Abstract
The idea of the university as it originated in medieval Europe was that of a self-governing community of teachers and students. However that ideal has been undermined in Australia, where legislative changes over the past 20 years have led to a progressive diminution in university autonomy. Changes to Commonwealth and State legislation mean that universities are now subject to the same internal governance rules as trading corporations, and these are incompatible with the mission of a university and with academic independence. In addition, the regulation of universities has become so invasive that they can no longer be seen as truly autonomous self-accrediting institutions. This article examines the harmful effect of these changes and suggests what changes should be made to the law in order to restore a governance framework for universities which is consistent with their social purpose.
Highlights
This article discusses the adverse effects which changes to university governance in Australia over the past 20 years have caused
Part 2 examines the historical development of universities in medieval Europe as self-governing communities of scholars whose primary objective was teaching, research and truth-seeking, and how that traditional model of university autonomy was followed when universities were first established in Australia
The governance of Australian universities as first established conformed to the traditional model which owed its origins to the university movement in medieval Europe
Summary
This article discusses the adverse effects which changes to university governance in Australia over the past 20 years have caused. Part 4 describes how the governance structures of universities were changed in such a way as to import the duties attaching to corporate officers under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and discusses why that is incompatible with the mission of a university and with academic independence. It advocates addressing complaints relating to the quality of university teaching as and when they arise, using an Ombudsman with broad jurisdiction relating to tertiary education, in place of the invasive regulation established by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (Cth), the underlying philosophy of which appears to be that academics are likely not to discharge their duties to an adequate standard and need constantly to be monitored
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