SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD DISCLOSE FULL DETAILS OF CARNEGIE MELLON PROPOSAL
September 15 2005
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) on Thursday urged the South Australian State Government to publicly release all details relating to the application by the US private Carnegie Mellon University to operate as a foreign owned and operated university in Adelaide.
The NTEU’s call follows the introduction of legislation into the Federal House of Representatives yesterday to amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to enable foreign universities to establish institutions in Australia, and for their domestic students to obtain Commonwealth subsidies in the form of the FEE-HELP loans scheme.
Introducing the legislation, the Federal Education Minister stated it was made possible by a decision by the South Australian Government to allow Carnegie Mellon to operate as a university in Adelaide under Protocol 2 of the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes, the key regulatory mechanism covering university accreditation in Australia.
“Carnegie Mellon is the first application made by a foreign provider to operate as a university under the National Protocols and, as such, could have major implications for the Australian higher education sector,” said Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President.
"The higher education sector cannot make any meaningful assessment of the South Australian Government's decision in relation to Carnegie Mellon, however, because no information has been made public about it.”
“Previous applications by institutions to operate as universities in Australia have been assessed by a rigorous and transparent process, which has included the full disclosure of documents relevant to the application and consultation with interested groups in the sector.”
“NTEU is concerned that the South Australian Government's decision to assess Carnegie Mellon's application in secret could set a precedent for other State and Territory Governments in relation to similar applications.”
“The reputation of Australia’s university system rests on the maintenance of strong accreditation standards, including open and transparent community consultation,” said Dr Allport.
“This is particularly important given that significant public funding being provided to Carnegie Mellon, including the South Australian Government’s decision to commit to the institution.”
“We believe it is important that the South Australian Government now publicly release all information about the Carnegie Mellon's proposal."
Information and Comment:
Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President: 03 9254 1910 or 0419 349 064
Andrew Nette, NTEU Policy and Research Coordinator: 03 9254 or 0438 026277