SUBMISSION TO
THE REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCING AND POLICY
by
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Central Queensland University
Where? and Why?
The higher education sector has a responsibility to contribute to the community in social, cultural and economic contexts. This role is particularly significant to regional universities, which provide access to opportunities which expand the experience of their communities.
The significance of the role of the regional university will become even more apparent in the future than it is in the present. Access to higher education is a key factor in the development of the nation’s resources as a whole. But access is not only about serving the immediate region. It is about providing new opportunities which attract attention from a broad clientele.
Smaller regional universities have the ability to be flexible and respond quickly to developing community needs. Specialist units within regional universities have the potential to bring particular strengths into a community. These, in turn, should provide opportunities which are not duplicated elsewhere. In doing so, they have the capacity to attract national and international attention.
Future growth in Australian higher education needs to move away from the historical metro-centric focus. Many of the world’s great universities, and more particularly, the specialist institutions, are located in non-metropolitan centres. The presence of the institution brings to the community economic and cultural development.
The city of Mackay (in Central Queensland) provides an excellent example of this. Mackay has demonstrated very determined support for Central Queensland University’s two campuses, the Mackay Campus of CQU and the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM). The result has brought a strong artistic focus to the region, an expanding creative community, a growing cultural infrastructure and greater access to higher education for many students who represent the first in their families to attend university.
Employer demand for professional musicians in the tourist industry in the Central Queensland/Whitsunday region is growing. CQCM’s choice to concentrate on programs which serve that demand ensures that links with the industry will develop a mutually-supportive relationship.
Regional universities are well-placed to contribute to the community through such direct links with industry and local culture. The provision of government funding at a level appropriate to the requirements of the programs is crucial in ensuring the maintenance of quality at a reasonable cost to the student. For example, quality music training relies on one-to-one and small group modes of teaching, the provision of performance and entrepreneurial activities, artists-in-residence as role models, and the promotion of composition, research and technology.
Regional communities have demonstrated a willingness to contribute directly to this cultural infrastructure. Such commitment is rarely found within metropolitan centres. It could well be argued that the regional communities should not have to contribute any more than those who reside in the cities. Why should local government at a regional level have to finance initiatives which in metropolitan centres would be otherwise funded? The concern for the regional community is focussed on the outcome rather than the issue of inequity.
The administrative framework of higher education needs to have student focus. The small regional university campus well understands the way in which client service will attract students. Higher education needs a climate in which it is possible to be responsive to student and community needs.
The specialist institution in a regional area is in a position to attract support from the local corporate community, but should not be forced into reliance upon it. Competition for funding, whether government or corporate, implies constraints related to the source of the funding rather than on the use of it. The need for competition implies the existence of duplicity.
Alternative approaches to the provision of funding for higher education will encourage competition amongst the universities, but in so doing, they also promote the principle that the quality of the university is seen in direct relation to the quality of the advertising campaign.
The level of access and equity which is currently enjoyed by students in the Australian higher education sector should be seen as a minimal standard. The introduction of full fees, student loan schemes and/or higher student contributions has the capacity to undermine that level of access which has been hard-won to date. This would be particularly relevant to regional Australians.
Specialist programs would suffer the greatest damage. For example, a student wishing to study music, a profession which doesn’t promise great financial reward after graduation, would be disadvantaged by the high cost of delivery in the discipline. It is not feasible to teach clarinet in classes of 30. In music, it is imperative that Australia should maintain student access to standards of teaching which are accepted internationally, and such standards rely heavily on individual lessons and small group instruction in ensemble work.
The specialist institution has the capacity for innovation and response to niche markets. Where innovation meets industry needs, it deserves reward. Current definitions within the Research Quantum remove the capacity for music Faculties or Schools to receive funding related to innovative and creative activities. This inequity of access to additional funding sources should be re-addressed.
By restricting research credit to publications of the written word rather than the creative project, funding and acknowledgement for the more flexible of community activities are denied. Consider the example of CQCM’s recent work with the South Sea Islander community choir in Mackay. This project gave them the self-sufficiency, confidence and skills to enhance their performance activities. Their access to such a program was made possible by CQCM’s presence and by its response to community need.
Access, equity and excellence: the substance of any argument relative to higher education. The regional Australian must be assured of equal access to higher education without compromise to quality. Regional centres have equal potential for the development of special centres of excellence. Regional universities should be encouraged to exploit the potential which exists through the community’s demonstrated commitment to access, equity and excellence.
Scott Harrison
Co-ordinator of Studies
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Associate Professor Helen Lancaster
Director
Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music