Higher education in Australia - Part 2

The term 'university' is regulated in Australia. Organisations operating as Australian universities must meet certain criteria set out in law and enforced by TEQSA. Very broadly, universities are distinguished from other higher education providers by the following.

  • Universities combine research and teaching functions. 
  • Australian universities must offer courses and conduct research in at least three broad fields of study, and the majority have at least nine major fields of study. A research and teaching institution with fewer than three broad fields of study may seek accreditation as a specialist university (for example, the University of Divinity is a specialist university).
  • Australian universities offer courses from bachelor level through to PhD; some also offer lower-level qualifications.
  • Australian universities are self-accrediting. That is, the academic board of each university has the right to accredit its own courses without approval by a government agency. Originally held in perpetuity, the self-accrediting powers of universities must now be maintained by periodic re-registration with TEQSA, with potential for removal or qualification of self-accreditation.
  • Universities also seek accreditation or recognition from a range of external professional bodies for some of their academic programs, often necessary to allow graduates to be admitted to professional practice.
  • Freedom of inquiry, enabled by the Higher Education Support Act Links to an external site., allows universities to teach and research in whatever fields they wish.
  • Most universities are state-enabled (i.e. established by State Acts of Parliament) although most of their public funding is from the Commonwealth.
  • While subject to government regulations, universities see themselves as self-governing communities, and their legal structure reflects this self-governance.
  • Universities are expected to contribute to the broader community (Norton & Cherastidtham, 2014; Norton, 2016).

The term 'private provider' is generally used to refer to institutions outside the university sector, although the Bradley review noted that the “public private divide is no longer a sensible distinction” (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008, p.xi), and Marginson (2016) has commented on the ambiguity of 'public' and 'private' in Australian higher education. Private higher education in Australia has been growing steadily for some years. Bond University, established by an Act of Queensland's parliament in 1987 (and accepting its first students in 1989), was Australia's first private university. Much of the increasing demand for higher education places has been met by the non-university higher education providers, whose numbers have grown quickly. University student numbers have also grown since the relaxing of restrictions on international enrolments, increased school retention in the 1980s and 90s, the introduction of HECS and, more recently, the uncapping of Commonwealth Supported Places.

Very broadly, non-university higher education providers:

  • may be for-profit organisations;
  • often specialise in particular course levels (i.e. they do not offer the full range of Australian Qualifications Framework [AQF] qualifications);
  • often specialise in what they teach, for instance business, hotel management, alternative health;
  • teach for longer periods of the year than universities, enhancing revenue and using facilities efficiently. This can also allow students to finish courses more quickly;
  • employ teaching-only academic staff, predominantly on casual or short-term contracts; and
  • have teaching, rather than research, as their only major education function (Norton & Cherastidtham, 2014).

In Australia, the majority of higher education students begin their course directly after secondary school. Women outnumber men at undergraduate level, and the proportion of students born overseas is rising. More students are living with their parents than a decade ago. Business, management and teacher education are the most popular courses. Current figures for higher education participation (and a wealth of other data) are available online.

What type of institution do you work for? When was it established? Was it formed from one or more antecedent institutions, and if so, what were they? What is its size and focus? What are your institution’s current statistics and focus in teaching and research? How does this compare with others?