REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCING AND POLICY
SUBMISSION FROM
A. Corkhill K.H.Lee
Secretary President
AUSTRALASIAN UNIVERSITIES LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE ASSOCIATION
1.Preamble
1.1 The Australasian Universities Language & Literature Association (AULLA) has a membership of 470 drawn principally from the academic staff and research students of Universities in Australia and New Zealand. AULLA issues a bi-annual journal, organises a biennial conference and represents the needs and fosters the skills of a major sector of the Humanities in this region. It has close links with the Australian Society for Classical Studies (ASCS), with bodies representing specialist interests in languages, drama studies and literature and with international associations like FIEC and FILLM. AULLA embraces studies in European languages (eg Spanish, French, Italian, Modern Greek), in classical languages (Greek, Latin), in Asian languages (Japanese, Korean) and in modern and ancient literature, theatre and in progressive teaching and learning involving multi-media. This rich diversity is made possible by the diversity of the University system on which AULLA ultimately depends. Since language is the essence of any culture and literature the most widely spread and readily accessible cultural product, this diversity must be fostered in any nation committed to multi-culturalism. A language-rich community, one conscious of its manifold heritage, is the product of serious study, and effective teaching informed by research; in the absence of the provision of such higher education, multi-culturalism is an inane slogan.
1.2 In February 1997 AULLA held in collaboration with ASCS its 29th congress. More than 300 delegates represented some 30 Universities in Australia, NZ, Asia, Europe and NAmerica. Approximately 25% of the delegates were post-graduate students. The congress was largely self-funded from members' subscriptions, registration fees and delegates' meeting of their own costs. Sponsorship to a small degree was received from Pirelli tyres, National Australia bank, various bookshops. University funding assisted some delegates with fares. The funding and activities of and discussion during the congress provide a basis for AULLA's submission to the review committee.
2. Financing
2.1 The research and teaching in languages and literature must be seen as a public good and funded accordingly. Business, industry and, to a lesser degree, foreign governments through their cultural policy organisations, will provide some funds, but only to the extent that their investment is seen as profitable. Commonwealth and StateGovernment funding, at least in the immediate term, will be necessary to maintain the supply of those with high communication skills, analytical rigour and imaginative outlook produced by the study of the Humanities. Broad education leads to flexibility of mind, now more imperative than ever; the private sector tends, on the contrary, to promote immediate goals.
2.2 Education in languages is not one of this country's strengths. For too long Australia has been regarded as obstinately monolingual, which puts us at a disadvantage vis a vis trading partners in Europe and Asia, where great weight is placed on linguistic competence. Funding for adequate exchange programmes for staff and students, library facilities, opportunities for attending conferences will improve performance and create opportunities for both cultural and economic trade.
2.3 Downsizing of academic and support staff has led to student-staff ratios higher than those prevailing in the UK and America. Classes, which meet less frequently than they should, are too large for interaction and careful monitoring of progress. In this situation standards will fall.
2.4 The use of IT programmes in language teaching should reduce costs in the long term. But adequate funding is first needed for the provision of the hardware and for the employment of those who process the material.
2.5 Since Universities are an important source of training for primary and secondary school teachers, down-grading of the tertiary system would rapidly have deleterious effects on the schools.
3. Policy
3.1 A strong education in languages and their literature is vital in maintaining Australia's reputation abroad. The AULLA congress was attended by a significant number of visitors impressed by our standards and interested in our methods, and scholars here have forged enduring links with those working elsewhere. Our students have gained honours in Universities of the highest prestige and have gone on to fill positions of importance in commerce, industry and academe. It would be retrograde to endanger this international success and its results- economic as well as cultural-by the short-sighted reduction to funding.
3.2 Australia provides a unique opportunity for blending European cultures with those of Asia and the Pacific; the strength of our Universities in the area of language and cultural studies generally is essential to the retention of this position.
3.3 Reconciliation and a deeper understanding of the depths of indigenous culture will be more readily promoted among those confidently familiar with their own roots and with an appreciation of cultural diversity. Strong language programmes are the most direct and efficient way of achieving this. Nor should the importance of studying other literatures be undervalued. Foreign literature courses shed light on trends in human thought. They promote an appreciation of the universal rather than the fractionalised entity which literature is if seen from the point of view of individual ethnicities.
3.4 While rationalisation in the provision of language courses nationally may be required, equity demands that some language courses be available in each University. This will ensure that the benefits of language learning are not confined to those attending larger, older institutions or to those who can undertake the extra expense of travel away from their home centre.
3.5 Currently decisions to shut down courses in a given institution are made internally and largely based on accidental factors like retirement. This militates against the provision of a coherent national programme. More central, long-term planning is necessary and must be combined with financial guarantees.
3.6 Just as science has recognised the need for fundamental research, research in the Humanities, 'pure' by definition, needs the support of public funds. Without such research standards will eventually fall, not only in the Universities, but in creative writing, in the arts and in those key professions, like journalism, which rely on highly developed skills in information retrieval, analysis and communication.