SUBMISSION TO
THE REVIEW OF
HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING AND
POLICY
Central Queensland University
Executive Summary
Our rapidly changing knowledge base, technological advances, and increasingly complex, globalised environment, demand enhanced and problem solving skills and well-informed, well considered perspectives . The strengthening of higher educational opportunities is crucial to meeting this challenge.
Universities are differented from other educational providers by the nature of the learning which surrounds the delivery of knowledge/content . Their distinctive role is to develop creative thinking and critical enquiry skills that go beyond ‘training’ and enable graduates to contribute professionally to society .
Individual universities develop their own strategies in delivering education to best meet the needs of their target clientele. The higher education policy/funding framework must promote this diversity, and offer opportunities for individual institutions to develop innovative, relevant, high quality client service. Any categorisation of institutions according to arbitrary criteria such as institutional origin will undermine the development of diversity across the sector.
Development of Australia’s diverse regions is vital to the nation’s future. This requires a policy / funding framework which enables regional universities to facilitate the exploitation of opportunities for the development of both their regions and the nation. Regional universities have the capacity to respond quickly to change and will be key innovators within the Australian higher education sector. They have thrived by being innovative in meeting the educational needs of their diverse and non traditional student population - providing viable and attractive alternatives to the programs offered by established metropolitan universities.
Regional universities are characterised by close links and collaborative interaction with their regional communities. They provide an integrating function and identity for their regions and play a vital role in research, consultancy and problem solving relevant to, but not limited to the region in its significance. They have made university study possible for many thousands of Australian students located outside of metropolitan centres. By doing so, they make an immense contribution to the social, economic and cultural development of their regions, and help overcome historical educational and socio-economic disadvantages experienced by regional communities.
The demographic and socio-economic circumstances of regional Australia require a significant level of on campus provision. Despite the increasing profile of distance education associated with improving communications technology, it is still expected that over the next twenty years, on campus attendance will continue to be the most appropriate mode of higher education study for the majority of students - particularly those without prior tertiary experience.
The continuing development of Australian society and the national economy requires a higher education policy/funding framework that will promote improved levels of high quality educational access for a dispersed and increasingly diverse population. Universities will need to be robust and flexible enough to deal innovatively and effectively with the challenges posed by providing relevant educational opportunities for students with a wide range of educational preparation.
Regional universities have gained much experience in delivering programs to students from diverse educational backgrounds. For example, CQU has from its inception accepted students whose prior qualifications / preparation would have excluded them from many other universities. The knowledge gained by regional universities through this experience offers a valuable resource to the sector as a whole.
Regional universities like CQU have the potential to play a particularly important role over the next twenty years in expanding and improving the provision of higher education opportunities for that majority of Indigenous Australians who reside in rural regions.
The higher education framework needs to allow regional universities to operate with an internationalised perspective. Regional universities have a responsibility to students and other stakeholders to operate in a globalised environment. Their graduates need to understand the global environment in which they must function; both research and teaching must reflect an international perspective .
The policy/ funding framework needs to promotes institutional flexibility and responsiveness, and not inhibit innovation. This may involve some regulation relating to national objectives, but consideration should be given to changes in the national competition policy, and to annual reporting mechanisms.
There is a need for increased provision of higher educational opportunities for Queensland, especially in rural regions such as Central Queensland where there remains a systemic shortage of locally available university places and where socio-economic and demographic characteristics have produced low rates of tertiary participation and militate against students relocating outside the region to attend university. Provision of full fee paying places will not address this regional problem because the socio-economic circumstances of most of the regional population prevent them from accepting the fee paying option.
We consider it important to the future development of the nation that growing regional universities receive a major ‘once off‘ injection of capital funds to establish the infrastructure base needed to enable them to adequately serve their regions’ educational needs and contribute to the development of their regions and the nation.
Consistent with the principle of diversity across the sector , the higher education research funding models need improved mechanisms for the allocation of resources to stimulate development of niche or innovative opportunities for research appropriate to the circumstances and missions of individual institutions, and to reflect achievements in research concentration within an institution. The funding models should also give greater recognition to the success of universities in research characterised by collaboration with research end-users on topics identified by these end-users and which are directly applicable to economic development. It also appears timely to reconsider the cost effectiveness of the labour intensive annual exercise of computing the Composite Index.
Theme 1 : The role of higher education in Australia’s society and economy
Our expectation is that the next twenty years will be characterised by an expanding and rapidly changing knowledge base, increasingly sophisticated technology, and increasingly complex and turbulent interrelationships within a globalised environment. Dealing successfully with this environment will demand enhanced conceptual and problem solving skills and well informed, well considered perspectives. Strengthening and ongoing development of higher educational opportunity, and of the quality of this opportunity, will become increasingly crucial to Australia’s capacity to meet this challenge. As providers of high level education, universities have been, and will continue to be, characterised by teaching in association with research and community service. Over the next twenty years, this essential role of universities in providing programs of higher education, in undertaking research, consultancy and problem solving, and in working collaboratively with industry, commerce, government and diverse community groups, will become even more important in contributing to the nation’s economic, social and cultural development and well being.
Increasingly, the distinctive educational contribution which will characterise universities, and differentiate them from other educational providers, will be the nature of the learning surrounding the delivery of knowledge/course content. "Content" as such is increasingly available beyond the conventional definition of the university - whether through print based materials, electronic access (e.g. World Wide Web), multi media resources, etc. The hallmark of the university is the development of creative thinking and critical enquiry around this content. The development of these skills is characteristic of, and crucial to the learning process in universities, and is the feature that distinguishes universities from other types of educational providers. In essence, universities are charged with the preparation and delivery of educational content/knowledge so that students gain the critical thinking skills that go beyond simply "training" and enable them to contribute professionally to society as graduates.
Whilst this process of value-adding to content is the distinctive contribution of the university, each institution has its individual style of client service, reflected in the way it constructs and delivers its programs. The past two decades have witnessed considerable development in the flexibility (in time and distance) with which educational programs are delivered through innovative teaching and learning strategies coupled with new communication technologies. Individual institutions have been able to develop their own blend of strategies in delivering educational packages which best meet the needs of their target clientele. The diversity that exists between Australian universities reflects their differing roles in relation to their definition of their clientele and of "client service". Considerable scope exists for innovation, and for competition between institutions, with quality of delivery and relevance to client needs being reflected in the success of the institution in attracting students. Innovative packaging and delivery of knowledge/content relevant to student and market needs thus becomes crucial to the institution’s quality and effectiveness, and a means of differentiation between institutions.
A crucial challenge facing government will be to develop a policy and funding framework which recognises and promotes this diversity within the higher education system, and offers opportunities for individual institutions to develop innovative strategies for the provision of relevant and high quality client service.
The Role and Potential of Regional Universities
Even in an environment of increasing globalisation, there is a growing trend throughout the world toward greater emphasis and reliance on regions as the basis of community, social, and economic development. Currently, Australia lags far behind countries such as the United States of America in having highly regarded major universities which are located in small regional centres and which contribute economically, socially, and culturally to both regional and national development. Growth and development across Australia’s diverse regions is vital to the future of the nation as a whole, and requires a policy and funding framework which enables regional universities to develop comparable levels of national and international profile. In Australia, regional universities of the potential to be key players in facilitating the exploitation of opportunities for the development of both their regions and the nation. For a combination of reasons, they have also been the first universities to feel the impact of the changes in the higher education environment and as a result, have developed the capacity to respond quickly to change and to be leaders in innovative practice in both teaching and research. Over the next twenty years, they will be key innovators within the Australian higher education sector.
The base of a regional university, even as a distance education provider, is the regional community from which it draws most of its student body, its support, and identity. Not only are regional universities characterised by close links and collaborative interaction with their regional communities across a wide range of activities, they also provide an integrating function and identity for their region, particularly if the regional population is dispersed across a wide geographic area. Regional universities are responsive to community needs, and are integral components of the regional economy and cultural environment. They correspondingly play a vital role in research, consultancy and problem solving which is relevant and directly applicable to their regions, but which is not limited to the region in its significance or implications.
Youthful, dynamic regional universities like Central Queensland University (CQU) have the potential to be leaders amongst Australia’s higher education institutions over the next 20 years, responding innovatively to the changing educational needs of students, industry, and society, and working in partnership with their regions as major contributors to the national economy.
Regional universities have made university study possible, not just easier, for many thousands of Australian students located outside of metropolitan centres. By enabling students to study without leaving the region, they not only make an immense contribution to the social, economic and cultural development of their regions, but also play a key role in and overcoming historical educational and socio-economic disadvantages experienced by regional communities, and thereby developing greater equity across the nation. The importance of this latter role can be illustrated by the Central Queensland region, where 1991 Census data reveal that less than 10% of the population aged 15 years and over possess tertiary education qualifications, compared to the Australian average of 33%. (Source: ABS Cat no 2710.0 and CDATA91). Central Queensland University, which draws more than 80% of its domestic students from the region, is well placed to increase considerably the educational qualifications amongst the regional population, to address historical disadvantage, and enable the social, cultural and economic benefits that will flow from this.
It is essential to note that, due to the demographic and socio-economic circumstances of regional Australia, the provision of this educational opportunity and the delivery of the associated social, cultural and economic benefits requires a significant level of on campus provision. Providing for a dispersed population spread across a wide geographic region such as Central Queensland - an area considerably larger than the State of Victoria and comprising a population of some 400 000 - requires a distributed presence achieved most effectively (in both financial and educational terms) by a multi-campus operation which maximises on campus access.
Provision of higher education opportunities for Indigenous Australians
The higher education sector can and must make a major contribution to the self determination efforts of Australia’s Indigenous peoples by broadening the opportunities for them to access and participate in higher education. Regional universities like CQU have the potential to play a particularly important role over the next twenty years in expanding and improving the provision of higher education opportunities for that majority of Indigenous Australians who reside in rural regions and whose circumstances militate, to an even greater extent than the socio-economically disadvantages of regional populations at large, against relocation outside their region to attend a metropolitan university. Research studies have shown that Aboriginal students usually find traditional university environments unwelcoming, intimidating, and generally unappreciative of Indigenous cultural perspectives and values. They are almost always from families with no prior experience with higher education, and this, coupled with other equity disadvantages in terms of socio-economic and rural/isolated background, makes it crucial that the university provide an appropriately supportive and inclusive environment to enable them to succeed in their studies. An institution based in the region is well placed to develop close links with the Aboriginal community and work collaboratively in the development of support programs, inclusive curricula and pedagogical practice, to maintain the crucial contacts/linkages between Indigenous students and families, and to offer a welcoming, culturally inclusive campus environment more conducive to Indigenous students’ educational access and successful completion of studies. For example, CQU is moving toward establishment of a Centre of Indigenous Learning and Research to undertake a range of activities aimed at developing such a culturally affirming environment. The national higher education policy and funding framework should have specific provisions for the development and implementation of such institutional initiatives.
Blending regional and global perspectives
Whilst maintaining their regional links and relevance, regional universities have a responsibility to both their students and other stakeholders to operate in a globalised environment. Their graduates need to understand the global environment in which they must function, and to gain the skills and knowledge needed to contribute effectively in such an environment. To achieve this, regional universities must reach out beyond their geographic region and actively participate in the national and international communities in order to enrich their programs and the experiences of their students. Both their research and their teaching must therefore reflect an international perspective. To complement the internationalisation of curricula, both staff and students need opportunities to interact with international students who can contribute a diversity of cultural perspectives. The benefits of this cross cultural exposure are reciprocal, flowing to all parties involved.
It is thus important that the regulatory framework for Australian higher education provide opportunities for regional universities to operate nationally and internationally with a global, internationalised perspective.
Promoting innovation and quality
As well as being the first institutions to feel the impact of change, the size and flexibility of regional universities enables them to implement change quickly and effectively. They have thrived by being innovative in delivering programs to meet the educational needs of their diverse and non traditional student population - in other words, by providing viable and attractive alternatives to the programs offered by established metropolitan universities.
Being both a new and a regional university, CQU exemplifies this ability to be innovative. Having experienced for many years one of the lowest rates of per capita Commonwealth funding, CQU has had negligible capacity to buffer itself against the impact of increasing funding constraints. As a consequence, it has needed to be amongst the first to respond and adapt to a more rigorous and competitive operating environment. It has done so and continues to do so, by adopting educationally innovative strategies and more cost-efficient operating structures, and by exploiting new educational markets within Australia and overseas.
CQU operates through an integrated multi-campus structure characterised by each faculty operating across several campuses, thereby maintaining consistent academic standards across all campuses. The distributed campuses provide on campus education through an appropriate blend of face to face teaching, electronic delivery (interactive system-wide lecturing system, videoconferencing, computer-mediated communication), and use of a variety of learning resource materials (print based, electronic and multi-media). This integrated multi-campus operation constitutes a working laboratory in which innovation in teaching and learning can be trialed and evaluated. The outcomes from these initiatives have resulted in the development and implementation of innovative models for the quality delivery of high standard courses to a wider national and international market. The model is proving highly successful at CQU’s new international campuses (e.g. Sydney). In turn, the reconceptualisation and internationalisation of curricula arising from operation of these new international campuses is enriching the whole of the educational program and experience available to students at the Central Queensland campuses.
It is important to recognise the essential role of university libraries with respect to innovation and quality in the educational process. Developments in information technology are transforming the delivery of library services, improving student access to an expanding range of learning resources and information, and enabling more flexible and timely learning support. Provision of high quality library support is crucial to the success of innovative teaching and learning strategies delivered both through distance education and distributed on campus provision. Moreover, the role of the library in this environment has now expanded to provide staff and students with the opportunity to improve their information literacy skills.
Theme 2 : Factors affecting higher education demand and provision
Despite the increasing profile of distance education associated with improving communications technology, it is still expected that over the next twenty years, on campus attendance will continue to be the most appropriate mode of higher education study for the majority of students - particularly those without prior tertiary experience.
Regional demographic characteristics
The higher education policy and funding environment over the next 20 years must recognise the demographic diversity and historical circumstances of the catchments from which Australian universities draw their students. Regional universities like CQU draw most of their on campus students, and a majority of their distance students, from their local regions. This relationship is crucially important to both their regions and the nation, because of the long standing shortage of tertiary graduates within regional populations.
Central Queensland illustrates this clearly. As indicated earlier under "theme 1", 1991 Census data reveal that less than 10% of the region’s population aged 15 years and over possess tertiary education qualifications, compared to the Australian average of 33%. The social, cultural and economic development of the region demands a significant increase in the number of graduates. This requires the provision of higher education not only for school leavers, but also for the mature age population who constitute a substantial proportion of the region’s deficit in higher education qualifications. The great majority of this mature age population are unable to relocate to attend university in a metropolitan centre due to family and/or employment commitments. Without CQU’s integrated multi-campus operation offering study at several widely dispersed locations across the region, few of them would have had any access to higher education, especially as most are from families with no prior higher education experience and would find distance education a difficult pathway. Similar socio-economic circumstances prevent a large number of school leavers from relocating outside the region, even temporarily, in order to study at university.
More broadly, the continuing development of Australian society and the national economy requires a higher education policy/funding framework that will promote improved levels of high quality educational access for a dispersed and increasingly diverse population. In turn, universities will need to be robust and flexible enough to deal innovatively and effectively with the challenges posed by providing relevant educational opportunities and delivering appropriate programs successfully to students with a wide range of educational preparation. The national framework will need to facilitate rather than hinder universities in responding to this challenge.
Regional universities have gained much experience in delivering programs to students drawn from diverse educational backgrounds. For example, CQU has from its inception accepted students whose prior qualifications and/or nature of their preparation would have excluded them from many other universities, reflecting its stated commitment to access and equity and to providing educational opportunity to its region. The University has developed a range of preparatory and support programs to enable these students to cope successfully with higher education study. As indicated already, the major proportion of CQU’s students, drawn from the region, are the first in their families to experience higher education; many come from disadvantaged backgrounds. These factors have encouraged the University to move away from traditional teaching models and to be innovative in responding to students’ educational needs. The blending of face to face teaching, distance education, and the use of a range of learning resource materials assisted by electronic communication enables course delivery to be adapted more readily to a diverse range of individual student requirements. The knowledge gained by regional universities through this experience offers a valuable resource to the sector as a whole.
Evidence that CQU achieves considerable success in educating students whose prior academic preparation would exclude them from admission to other universities, was presented in the University’s 1994 submission to the Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. This comprised an analysis of completion and continuation rates for students accepted into CQU bachelor degree programs over 1988-1993. Particular attention was given to the rates achieved by the "low" entry score cohorts of school leavers who would not have been offered places at other Queensland universities according to the published QTAC admissions data. The analysis revealed that this "low" group achieved course continuation/completion rates which, whilst lower, compared reasonably well with the average rates achieved by the total school leaver cohort accepted into CQU bachelor degree programs for the same year. It revealed further that the gap between the rates of the "low" group and the total cohort was narrowing over time, indicating improving success in relation to the continuation rates of the "low" group. A summary table extracted from the 1994 submission, showing relevant aggregated data for the student cohorts, is enclosed as an accompanying document for your further reference (Attachment 1).
Further evidence is offered by a detailed statistical analysis of CQU student success according to tertiary entrance scores, presented in a report to the University’s Council in 1996. This analysis looked at aggregate student pass rates (percentage of subjects passed) for each of the 1993, 1994, and 1995 school leaver intake cohorts entering bachelor degree programs, and examined the relationship between pass rates and tertiary entrance scores. Particular attention was given to the patterns emerging in the middle range of scores, traditionally regarded as representing a "marginal" ability relative to academic requirements. Examination of the data indicates that, whilst there is a general trend for pass rates to decline as one moves down along the range of entry scores, the decline is small and often discontinuous over this middle to marginal range, and occasionally is reversed. A considered interpretation of these patterns (which vary according to field of study) suggests that students of apparently "marginal" academic ability achieve pass rates reasonably comparable to those entering with stronger academic backgrounds. It seems fair to conclude that one factor contributing to this would be the quality and effectiveness of the teaching and support delivered to these students. A copy of the full report is enclosed for your reference (Attachment 2).
Theme 3 : The regulatory and administrative environment
Amongst the salient trends currently impacting on higher education in Australia and which will continue to have major impact over the next twenty years, the following are particularly relevant:
(1) the increasingly diverse population from which Australia’s higher education student body is being drawn;
(2) the rapidly changing knowledge basis (and changing forms of this knowledge and its delivery) being generated by technological change;
(3) the increasing globalisation and interdependence of all dimensions of human activity.
These trends are converging to require higher education institutions to improve their flexibility, responsiveness and innovation across all aspects of their operations: - their course development, teaching and delivery; their support to students; their research and problem solving; their community collaboration; their management and administration.
It is important that the higher education policy and funding framework neither explicitly recognises, nor implicitly gives credence to, a categorisation of institutions within the sector. Any such classification and associated ranking according to arbitrary criteria such as institutional origin, will systematically undermine the development of diversity across the sector by promoting undue adherence to a particular institutional model. Universities should be allowed to pursue missions and modes of operation appropriate to their own circumstances, and be given the opportunity to develop in an open, competitive environment which rewards innovation, quality and relevance. As advocated earlier under "theme 1", we consider it particularly important that the role of regional universities be recognised and that the policy framework enable them to develop their full potential.
The challenge facing government is to develop a policy and funding framework which promotes institutional flexibility and responsiveness, and does not inhibit innovation. Whilst this framework may involve some regulation relating to national objectives, regardless of the funding mechanisms adopted it should aim to facilitate rather than constrain the opportunities for institutions. Central Queensland University in particular places value on being able to take the initiative and implement innovative approaches in developing opportunities. We consider it important to have a government regulatory environment which encourages institutions to exploit opportunities for development, and not one which emphasises protection and in doing so constrains institutional initiative.
It is of concern that government is moving to deregulate many aspects of the higher education policy environment whilst at the same time regulating the wider economic environment within which institutions must operate. For example, elements of the national competition policy place constraints on institutions, by restricting the purposes for which revenue can be spent, according to its source (e.g. operating grant versus fees income). We recommend that these restrictions be removed.
We also draw attention to the continuing heavy commitment of institutional and government effort and resources, to annual reporting mechanisms, especially the DEETYA statistical collections. We question the value of much of the data reported, and recommend that this reporting burden be reduced substantially. We believe it desirable to aim for a minimal reporting of institutional data, sufficient to assure public accountability in relation to the achievement of agreed standards of quality.
Theme 4 : Financing higher education and research training
There exists a substantial need, not just to maintain existing planning levels of higher education opportunities in Queensland as a whole, but also for the provision of additional opportunities - particularly in rural regions such as Central Queensland where there remains a systemic shortage of locally available university places and where socio-economic and demographic characteristics have produced low rates of tertiary participation and militate against students relocating outside the region to attend university. It is important to emphasise that the provision of full fee paying places will not address this regional problem because the socio-economic circumstances of the majority of the regional population prevent them from accepting the fee paying option.
It is also relevant to comment on the suggestion to establish a national system of scholarships which students would use to support their study at university. Whilst such a scheme could benefit young school leavers - especially those able to move outside their regions to attend university, it would offer little help to mature age persons whose circumstances often prevent them from relocating. It is important to note that unless the scholarships are very comprehensive in the costs they cover (e.g., HECS, accommodation, etc.), the socio-economic circumstances of many school leavers in regional Australia prevent them from leaving their region to study even with a scholarship. The need for strong, vibrant regional universities remain for these students also.
In the case of CQU, there is therefore a pressing need to expand facilities at its regional campuses to enable them to attain a size commensurate with increasing local demand, and to continue their role of providing higher education access to a regional population which needs to raise its overall level of educational attainment. Provision of access at campuses within the region is particularly important to the region’s future development for two reasons. Firstly, young people who must leave the region to study at universities elsewhere often never return to the region to contribute as graduates to its development. Secondly, mature age students generally cannot move to attend university outside the region due to work and family commitments, and, if they have not had prior study experience, often find traditional distance education difficult - resulting in high attrition.
A vigorous and dynamic university is able to play a vital role in its region’s economic as well as social development. Central Queensland serves to illustrate the importance of encouraging regional development. The past two decades have seen significant economic growth in the region, including the continuing expansion of the Bowen Basin coal developments, world class export-oriented industrial growth - particularly at Gladstone, and major port activities at both Gladstone and Mackay. The rate of economic development in the region is reliably expected to continue and perhaps accelerate over the next twenty years. Central Queensland already makes a significant contribution to Australia’s export earnings. The latest published ABS data (ABS Cat no 5440.0, p9) show that in 1992, exports valued at $4.651 million were shipped from Central Queensland ports, accounting for 42% of the value of tonnage exported from Queensland and some 10% of the Australian total, even though the region has only 2.3 % of the nation’s population.
CQU is already supporting this development of economic activity through provision of undergraduate and postgraduate award courses as well as professional continuing education and training, and the conduct of applied research, consultancy and problem solving undertaken in collaboration with industry and community partners. It has the potential to contribute much more, but achieving this potential requires the infrastructure platform needed to support increased activity. CQU has experienced considerable rapid growth over the past decade, a time of constrained operating grant and capital funding - particularly in relation to the provision of the infrastructure to support the high cost, technology based teaching and research programs needed by industrially developing regions like Central Queensland. It is important to recognise that industry and Queensland communities have already provided significant financial support for the recent development of new facilities on the regional campuses. Data compiled by the CQU Foundation show that, since commencement of the Foundation in 1993, a total of $5.735 million has been received or pledged to date (March 1997) either in cash donations or gifts in kind, for capital developments at the regional campuses. In addition, over 1992 - 96 the Queensland State Government has provided $5 million in capital funds for regional campus construction. In combination, these amount to a total of $10.735 million from non Commonwealth sources, compared to the $10.465 million received from the Commonwealth for capital development at the regional campuses over the same period.
We therefore consider it important to the future development of the nation that growing regional universities like CQU receive a major ‘once off‘ injection of capital funds to establish the infrastructure base needed to enable them to adequately serve their regions’ educational needs and contribute to the development of their regions and the nation.
Theme 5 : Funding for higher education research
Universities are places where teaching and learning are informed by research. As such, all universities must be actively engaged in, and supported for, research activity.
While the current approach to funding higher education research quite appropriately allocates the majority of Commonwealth research funds on the basis of performance, it lacks a framework for stimulation of the development of niche or innovative opportunities for research appropriate to, and consistent with, the particular circumstances and missions of individual institutions. The funding models need improved mechanisms for the allocation of resources to stimulate such initiatives and to reflect achievements in research concentration within an institution, as opposed to research achievements across the institution as a whole. Such an approach is consistent with the principle of diversity across the sector as a whole.
Currently, the Composite Index does not give appropriate weighting to research income derived from sources other than National Competitive Grants. It is acknowledged that this is consistent with a competitive, performance-based funding environment. However, it discounts substantially those research activities which are characterised by collaboration with research end-users on topics identified by these end-users and which, as such, are directly applicable to economic development. The success of universities in making this contribution has to be recognised more highly in the funding model.
There is general agreement that the existing system for the allocation of research funding (Research Quantum and Research Infrastructure Block Grant) involves a labour intensive, lengthy process of collection and compilation of institutional data to compute the Composite Index, and considerable work at the system level in analysis, review and administration of the process. It appears timely to reconsider the cost effectiveness of this annual exercise (despite the recent reduction for instance in the number of publication categories to be reported).