334462c0.indd © 1988 Nature Publishing Group ~N~A~TU~RE~V~O~L~.3~3~4~ll~A~U~G~U~S~T~19~88~----------------------NEVVS--------------------------------------------~~=3 Big is beautiful for survival of higher education in Australia Sydney FoRCED amalgamations for tertiary institutions with fewer than 2,000 students is the most contentious element of new Australian government policy on higher education announced at the end of last month by Mr John Dawkins, Minister for Education, Employment and Training. The policy gives effect to most of the reforms suggested last December (see Nature 330, 592; 1987). The central element of the policy is the establishment of a 'unified national general recurrent, equipment, minor works and special research grants. Institutions choosing not to join the unified system will be funded for teaching only, receiving nothing for growth or research. Institutions with fewer than 2,000 students, of whom there are at pres- ent 21, will not be allowed to join the unified national system. Pressure will also be put on institutions with between 2,000 and 5,000 students to amalgamate. The minimum number of students is 5,000, at which the government believes an institu- tion will be able to deliver a comprehen- sive range of courses as well as being able effectively to involve itself in research in some specialized areas. Private institutions such as the Bond University will not receive any govern- ment support, nor will their students be eligible for study benefits. Staff will, how- ever, be able to compete for research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC). Money for research will be transferred from operating grants to the ARC in stages, until the ARC has an extra A$65 million in 1991. The policy statement emphasizes the government's desire to improve manage- ment practices in higher education. Dawkins says that it is impossible for some university senates and college councils with up to 50 members to operate effici- ently. He says a more appropriate size would be 10-15, in line with the size of boards in large private organizations. Charles Morgan UK universities turning more and more to private funding system' for higher education. In order to join, an institution will have to prepare an 'institutional profile' which sets out its objectives and strategy for teaching and research as well as how it is addressing national priorities as defined by the gov- ernment. Funding will be based on the institutional profile as well as objective statistical measures of performance com- piled by the government. From 1989, funding for institutions in the unified national system will be a single operating grant which will replace present separate London UNIVERSITIES in Britain are relying increasingly on private rather than public funding. Statistics published this month by the Universities Statistical Record, which detail income and expenditure in 1986-87, show that the proportion of university funding from central government grants fell to 55 per cent, compared with 57 per cent and 59 per cent in the previous 2 years and 75 per cent 10 years ago. Last year's grant of £1,400 million was a 4 per cent increase on the previous year. And the total income of universities increased by 8 per cent to almost £2,500 million. But the underlying trend is an increase in the proportion of university income earned from research contracts and services, a trend that the government is encouraging. Last year, the funding generated in this way rose by 18 per cent, almost £100 million, to £630 million. There was an increase in funding of 28 per cent from charities, of22 per cent from overseas organizations, of 16 per cent Spanish Cabinet in science reshuffle Barcelona research and university, is considered a IN a cabinet reshuffle, Mr Jose Maria personal friend of Prime Minister Felipe Maravall has been replaced as Spanish Gonzalez and a person open to dialogue Minister of Education and Science by Mr and negotiation. He takes charge at a time Javier Solana, former Minister of Culture, when new action on salaries is expected in who will take over at a delicate time for September at all levels of education, education and science in Spain. including the universities, and when criti- Maravall, Minister of Education and cisms are increasing on the way the Law of Science since the first socialist government Universities is working. He will have to in 1982, has been responsible for important continue the efforts to put into practice the reforms in primary and secondary schools, National Plan of Research, now in its first in universities (the Law for University year, and to implement the new statutes of Reform) and in science (the Law of Science the CSIC (Science Research Council) which and the National Plan for Research). have to be approved soon. Solana, a physicist with experience in Pedro Puigdomenech from British industry and of 14 per cent from the research councils. Income from fees also rose, due largely to the increase in fees charged to overseas students. Fee income rose by nine per cent from the previous year, £26 million to £330 million, the same level as five years ago; since then income from full-time students paying home fees has fallen by almost one-third. Universities' expenditure increased by 6 per cent to £1,850 million, bringing the increase over the past five years to almost one third. Last year, 68 per cent of general funds went on salaries and wages, an increase of7 per cent on the previous year, and of almost one-third over the past five years. The largest rise (54 per cent) was for academic-related staff such as admin- istrators and computer staff, compared with 20 per cent for technical staff. Over the past five years, student-staff ratios have increased in most depart- ments, particularly in clinical subjects, because reductions in full-time staff have been substantially greater, says the report, than the changes in student numbers. Last year there were about 55,000 full-time staff and 3,500 part-time academic and related staff, a 3 per cent rise over the previous year. That increase was due to an increase of 9 per cent in the number of staff not paid from university funds. Those staff now constitute one-third of all full- time academic staff, compared with 23 per cent 5 years ago. There was no increase in the number of full-time teaching and research staff paid from general funds. Of staff not paid from general funds, 38 per cent are financed by the research councils, 21 per cent by other government depart- ments and 10 per cent by industry. Christine McGourty Big is beautiful for survival of higher education in Australia