Quality will suffer if university staff overload is not addressed
29 June 2000
A survey of academic staff published by the Commonwealth Government has found that workloads and stress have increased and job satisfaction declined significantly since 1993. The National Tertiary Education Union warns that the quality of Australian higher education is at risk unless Government and Universities take action to address staff overload.
The study by Craig McInnis of the University of Melbourne, entitled ‘Changes in Academic Work Roles’, found that
· The level of general job satisfaction among academic staff dropped from 67% in 1993 to 51% in 1999
· The low level of job satisfaction related to dissatisfaction with salaries and working conditions, in particular declining opportunities for staff to pursue their academic interests
· 40% of academics work more than 50 hours per week, with 55% reporting a substantial increase in workload over the past five years
· Academics report increased administrative workloads, while the proportion of time spent on teaching has reduced since 1993.
The Report concludes that `We are perhaps at a critical point for the academic profession where the amount of hours worked, and the diffusion and fragmentation of tasks seriously threatens the quality of both research and teaching.’ (p. 63)
NTEU President Carolyn Allport warned that there were clear danger signals for the quality of higher education, and that the major sources of discontent could be sheeted home to poor university management and Government neglect.
`Since Kemp’s Government cut university funding in 1996, the total number of staff has fallen by over 3% on a full-time equivalent basis, and student:staff ratios have increased from 14.8:1 in 1995 to 18.3:1 in 1999. The government has refused funding for salary increases, and halved its expenditure on staff development,’ she said.
`The findings of this report confirm data contained in the NTEU Workload Survey, which will be published within the next two weeks.’
Dr Allport said that it was time for the Commonwealth Government to stop knocking university staff and start investing in higher education.
`Students deserve better, and so do the people who teach them.’