Recommendations from an expert council are a ※promising foundation§ for the reform of Australian university governance, but critics fear they may not go far enough.
The federal government has to insert eight new ※governance principles§ in the threshold standards by which universities are regulated. The principles, drafted by the Expert Council on University Governance, would bring the sector*s executive pay reporting requirements in line with publicly listed companies.
Governing bodies would have to publish annual breakdowns of the remuneration of vice-chancellors and other key managers, including salaries, bonuses, benefits and payments from other employers. Councils would also have to disclose the ※frameworks§ governing their remuneration decisions and ensure that bonuses were linked to ※clear performance metrics§.
This would be a big change from current arrangements. Most universities report only the total pay of their ※key management personnel§, within bands of A$10,000 or A$15,000 (?4,850 or ?7,270), without matching the amounts to individuals.
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The expert council*s unusually frank paints a picture of pervasive ※mistrust§ between senior management and staff, with the views of management given ※primacy§ amid ※scepticism§ about staff and student representatives* contributions.
The report cites references to ※bullying, harassment, intimidation and vilification§ by senior managers who use ※very broad interpretations§ of conflict of interest as a pretext to exclude student and staff members from council discussions.
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Accountability obligations are ※downplayed or softened§, as ※clear governance failings§ 每 such as underpayments by almost every university 每 are not acknowledged as governance issues by councils that assume the ※most egregious§ shortcomings only happen elsewhere.
※Sitting at the core of most of the key concerns regarding university governance is the issue of transparency, or more to the point, lack of transparency,§ the report says. ※Lack of transparency and openness has played a key role in the observed erosion of trust within and towards universities§.
Under the report*s proposals, councils would have to report on a ※skills matrix§ ensuring that they had the requisite expertise, review their performance every three years and report yearly whether they had conducted such reviews.
They would be obliged to report the outcomes of their meetings, apart from decisions ※kept confidential for legal or commercial reasons§, and evaluate the vice-chancellor*s performance every year ※against the agreed objectives§.
Councils would also be required to compile annual reports on their compliance with the principles, on an ※if not, why not§ basis 每 meaning that if they did not produce the reports, they would have to explain why.
The higher education regulator, Teqsa, would receive additional funding to evaluate and report on universities* performance against the principles 每 and impose ※an appropriate escalation in consequences§ if efforts were found wanting.
Education minister Jason Clare said governing bodies would also be required to publish details of their spending on consultants, including its ※purpose, value and justification§ 每 an issue not addressed in the expert council*s report.
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※These are important reforms that help make sure our universities meet the standards their students, staff and whole communities expect,§ Clare said.
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The expert council*s chair, Melinda Cilento, said an ※if not, why not§ approach was appropriate given the sector*s diversity and ※rapidly evolving§ operating environment.
※I hope that universities and their leadership genuinely, proactively and transparently adopt the principles,§ said Cilento, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. ※This is important#in terms of improving trust in the sector and its leadership.§
Joo-Cheong Tham, assistant secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union*s Victorian division, said Cilento*s report was a ※damning indictment§ of university governance and the principles provided a ※promising foundation§ for reform.
But Tham said implementation of the principles should be mandatory. ※We need a significant cultural shift. Will an &if not, why not* approach achieve that shift? I hope so, but I have reservations.§
Tham said state and territory legislation should also be updated to incorporate the eight principles and other good governance measures.
The state, territory and federal education ministers were briefed on the expert council*s recommendations on 20 October and have to discuss an implementation plan at their next meeting in February.
Separate appraisals of university governance are under way in the biggest states. A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry is due to hold its first public hearing on 7 November, while MPs from Victoria*s governing Labor Party have supporting union calls for governance reform. Tham is briefing colleagues about the union*s proposals in a 24 October .
Clare also announced that the federal government would ※establish a remuneration framework for vice-chancellor remuneration§ in collaboration with the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal, state and territory governments and stakeholders including the Universities Chancellors Council.
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This recommendation comes not from the expert council but the Senate*s Education and Employment Committee, which last month published the interim report from its own inquiry into university governance. Its final report is due on 4 December.
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