SUBMISSION TO THE REVIEW COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

by

R W Jefferies
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

on behalf of the Albany University Steering Committee

21^st April 1997

HIGHER EDUCATION - ALBANY & SIMILAR REGIONAL CENTRES

I am making this submission on behalf of the Albany University Steering Committee, a committee made up of representatives of the Town of Albany, Shire of Albany, Great Southern Development Commission and Southern Province - Regional Economic Development Organisation.

The Steering Committee have recently completed a feasibility study for development of a university campus in Albany (Western Australia), and are now actively working to achieve a modest, but viable university presence in Albany to serve the Great Southern Region. A copy of the feasibility study is provided for your information.

The Steering Committee believes the situation, issues we face and experiences in trying to achieve this facility, are of direct relevance to your inquiry and are no doubt relevant to many other regional communities throughout the nation.

1.0       Background

The enclosed Feasibility Study provides details of the Great Southern Region, its demographics and economic characteristics. In summary, Albany is the centre of an agricultural based region of about 40,000 square kilometres, located on the southernmost coastal area of Western Australia, about 375 km from Perth. It has an urban population of about 29,850 people, and services a regional population of about 51,000. The closest university campus is Edith Cowan in Bunbury, a distance of 350km from Albany, however most students from the Great Southern attend universities in Perth.

The Albany community has been pursuing a university for several years, however the general response from government has been that a university would be unviable unless it served a population of about 100,000 people, which arguably is unlikely in the next century.

Recent achievements of viable university campuses in other regional centres (Bunbury, Broome, and Kalgoorlie for example), using new methodologies to overcome the economic barriers to delivery of university education, has rekindled the desires and expectations of the Albany community.

Following investigations, and particularly discussions and on site inspections with Notre Dame University in Fremantle, our Steering Committee was formed and the feasibility study undertaken as a joint regional project, with the support and involvement of all levels of government.

 

2.0       Social & Economic Impacts

It is an impossible task to identify and quantify all the impacts that the lack of university education facilities have on a regional community, and these are so easily underestimated and overlooked when the prevailing principles of economics are applied.

The Steering Committee’s experience is certainly that the effects are far reaching and go well beyond the issues of equality of access and local economics commonly considered, to the very make-up, character and viability of the community itself.

In a recent community survey undertaken by the Town and Shire of Albany, a university was identified as the most needed facility within the community.

While not pretending to represent all views on this issue, some of the common reasons for requiring a locally based university are:

• Allowing families and students the choice of remaining a whole unit, without having leave the region; providing a ‘sustainable’ community where people can spend their whole life and still have a reasonable choice of career and personal development options open to them;
• Economic hardship which is experienced in meeting the additional cost of travel and accommodation to attend a Perth based university;
• Problems of attracting and retaining professional and technically skilled people in the region;
• Lower success rate of country students attending city based universities;
• ‘Imbalance’ in the ‘make-up’ of the community, with a significantly lower relative population in the 15 to 24 age group;
• Research and project opportunities in collaboration with industry and regional government authorities which could be achieved;
• Giving the community the opportunity to prepare for and compete in the dawning economic environment based upon information, knowledge and global communication and competition;
• The opportunity for development of an educational facility which, due to the outstanding and unique natural environment and the heritage of the region, could become of world class standard and recognition;
• The need for government to create sustainable regional centres to support the regions generating significant national wealth and export earnings, through the provision of community infrastructure;
• The loss of an important segment of the population from the community, and particularly the loss of peer leadership and the effect and social ramifications this has on the ‘young adults’ of the community;
• The compounded effects of many of the above issues on aboriginal people due to their culture and family relationships.

To further highlight the economic barriers which exist in this regional community, it should be noted that the Great Southern Region has the lowest per capita earnings of any region in the State, being $14,947, compared to $17,693.

 

3.0       Future Demand for Higher Education

As the nature of work (as we currently know it) changes, we can expect higher educational qualifications to become increasingly important.

Not only is this going to be a crucial factor in the career options of individuals, communities as a whole can be expected to face economic decline if they do not have the qualified and skilled resources within to attract and develop the informational and knowledge based industry of the future, and to help current industry adapt to the required change.

Regional communities currently face significant gaps in equality of access to facilities, and opportunities. Their continued sustainability could be severely compromised if their continue to face barriers to attaining higher education and regionally located facilities.

The Steering Committee strongly believes in the necessity for personal contact and the synergy which is developed by a university presence. While information technology is undoubtedly going to have a substantial impact on delivery of higher education, in the medium term at least, university campuses will continue to be the major means of successfully attaining university education. The potential of using strategically located higher education centres which maximise the benefits of new technology, yet also offer the personal contact and support within reasonable commuting distance, deserves examination, particularly in regional country areas.

 

4.0       Administrative Frameworks

Our Steering Committee’s investigations have revealed that the major issue in respect to administration of higher education institutions in regional locations is that of achieving an appropriate level of local self determination.

The university facilities in country centres of Western Australia exist as campuses under the administrative and financial control of major Perth based universities. There appear to be major problems in attaining responsive, and locally relevant management and education delivery due to this remote centrally based system. In Western Australia at the moment, for example, a major dispute has evolved over these issues at the Edith Cowan campus in Bunbury.

 

5.0       Funding

Not surprisingly funding is the major obstacle to the Albany community attaining a university campus. While the feasibility report shows that a campus is viable this is on the assumption that all of the capital infrastructure will be provided. Clearly government funding is a critical element to the processes, and it is the view of the Steering Committee that the State and Federal governments need to develop specific mechanisms to deliver higher education, (particularly for university funding), into the regions.

As a community based group, we do not know the detailed workings of existing funding mechanisms nor those being considered. What we believe is needed however, is a system where appropriate university education funding is devalued or distributed to the regions in some manner. Perhaps with the bulk of funding attaching to the students themselves, and market forces working so that the students attend courses at their chosen university, be they private or public, with a balance of funding being allocated to an appropriate regional body to be used in providing scholarships, or assisting the development or delivery of higher education in country areas.

In Albany’s situation, we are experiencing considerable frustration and disappointment in seeing that a private university, namely the University of Notre Dame, is significantly disadvantaged in establishing a campus in our town, primarily as they do not have access to the HECS funding. While it is understandable that the government might apply limitations on capital contributions to private organisations, the delivery of education should be carried out by using the best educational providers at the best price.

As previously proposed, funding should go with the students and where the need is, and the restriction of the funding of student places to public universities appears to the Committee as being contrary to the interests of the providing the best education available in the most effective and efficient means.

Should your Review Committee see the merit, the community of Albany would be an ideal area to trial the benefits of approaching the financing of higher education based upon the above proposals.

 

6.0       Future Opportunities

It appears that new and innovative ways are being developed to provide university education, and it was the methodologies being utilised by the University of Notre Dame at its Fremantle and Broome campuses which raised the hopes of this community and excited us as to what a tremendous asset and opportunity there existed for Albany.

It was clearly evident that Notre Dame operate a very cost efficient university, but without compromise to standards or effectiveness. Their approach in Fremantle is to work very closely with the community and they have a strong relationship with the City of Fremantle. While resource sharing with technical colleges and other educational facilities is becoming increasingly common, there is considerable scope to look at opportunities for resource sharing with local government, state government authorities, (particularly those which are research orientated), and private enterprise.

In Albany we are considering and promoting the possibilities of having a joint public and university library; are seeking funding for a feasibility study for an information technology centre for potential use of a university, the Town of Albany administration, the library, public internet access, and associated private industry or government authorities; and are considering the ability to resource share facilities such as our Town Hall Theatre, meeting rooms and training facilities.

Should a university take such an approach we may see a much higher cooperative and supportive relationship develop between the university and the community it serves. It is for reasons such as this and the social and economic benefits perceived that the Albany Steering Committee favours a university presence located within the central business district (similar to Notre Dame in Fremantle).

In conclusion, the Albany University Steering Committee is delighted to see the Federal Government reviewing the higher education system. It believes significant opportunities exist to improve and extend the delivery of higher education particularly in country areas, and sees this as essential to social and economic well being of country regions.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute our view.

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