From the Vice-Chancellor

Volume 9 Number 5 May 13 - June 9 2013

Funding Cuts: what they will mean for Australia’s universities

The Federal Government’s recent decision to cut university funding to finance school reform is a blow to all Australian universities and, by extension, the community as a whole.  

Universities, which already operate under stretched budgets, will struggle to deliver the high standards of education and research the community rightfully expects of the sector. Since the announcement, universities across the country have no doubt been examining their budgets carefully to determine how to accommodate these cuts, and though each university will respond in different ways, all will be affected. 

Despite some of the lowest levels of federal funding in the OECD (Australia ranks 25th out of 29 advanced economies for public investment in universities as a percentage of GDP) universities continue to deliver outstanding research and educational programs.

Such successes are a testament to the great work and commitment of all staff in the sector. Reducing funding further though will likely mean serious and long-term impacts on all university activities. 

It’s important to consider the flow-on effects any reductions in funding may have. Teaching programs across every university and faculty, which are the starting point for many of Australia’s next generation of professional workers, may be affected: its future schoolteachers, doctors, lawyers, dentists, writers and everything in between will have a different educational experience than they could otherwise have had.

In 1970 just 3 per cent of adult Australians held a university degree. That figure is now 37 per cent and tracking towards the federal government’s goal of 40 per cent participation.

The learning these students undertake at university influences not only their own future, but that of Australia. Education helps shape our future industry leaders across all sectors. At Melbourne, beneficiaries of this kind of experience include graduates Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard and award-winning authors, including Nam Le, as well as many other politicians and community leaders, artists and scientists. 

This recent round of cuts follows the announcement in October’s 2012 mid-year economic fiscal outlook of further cuts to future research funding. Taken together, the cuts are a devastating blow to Australia’s research future.

It places in jeopardy our ability to have a real impact on the prosperity, health and wellbeing of the nation. Our universities have been responsible for some of Australia’s major breakthroughs from the bionic ear to the cervical cancer vaccine, and more recently a device to detect the likelihood of a seizure in people with epilepsy. 

At Melbourne our researchers are engaged in projects focusing on diseases, which range from Cancer to Muscular Dystrophy. Engineers are working to build a bionic eye, urban designers and landscape architects are looking at the best way for cities such as Melbourne to grow and develop.  These are just a few areas in which universities impact on the daily lives of all Australians.

Australians understand the importance and need for quality tertiary education, and all of Australia’s universities will continue to vocally oppose any reduction in funding.

Glyn Davis
Vice-Chancellor