ANZAM WORKSHOP 2009 Peter Noonan

Framework for Review Terms of Reference Excluded innovation and research which was to be dealt with in Cutler Review Included focus on broader tertiary sector Starting point was the future economic and social needs of Australia and the role of HE in that context not HE system and institutions in the first instance. Review of HE not just universities Need for a shared long term vision Importance of building population and workforce knowledge and skills Consistency with COAG human capital agenda This drove both growth, attainment targets and focus on equity

Framework for Review A National Framework for Higher Education Encompassing policy, funding, governance and regulation An enduring framework – transparent, competitive and dynamic Dealing with essentially mature system and institutions No case for government mandated and driven restructuring as was the case in 1980s Internationally competitive In broad terms – student outcomes, experience, attainment levels, equity, research, sustainability Focus today on aggregate demand, growth and demand driven funding and broader tertiary sector Focus on domestic rather than international students

Important links between educational attainment, effective labour force and social participation and productivity. Increaser participation directly linked to equity objectives Powerful connection between Human Capital and Equity Agendas COAG outcomes and targets: Halve the proportion of Australians aged without qualifications at Certificate III and above between 2009 and 2020; Does not specifically address contribution of Higher Education Need to now align undergraduate targets and broader COAG targets

Access Economics report for Review modelled the demand and supply of graduates Supply of graduates depends upon Population growth (including migration) Year 12 completion Higher education participation rates Completion rates Labour market demand for skills depends on: Overall levels of economic activity; Future levels of skills needs and ‘skills deepening’.  Access projections suggest an additional 36,000 graduates per year (across all age groups).

Average annual increase in domestic HE students of 1.7% between 2002 and 2007, compared to average annual growth of 3.7% through the 1990s. Access projections and government target suggest return to 1990s growth levels: Governments response By of year olds hold Bachelor Degree or above 217,000 additional graduates by 2025

Australian population will also continue to grow including in prime participation age cohorts  200,000 required just to keep pace with population growth Growth is also important in relation to population aging as the actual and relative size of older age cohorts increases. Without growth, age participation rates in HE will decline

Skills shortages a major issue at commencement of Review. Economic downturn highlights dangers of detailed central planning Student choices highly sensitive and responsive to labour market conditions and demand Review focus on student centred and demand based funding Removal of caps Governments response Phased removal of caps

Attempts to influence choice through controls on course intakes won’t succeed. Choice must be shaped by active engagement by business, government, professional associations. e.g. recent decisions on teachers pay, conditions and career structures. Recent enrolment trends and preliminary 2009 data suggests swing back to areas of skills shortages.

Collaboration and engagement with business essential help shape demand and understand emerging skills needs. Workforce retraining and development a critical priority Challenge to both traditional delivery methods and qualification structures Differing needs of older learners Demand for specific skills sets; Bundling of units; Flexible delivery Importance of informal learning and tacit knowledge Competition from private providers and corporate sector particularly in business, management, governance, finance IT etc

Supply and demand for courses Need for high quality and evidence based information on emerging industry and occupational needs: To assist with informed student choice; As an input to planning at the institutional level; To monitor aggregate trends relative to evidence.

Challenges and Opportunities for Business Schools Core offerings are essential to the current and future workforce but domestic demand reported to be sluggish Key domestic markets will be increasingly driven by capacity to stimulate demand from older age cohorts Importance of enterprise markets and relationships and capacity to package programs tailored to meet enterprise needs Importance of understanding enterprise needs Demand for likely to be strong for shorter and flexible qualifications rather than longer and less flexible qualifications Importance of equity and participation agenda; What are relative participation levels in business schools from low SES and low participation groups?

Challenges and Opportunities for Business Schools Potential across broader tertiary sector Need for coherent and integrated qualifications framework Reference to AQFC to revised AQF and also improved credit transfer and student pathways between VET and HE in both directions Importance of links and better integration with secondary schools What are the flows from students with business related Year 12 subjects into business schools Is there potential to remodel upper secondary and initial HE provision?