Western Australia (WA) has revived its interest in pursuing university mergers, five months before a newly amalgamated university commences operations in South Australia (SA), in the latest sign of existential pressures on the sector.

The WA Government has established a committee to lead a cost-benefit analysis of structural reforms to the state¡¯s university sector, including mergers.

The move comes almost 30 months after the government commissioned a review to examine structural change options ranging from informal collaborations of the four public universities to formal mergers with each other, vocational colleges or even interstate institutions.

The 2023 review, headed by former James Cook University vice-chancellor Sandra Harding, was assembled to tackle WA¡¯s problems attracting research funding, staff and students. Like their SA counterparts, WA universities have struggled to command the revenue, international education appeal or rankings success of the top East Coast institutions.

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WA¡¯s challenges have been intensified by the state¡¯s mining industry, which entices potential students away from university for lucrative jobs in the state¡¯s north. Difficulties in attracting international enrolments were also exacerbated by zoning issues, with Perth categorised as a ¡°major city¡± for immigration purposes ¨C denying students extra post-study work rights as graduates from ¡°regional¡± Australia ¨C until the classification was changed in late 2019.

The 2023 merger proposal received a lukewarm response from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and staunch opposition from Curtin, Edith Cowan and Murdoch universities. The Harding review was due to report in August that year, but the report never materialised.

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WA¡¯s minister for tertiary and international education, Tony Buti, described the cost-benefit analysis as the ¡°next stage¡± of the 2023 review. His office did not explain why Harding¡¯s report had not been released, but said her panel had concluded that reform was needed to tackle ¡°major threats¡± in ¡°competing with other Australian jurisdictions for funding, talent retention and research investment¡±.

Buti said the analysis would examine ways to ¡°future-proof¡± a state in a phase of economic, social and cultural transformation. ¡°We are committed to working in partnership with our universities to ensure they are sustainable, competitive, and well-positioned to continue contributing to Western Australia¡¯s success.¡±

The new committee is headed by retired MP Alannah MacTiernan, who served as a shadow minister in WA politics and shadow parliamentary secretary for WA at federal level. Her deputy chairs are Australian Council for Educational Research CEO Lisa Rodgers, a former director-general of the WA Department of Education, and emeritus professor Bruce Walker from Murdoch University.

Buti¡¯s office said it expected a final report to be handed to the minister at the end of the year, and promised ¡°more details¡± after the committee had concluded its work. It said the minister had recently met ¡°key stakeholders¡± involved in the ¡°successful merger¡± of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

The new Adelaide University commences operations in January after earlier merger proposals were rejected in 2012 and 2018. The union was enthusiastically backed by the constituent institutions¡¯ vice-chancellors, neither of whom will lead the merged entity.

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But critics question whether the A$465 million (?227 million) state government commitment to the venture has been well spent, with the amalgamation so far failing to deliver the fledgling institution a rankings boost.

Recent developments affecting Australian universities ¨C including an inflationary surge, mounting compliance costs, escalating competition for domestic students and federal government efforts to suppress international enrolments ¨C have widened the financial gap between richer and poorer institutions.

While domestic enrolments rebounded last year after declining during the coronavirus pandemic, the regrowth was focused in large metropolitan universities rather than suburban and regional institutions. Murdoch in particular has struggled to attract domestic enrolments, although it insists that things are improving.

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In an , The West Australian newspaper framed a WA merger as a fait accompli. ¡°It¡¯s hard to gather why [the state government] would assemble another taskforce to investigate unless a merger was a preferred option.

¡°There is greater opportunity to be seized by stronger, combined institutions than from the current set-up. Like banks before them, universities must combine for better results.¡±

Murdoch disagreed. ¡°The state is best served by having four public universities, each with its own special characteristics, and we anticipate that this will be the result of the analysis,¡± a spokeswoman said.

¡°From the start of this process, we have suggested that a full cost-benefit analysis and business case should be performed for any options for structural change, so we welcome this next step.¡±

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com