[Muanet] Global "reforms" threaten uni funding

[Dion Giles]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15752009%255E2702,00.html

Nelson's threat on research funding

Samantha Maiden
The Australian June 28, 2005

SOME universities could be stripped of research funding under a radical new 
formula for distributing taxpayer grants, Education Minister Brendan Nelson 
has warned.

   In a blunt assessment of proposed reforms to a closed session of 
academics and university chiefs, Dr Nelson said some universities might 
lose funding on the basis of research quality.

   Dr Nelson's comments were followed by his warning on ABC TV that a 
university place was a privilege, not a right, as the Howard Government 
prepared to embark on a new round of reform.

   The emerging funding threat is tipped to drive new collaborations and 
mergers between the 38 publicly funded universities.

   Universities fear it could lead to a de facto league table of 
universities. The new rules, which are not yet finalised, are expected to 
reward research concentration, effectively starving smaller players of funds.

   "It is possible that the end of the Research Quality Framework, when it 
is finally applied, that some universities may not attract research funding 
on the basis of quality," Dr Nelson said.

   "That is possible. It's also possible that some universities that would 
not currently be regarded as research-intensive will attract more funding 
and that there will be a redistribution across the sector. That in its most 
honest form is where we could end up."

   Dr Nelson insisted the new regime was not meant to pick on humanities, 
insisting that those with expertise in philosophy and sociology - topics 
that "inform society itself" - could still win funding.

   The leading universities - such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and the 
Australian National University in Canberra - are at the forefront of 
research and would be expected to dominate under the new formula.

   But the Government is keen not to recreate the old, strict divisions 
between research and teaching institutions. It wants to promote an 
environment in which universities create expertise in unique areas. The 
Government has previously singled out the marine-related research of North 
Queensland's James Cook University and, in a less obvious area, the 
University of Tasmania's metallurgy research.

   In the latest round of Australian Research Council excellence awards, 
universities such as Wollongong won for studies in electromaterials 
science; Western Australia for plant energy biology; the Queensland 
University of Technology for cultural and media studies; and Monash for 
genomics.

   Earlier this month, Dr Nelson held talks with university officials and 
research experts including Gareth Roberts, the Oxford don investigating a 
new model for awarding research funding in Australia, and Robin Batterham, 
who recently announced his retirement as chief scientist.

   Dr Nelson said the reform blueprint should be informed by the "winds of 
change blowing internationally".

   Opposition education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said Dr Nelson's 
admission on ABC TV that a university place was a privilege represented a 
blunt warning to families that they would be shut out of universities by 
spiralling costs.