Submission Number 147

RESPONSE THE COMMONWEALTH REVIEW

OF HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCING AND POLICY

INTRODUCTION

This submission will address the situation of smaller tertiary institutions like the Australian Maritime College (AMC) with reference to higher education financing and policy, and the role of higher education in Australia's society and economy. Specific situations and examples will be used to illustrate AMC's views.

The College concurs with the opinions expressed in the 'Background' section of the 'Review of Higher Education and Policy - Terms of Reference' statement (January 1997). In particular, we strongly support the call for sustained quality assurance in a context of increased financial stringency. Like the proponents of the Review, the College expects that higher education will increasingly become an international enterprise, with communications technology reinforcing this trend. Therefore, the College is continuously examining and modifying the delivery of its courses in order to better meet the demands of industry and of the broader marketplace.

In making this submission to the Review, the following factors need to be borne in mind since AMC's position within the sector is not 'mainstream':

1. The AMC is a unique higher education institution. Its role within the sector is different from that of any other Australian institution. Therefore, the College's response must reflect its special perspective as a mono-purpose institution, and its unique role as the national provider of maritime education, training and research.

2. The AMC is a national institution of higher education which is located in a regional area. It is funded for 600 Australian EFTSU's. Its catchment area is such that about 20% of students are from Tasmania. A further 20% are drawn from overseas countries. The College's cultural, economic and community function must be seen within that context.

3. The AMC was established to serve the needs of the Australian maritime industries. The composition of its Governing Council reflects this fact. With the possible exception of Batchelor College, the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Australian Television and Film School, and some agricultural colleges, no other Australian higher education institution was set up with such a clearly defined relationship with a particular industry or specific interest sector.

4. The AMC provides award level courses in both the higher education and vocational (VET) sectors. Many of its VET sector courses are articulated into higher education programs. It receives an Operating Grant to cover its combined higher education and vocational training offering and likewise produces combined statistical returns to the Department of Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA).

Theme One: The role of higher education in Australia's society and economy

AMC recognises that the higher education sector has a vital role to play in Australia's society and economy. Within that sector, the role of a small regionally-based mono­purpose institution such as AMC is demonstrably different from that of a large multi-disciplinary entity, located in a major capital city.

It has been conservatively estimated that, with the multiplier effect, the AMC makes a contribution of $40 million to the economy of Northern Tasmania. The College has a Commonwealth Government annual operating budget of approximately $10 million.

Northern Tasmania, particularly the Tamar Valley area, benefits from the influx of staff and students into the region. The impact of the College is particularly felt in two areas of potentially high unemployment, the suburb of North Launceston and the Beaconsfield/Beauty Point area. Service providers, including traders, contractors and landlords benefit directly and indirectly from money earned and spent by people connected with the College.

The AMC helps to reverse the 'brain drain' syndrome which is seen as a major negative feature of the Tasmanian economy. Staff and students are drawn from all states of Australia and from 36 overseas countries. Because of the specialised nature of its training, the AMC recruits staff from leading international institutions. Besides their salaries as AMC staff, they earn income as consultants in maritime-related fields, through AMC-associated entities such as AMC Search Limited and the Australian Maritime Engineering Cooperative Research Centre (AMECRC). Others have attracted substantial research grants from such bodies as the Australian Research Council and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

AMC Search Limited, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the AMC, also makes a substantial contribution to the region. Operated under the supervision of a Board made up largely of AMC Council Members, AMC senior management and Tasmanian business leaders and innovators, AMC Search Limited has become a major international player in the provision of maritime-related education and training services.

It is the view of the AMC that specialised institutions should be encouraged and nurtured for the following reasons -

• to consolidate scarce resources in an environment of excellence;

• to enhance quality in teaching by concentrating expertise in one setting;

• to avoid costly duplication of resources and facilities in a contracting and increasingly competitive marketplace;

• to encourage specialisation and efficiency in order to respond to industry and community needs in an effective and timely manner;

• to provide a focus for unbiased export advice.

In terms of the role of governments, Commonwealth and State, the AMC is of the view that the following strategies would enhance the social, cultural and economic effectiveness of the higher education sector:

• increased and ongoing consultation between State and Commonwealth economic development agencies and higher education managers with a view to developing mutually beneficial linkages;

• combined government/higher education sector marketing initiatives with a view to promoting Australian institutions in international markets. These initiatives should concentrate on uniqueness and should avoid duplication;

• government funding should assist institutions to develop technology to deliver programs in innovative ways, both 'on' and 'off campus';

• government should encourage cooperative arrangements between institutions with common areas of expertise;

• government should provide incentives for more effective cross-sectoral and community use of higher education infrastructure.

Two areas of government involvement in higher education require special mention.

1. Equity and Access

The requirement that institutions increase access, participation, retention and success rates for members of the 'six priority disadvantaged groups' is worthy in a general policy sense but unrealistic when applied to small mono-purpose institutions such as AMC. Cultural and demographic factors, for example, make it inordinately difficult for AMC to attract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders into higher education engineering and nautical science courses. Government regulation limits the access of disabled students to many 'certificate of competency' courses. The recruitment, support and monitoring process is disproportionately costly when measured against educational and social outcomes. Government should adopt a 'case by case' approach when assessing institutional equity performance.

2. VET/Higher Education Sector Complementarities

The AMC has reaped the benefits of successful integration of VET and higher education sector delivery since its establishment in 1978. It sees enhanced cooperation and articulation mechanisms as the 'way of the future' in science and technology-based training. This is also an effective equity mechanism, providing flexible entry and progression pathways for students from areas of previous educational disadvantage. The removal of artificial barriers between the VET and higher education environment is seen as an appropriate area for further government involvement.

As an institution founded to meet the needs of the maritime industry, AMC has been obliged to produce graduates which meet the very specific requirements of shippers, fishers, ship builders, marine resource managers, port and terminal managers and maritime-related government agencies. It has recruited staff on the basis of industry experience as well as academic qualifications and research expertise. New courses are developed in consultation with maritime employers and unions. These policies and practices have resulted in very high rates of employment for AMC graduates.

It may be deduced from this evidence that future higher education graduates will need the following attributes:

• an appropriate mix of theoretical knowledge and practical skills;

• the ability to utilise information technology in an effective way;

• an appreciation of the ongoing need for professional development and the upgrading of skills; and

• management and communication skills of a high order.

Theme Two: Factors affecting the demand for, and provision of, higher education over the next 10 to 20 years

There can be little doubt that a relatively high level of general demand for higher education places will persist for the next 10 to 20 years. What will change will be the characteristics and distribution of that demand.

As foreshadowed in the guidelines which form the basis of this submission, demographic and labour market trends, the globalisation of the higher education market and changes to the structure of industry will affect the level and nature of higher education demand and provision.

In the case of the Australian Maritime College, these factors are particularly compelling. In addition, the matter of regional difference is a special factor affecting the role and status of the institution and the nature of higher education and vocational sector delivery at the College.

As previously stated in this submission, the AMC is a regionally-based national provider delivering a cross-sectoral academic offering to HECS and TAFE students. The College also relies on income from full-fee paying international students and from its commercial company, AMC Search Limited.

As the pre-eminent and best equipped provider of maritime education, training and research in the Asia/Pacific South Pacific region, the College existed comfortably through the 1980's and early 1990's, attracting 80% of its students from outside Tasmania and from overseas, and maintaining the EFTSU level for which it is funded by the Commonwealth.

With the increased competitiveness of the higher education sector, all Australian institutions have been recently forced to market themselves aggressively in order to maintain student numbers and to ensure adequate provision to cover actual or anticipated cutbacks in Commonwealth funding. Some institutions have established courses in areas hitherto the exclusive purview of AMC, and some prospective students have chosen to attend a university or TAFE institute nearer to their home. Many Australian universities have relaxed their entry requirements with the result that AMC has had to place greater reliance on first-choice applicants to maintain student numbers. This situation is both advantageous and disadvantageous to the College - raising quality but potentially reducing HECS-paying student numbers.

AMC is also particularly susceptible to changes in the Australian maritime industries which it was specifically set up to serve. As a result of changes in the Australian shipping industry, and continuing differences between shipping companies and the maritime unions, the College has experienced reductions in industry-sponsored student numbers. In addition, policy shifts by maritime employers have seen a preference emerge for shorter, cheaper training, resulting in reductions in higher education sector Marine Engineering student numbers at the College.

The AMC has met the changes outlined above with the development of new programs which meet the altered needs of the community and of industry. Though the popularity of the Naval Architecture stream of the Bachelor of Engineering has more than compensated for the loss of student numbers in Marine Engineering, the College is aware that this small, specialised market niche may soon be saturated. Another engineering stream, the Bachelor of Engineering (Ocean Engineering) has therefore been developed to cater for present and anticipated needs in the offshore industry. Similarly, the need for more managers in maritime-related fields, such as shipping management, technology management and fisheries management, has led to the development of the undergraduate Maritime Management Program. VET sector competency-based marine engineering Certificate Level IV-V courses, as well as a 'Certificate in Pre-Sea Training' have also been promulgated to better meet Australian and international shipping employer needs.

To further meet international student demand, the College has established an enhanced offering of course-work Masters Degree programs in such fields as Maritime Business and Living Resource Management. 'Certificate of Competency' seafaring courses, available also to Australian VET-sector students, have traditionally been well supported by serving mariners from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia. The College proposes to increase its number of intakes in the Shipmaster and Second Mates programs to meet this demand and to increase income.

To alleviate problems associated with the relatively isolated location of AMC, the College's offerings in externally-available award courses have expanded. Post­graduate fisheries programs are offered in distance or mixed mode. Maritime business courses continue to be well accepted by external students working for Australian and overseas shipping companies, importers and exporters, and ports and terminals. The most significant development in this area is the increasing delivery of maritime management-related courses 'off campus', in Australia, in South East Asia and in Kuwait.

Based on the evidence above, Australian institutions, including AMC, will continue to be well placed to compete with their overseas counterparts if they implement the following strategies:

• the speedy development of innovative programs to meet market demand;
• the implementation of internationally recognised quality assurance mechanisms;
• the establishment of enhanced professional development opportunities, including 'guest lectureships' and staff exchange arrangements with overseas institutions;
• the availability of flexible delivery modes, including the use of 'cutting edge' information technology and the provision of intensive blocks of teaching 'on campus' and at accessible sites near the international student base;
• the establishment of integrated, culturally sensitive academic and social support units designed to assist international students to live and study successfully in Australia;
• the provision of appropriate bridging programs, designed to ensure that students enrolling in 'mainstream' courses are capable of achieving high quality educational outcomes;
• the development and implementation of innovative, cost-effective marketing strategies to attract international students to Australian institutions;
• the maintenance of educational, political and social environments which are safe, stable, affordable and welcoming to students and teachers of all cultures and nationalities; and
• at a systemic level, the encouragement of areas of academic and technological excellence of international standard and reputation and the avoidance of the dilution of expertise in duplication of resources.

Theme Three: Regulatory and administrative framework for higher education

The 1980's and 1990's saw a number of policy initiatives implemented by a Commonwealth Government with a reformist higher education agenda.

The so-called 'Dawkins Plan' called for the rationalisation of the higher education sector through the amalgamation of institutions. In many instances, forced marriages between colleges of advanced education, institutions of technology and 'traditional' universities occurred. In Tasmania, the Hobart-based University of Tasmania and the Launceston-based Institute of Technology (formerly the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education) combined to form one University of Tasmania (UTas).

Adjacent to the Launceston campus of UTas, stood the small but independent Australian Maritime College. Negotiations began to bring the AMC into the university fold. UTas was attracted to the proposition by the impressive $100 million worth of AMC infrastructure and the additional student numbers. Some College academic staff were hopeful that amalgamation with the university would boost the status of their courses, and with this, their own career prospects in the higher education environment.

The AMC Governing Council was unimpressed by these arguments. Its strong ties with industry and persistent vision of the College as a specialist national institution led it to reject the advances of UTas. Despite political pressure from Commonwealth and State Governments, the AMC has maintained its position that maritime needs are best served by an independent institution. As a result, it remains outside the Unified National System of Higher Education (UNS).

In 1997 College Council and staff stand united on the matter of amalgamation. Events have vindicated the decision of 1992. The College submits that, as a unique institution catering for a small but important niche market, it, and others like it, should be allowed to develop independently. Its national significance should be preserved, and costly duplication by other institutions should be discouraged. Joint ventures should be promoted as a way of bringing AMC programs to markets outside Tasmania, where practicable. This already occurs through arrangements with James Cook University and the Northern Territory University. AMC also has a Joint Standing Committee with UTas to encourage closer ties and collaboration where appropriate.