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Groups of Universities Increasingly Influential
29 May 2004
The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) met in Sydney
this week and across two days there are now a raft of meetings,
even working breakfasts and dinners, where Vice-Chancellors
'network' and discuss the implications of the most recent movements
in the sector. Every Vice-Chancellor is, of course, principally
concerned with their own university's interests, but there is also
a recognition that collective discussion and action can add a new
dimension to what can be achieved across all universities.
The AVCC is a body comprised of Vice-Chancellors with very
different views, backgrounds and aspirations. Their universities
are just as different, ranging from those huge old metropolitans,
to those that have had a history as advanced colleges or technology
institutes, to a new small regional like our University. All of
them have exciting and world class academic activity within them,
but the larger and older ones can obviously support more of such
activities.
In recent years the differences between universities have led to
the formation of different groupings within the ranks of
Vice-Chancellors. The 'group of eight' (GO8) were the first group
to see themselves as different and more research-intensive, like
the Russell Group in the UK and the Ivy League in the US. This GO8
group, comprising, Australian National University, University of
Queensland, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney,
University of Western Australia, University of New South Wales,
Monash and University of Adelaide now conduct a fair amount of
their business outside the AVCC and are also outside the sector's
main industrial union (AHEIA). They are a lobby group, they have
lots of graduates in influential positions around the country, and
thus are able to exercise considerable sway.
Other groups of universities have also formed and met during
AVCC meeting periods, to see whether they can advance their group
interests, and to respond to the GO8's influence becoming
disproportionate.
A network of former institutes of technology has developed with
universities like University of Technology Sydney, Queensland
University of Technology, Curtin, University of South Australia and
RMIT.
A further grouping of 'innovative research' universities now
includes the 1970s new universities such as University of
Newcastle, Murdoch and Griffith.
A few such as University of Wollongong and University of New
England, choose to remain non-aligned.
Most of the AVCC universities, however, don't fit neatly into a
clear-cut category. This University, for example, is unique in
Australia in that it is new, it started as a University under its
Act (not a College), it is within a specific region, and it has no
counterparts in this country, created at the same time. We have,
however tended to look to the 'new generation' group or 'regional'
groupings to gain some specific, collective focus. But the grouping
of 'New Generation' universities has very varied members, including
as it does huge universities like University of Western Sydney,
former colleges like Edith Cowan University, University of Southern
Queensland, Central Queensland University, University of Ballarat,
University of Canberra, Victoria University and Australian Catholic
University. Then there is this unique University of the Sunshine
Coast, with no exact kindred spirit. But this 'New Generation'
group is gaining momentum.
Just as the major groups have also begun to link internationally
in, for example, Universitas21, so too has USC looked overseas for
close matches. We have done this since 1994 when I first made a
connection with the University of Northern British Columbia which
opened in 1994. It was similar to USC in many respects, except that
they had eight times more funding than we did $20 million as
opposed to $160 million) to establish the same sized
University.
It is with vice-chancellors of such international universities
that I have been able to conduct some of our most productive
discussions, which have led to exchanges of staff and students for
periods.
Those vice-chancellors and presidents will be attending an
international 'New Generation' universities conference in Canada
next week, and I will be involved with them to clarify ways in
which we can become even more closely linked, increase exchanges,
and compare vital information to gauge our international
progress.
Universities are, like major businesses, increasingly well
connected internationally and ours is no exception as evidenced
recently in the international partners' conference.
When there is increasing emphasis on measuring universities'
performance, it is going to be invaluable to compare our progress
with either like universities, or parts of universities with
similar activities.
Both students and staff benefit from international opportunities
opening up, and governments want increasingly to be convinced that
universities' performance is meeting world standards.
So groupings of universities will continue nationally and
internationally into the future.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast