Market undermines academic standards
8 January 2001
The findings of the study by the Australia Institute into academic freedom, reported in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, confirm the experiences of National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members who have been pressured to lower academic standards in order to attract funding.
\"The Union is hearing an increasing number of stories like those reported by the Australia Institute\", Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President said. \"Many staff are now being pressured to do whatever it takes to attract fee paying students. The scale of the damage done and the degree to which it has become part of the culture of some institutions is reflected in a genuine fear among many staff about speaking publicly about the erosion of academic standards.
\"The need to fill the hole left by government funding cuts is the cause of the majority of examples cited to us by members. Time and again staff are asked to cut corners or turn a blind eye in order to generate the income that is needed to keep their course or department running.
\"Dr Kemp’s higher education report released before Christmas makes clear the Government’s ‘cure-all’ policy for higher education is the reduction of public support in order to increase the effect of market forces. The findings of the Australia Institute and the experiences of our members suggest that market forces are driving a lowering of academic standards. There has never been a more urgent need for increased government funding for universities to maintain standards- at least an additional $1billion is required according to vice-chancellors.
\"As well as the decline in rigour, students are being treated differently according to the fees they pay. Not only are there examples of fee paying students gaining preferential treatment in the marks they receive, but there is also strong pressure on staff to redistribute scarce resources towards fee payers in an attempt to maintain enrolments.
\"Government funding cuts and Dr Kemp’s single minded conviction that market pressures are the solution to all problems are having a damaging effect on the quality of teaching and research in Australian universities. Our universities are in desperate need of increased public funding in order to arrest the decline. This is the policy challenge for all parties in a federal election year.\"