Bills Digest No. 165 2004–05
Higher Education Support Amendment
(Melbourne University
Private) Bill 2005
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background to Bill
Background to Melbourne University
Private
Comment to Bill
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Higher
Education Support Amendment (Melbourne University
Private) Bill 2005
Date Introduced: 16 March 2005
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Education, Science and
Training
Commencement:
Royal
Assent
To amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (the
HESA) to add Melbourne University Private (MUP) to the list of
Table B higher education providers. This will allow MUP to have
access to Commonwealth research funding and to enable its students
to obtain Commonwealth loans for their tuition fees through the
FEE-HELP scheme.
The matters dealt with in this Bill had previously been included
in an omnibus Bill, the Higher Education Legislation
Amendment Bill (No. 3) 2004. On 11 August
2004, that Bill was referred to the Senate Workplace Relations
and Education Legislation Committee.(1) The purpose
of the referral was for the Committee to consider the provisions
dealing with MUP. The earlier Bill lapsed at the end of the
40th Parliament. The Bill was reintroduced in November
2004 without those parts dealing with Melbourne University
Private.
Background to Melbourne University Private
Melbourne University Private is a company limited by shares,
with the University of Melbourne as its sole shareholder. It is
governed by a board of directors which is subject to the normal
laws and regulations applicable to companies. Academic affairs and
all matters affecting the university status of MUP are the
responsibility of the Academic Senate, which advises the board of
directors.
The Senate is led by the Vice President and Provost and consists
of Academic Heads of Schools, Executive Deans (academic and
management), the president and CEO, the Academic Registrar, at
least three and up to six external members, who are nominated by
the Vice President and Provost, all academic staff of professorial
level, one graduate student and one member of the non-professorial
staff, elected by the non-professorial staff.
MUP sees itself as having a mission which is quite distinct from
public universities: all its degree programs have been developed
for either a specific government or corporate client, or in
response to the needs of specific industry sectors. Its three
schools operate simultaeously as academic and business units.
MUP was established in July 1998 under a Ministerial Order of
the then Victorian Minister of Education. This gave the institution
the right to operate as a university over a five-year establishment
period after which it was required to apply to the Minister for a
renewal of the order. It then had to convince a panel appointed by
the Minister that it had satisfied the National Protocols for
Higher Education Approval Processes, approved in 2000 by the
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth
Affairs (MCEETYA).
In February 2002 the Minister gave the MUP the choice of either
operating within an essentially traditional model and setting
minimum requirements for research and research training, or
changing its name to remove the word 'university'. MUP opted for
the former course, and in July 2003 Minister Kosky granted the
university approval to continue to operate for a further five years
under a new
Ministerial Order.(2) The Minister stipulated that
the university abide by seven conditions:
-
by July 2004 each of the three schools must produce a minimum of
one peer-reviewed externally published research output per
equivalent full time academic staff member
-
a progressive increase in the proportion of higher education
activity, so that by 2008 at least 10 per cent of total enrolments
are in higher education award courses
-
a Chief Academic Officer, be appointed and Heads of School and
academic staff be employed full time within the five years
-
the retention of an academic organisational structure, with at
least three Schools. All conjoint University of Melbourne MUP
appointments are required to undertake research
-
an Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) audit be
undertaken by July 2007
-
MUP must to provide an Annual Report to Parliament, containing
information on relevant performance indicators, and
-
the University of Melbourne is required to maintain a majority
interest in MUP.
In September 2003, the Australian Qualifications
Framework Advisory Board (AQFAB)(3) received a
recommendation from the Victorian government that the university be
listed as a self-accrediting higher education institution on the
AQF registers. This brought it within the national quality
assurance framework. Under the AQF, the university has the
authority to accredit its own programs, and is responsible for
maintaining its own quality assurance regime. MUP is also subject
to audit by the Australian Universities Quality Agency, which was
established by the Australian government to conduct quality
assurance audits of self-accrediting institutions. The AUQA audit
process covers teaching, learning, research and management.
In addition to its distinctive mission, the MUP differs from
other Australian universities in a number of other ways:
it operates under a Ministerial Order rather than
its own establishing legislation. Other private universities, such
as Bond and Notre Dame, were established under specific State Acts
namely the Bond
University Act 1987 (Qld)(4) and the University
of Notre Dame Australia Act 1989 (WA)(5)
-
its continued existence as a university is dependent upon it
meeting a number of conditions set out by the State Minister
-
it is the only private university owned by a public
university
-
it has no undergraduates and only 250 postgraduate students with
a further 160 students undertaking non-award professional
development courses
-
it obtains most of its revenue from English language schools and
consulting projects, and
-
it is not a member of the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee
(Bond is a member, Notre Dame has not applied for membership).
There have been media reports that the AVCC Board recommended that
MUP not be admitted as a member.(6)
The Bill was considered by the Senate Workplace Relations
and Education Legislation Committee.(7) The
Committee s Report(8) was tabled on 31 August 2004.
Several submissions, including those from the Australian
Vice-Chancellors Committee, the National Tertiary Education Union,
the Federation of Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS)
and Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations were critical
of the proposal to include MUP in Table B. The Opposition Senator s
dissenting report(9) sets out a detailed criticism of
the proposal.
Item 1 of Schedule 1 amends ss.16-20 of the HESA to include MUP
in Table B.
Note: Division 16 of Part 2-1 of the HESA defines higher
education providers. There are two listed types of providers: those
in Table A (s.16-15) and those listed in Table B (s.16-20). Table A
providers can receive grants through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme
as provided for by Part 2-2. Table B providers can only receive
such grants if they relate to national priorities (s.30-1).
However, Table B providers are eligible for grants to support
research and the training of research students (ss. 41-10).
-
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/highered04/index.htm.
-
http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/0/c32e63b0ddce91
fcca256d3b007eaf25?OpenDocument.
-
http://www.aqf.edu.au/register.htm.
-
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/bua1987204/.
-
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/uondaa1989371/.
-
The Australian, 26 May 2004 New uni s plea to join gang
; Australian Financial Review, 2 August 2004 MUP still kept
out in the cold .
-
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/highered04/index.htm.
-
ttp://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/highered04/report/index.htm.
-
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/highered04/report/c02.pdf.
Kim Jackson
25 May 2005
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the
Australian Parliament using information available at the time of
production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position
of the Information and Research Service, nor do they constitute
professional legal opinion.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2005
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2005.
Back to top