Unis battle funding cuts, government uncertainty

Widespread government reviews are causing a headache for Western Australia’s major universities.

The leadership of Western Australia’s universities are battling review fatigue and tight funding in their bids to shape the state’s next generation.

Under the government of Scott Morrison a series of reviews and consultations were initiated around higher education policy, University of Western Australia vice chancellor Dawn Freshwater said, ranging from freedom of speech on campuses, to performance-based funding metrics, and the rules that define what it meant to be a university.

Between 2012 and 2017, the ‘demand-driven’ system for undergraduate courses created significant growth in higher education, but came at cost to the government, leading to pressure on the Education Department to reduce costs.

Federal government research funding pools are also becoming more competitive, with less funding overall being allocated, and an increased focus on research outcomes.

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Professor Freshwater told Business News the global higher education sector continued to be faced with uncertainty.

“There is a risk that a large number of concurrent consultation processes leads to a sense of policy fatigue in the sector,” she said.

“As the chair of the Group of Eight universities, I am focused this year on helping government to understand the true cost of the research we conduct.

“For example, most research grants only cover part of the cost of a research project – usually not even the entire staff cost.

“They also often leave the university to find other ways to pay for overheads like office or laboratory space, energy and equipment.

“Typically for every dollar of competitive government research funding that we win, we need to find another dollar from other sources in order to do the research.

“An incoming government should consider the full economic cost in how it funds research.”

As the new chair of the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) group, Murdoch University vice chancellor Eeva Leinonen has similar concerns.

“Funding cuts to both teaching and research programs over recent years have adversely impacted on the sector’s ability to deliver on its mission,” Professor Leinonen said.

“The need for clear and consistent higher education policies and funding arrangements continue to be a major area of focus for the sector and Murdoch will continue to advocate with the IRU for sound and sensible policies.”

UWA reported a drop in research revenue in its 2018 annual report, as did Edith Cowan University.

In contrast, Curtin University reported its best year to date for research funding, with funds jumping while Murdoch said its research income was up 17 per cent.

Curtin chancellor Andrew Crane has identified two key issues recently facing tertiary institutions.

“In 2018, Curtin faced some tough economic challenges arising from two fronts: the capping of federal funding for tertiary education and the prolonged decline in international student enrolments, which has affected the entire Western Australian tertiary education sector,” he wrote in Curtin’s annual report.

The report identified federal funding changes as having a major impact on commonwealth-funded bachelor places, as well as reducing allocations for commonwealth supported postgraduate programs.

While the funding cuts aimed to improve the sustainability of the sector, the constrained financial environment presented a challenge for universities in relation to strategic and resources planning.

In response to the government focus on industry connection, Curtin has increased the scale of industry-funded projects, particularly directing its efforts into infrastructure.

In the past two months alone, Curtin has announced a significant number of new investments and facilities.

These include the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, a Curtin-led national collaboration of 58 industry, government and research partners that is designed to position Australia as a global leader in the manufacture and supply of batteries, as well as the contract to build the $110 million new School of Design and the Built Environment as part of the university’s new industry-connected innovation precinct.

The precinct, called Exchange, will be a hub based on Curtin’s main Bentley campus.

It will encompass public spaces, commercial offices, speciality retail shops, new student accommodation, residential apartments, a boutique hotel, the new bus interchange at Curtin Central, and food and beverage outlets. 

The Exchange has a development value of $500 million for stage one.

Unis evaluated

Universities are continually bombarded with an array of ranking systems, from those that measure student experience, to research statistics and salary outcomes.

The University of Western Australia is the only WA university to achieve top 100 rankings in the QS World University Rankings 2019, at number 91, while both Curtin and UWA made the top 10 for Mineral and Mining Engineering, at number two and four respectively.

While these achievements certainly look promising, they are primarily based on academic reputation, whereas many prospective students and potential employers are looking for employability rather than research output.

The federal government-funded QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey is a better indicator of student outcomes, involving self-reported data from graduates.

Overall employment figures for WA universities all sit above 80 per cent: Edith Cowan University achieved 82 per cent of graduates; UWA 83 per cent; Murdoch University 84 per cent; and Curtin and The Notre Dame University Australia leading the pack with 87 per cent and 91 per cent respectively. 

There is greater disparity when it comes to full-time graduate employment, measured four months after graduation: Notre Dame again leads the way with 78.7 per cent of graduates followed by Curtin at just over 71 per cent, while UWA trails at 55.4 per cent.

ECU does not fare much better at 57.8 per cent.

From the universities surveyed, this means UWA and ECU have the lowest full-time employment rate in the country.

This can partly be attributed to the specialty areas of each organisation.

Notre Dame has a large cohort in the subject of nursing, which according to the GOS, has a national average of 95.6 per cent full-time employment, while UWA and ECU’s large arts schools lead into an industry with a 68 per cent full-time employment rate.

These outcomes don’t correlate with student numbers or the financial situation of each university.

When it comes to revenue, Curtin and UWA have experienced a dip, with a variety of revenue streams decreasing.

Topping the universities ‘rich list’ is UWA, which reported $938 million revenue in 2018, while Curtin reported $897 million.

ECU managed to boost its overall revenue from $439 million to $449 million, and Murdoch also increased from $344 million to $372 million.

Ms Freshwater told Business News UWA was primarily funded by students’ fees, but invested the majority of its surplus into infrastructure and research.

“On the one hand, UWA is a billion-dollar business; we market ourselves extensively at home and abroad to recruit the best and the brightest who we hope will not only come and study and research with us, our major revenue sources, but also become life-long learners,” she said.

“Last year a London Economics report on the economic impact of Group of Eight universities showed UWA’s impact on the WA economy was in the order of $4.5 billion per year, just under two per cent of gross state product.”