you scoop away, the more universities produce.
But inside the institutions, there is tension as they give priority to research and increasingly leave the teaching to casual staff.
As universities face tough decisions to improve their international rankings, it is the casual teaching staff, and their first or second year students, who are paying the price, say concerned academics.
Former Melbourne University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Frank Larkins said universities rely on international students and their ability to attract such students depends on the university’s international ranking.
“Worldwide, it is a reality that standing tends to be measured by research performance rather than teaching quality,” he said.
He said staffing trends reflected the priority given to research over teaching.
According to the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations statistics, the number of specialist research staff employed at universities increased by 78% between 2000 and 2010.
During the same period, full-time equivalent teaching staff increased by 26%, despite student numbers rising by 54%.
“The effect has been that the student-to-staff ratios for coursework students have blown out quite significantly,” Professor Larkins said.
Casual teachers are hired, particularly for undergraduate classes, to deal with growing student numbers.
Many have not taught at universities and are astonished to find they receive little support, may be expected to develop course material and can face tutorials of up to 30 students.
An extract from Gary Newman at the Melbourne Age
Source: Tertiary Education Union
