education
16 Dec 2009
The Crisis In Education Isn't Looming, It's Here
Australian universities are hotbeds of managerialism, but a lack of oversight is hurting staff and students, writes Tammi Jonas
If it ever even was the case that universities were once "hotbeds of leftists", that time has well and truly passed.
The managers of our universities have been inured to the ethical, cultural and political implications of a refusal to pay fair wages for labour, instead reducing remuneration to a purely economic rationale. This is nowhere so apparent as in the situation of casual academic staff in universities, where exploitation is rife and examples of under-paid or even unpaid labour are abundant.
In Australia even senior academics are now working 50-hour weeks on average while faring poorly in salary comparisons with average weekly earnings. Melissa Gregg has already eloquently detailed the reasons why academia is no longer a smart choice, and Australia’s leading higher education institutes have released a full report on challenges facing the academic workforce.
As a generation of the academic workforce approaches retirement and the emerging workforce is disenfranchised, speculation about a "looming crisis" belies the crisis that is already upon us.
Australian universities, by and large, are systematically exploiting their employees, from overworked senior academics to the burgeoning population of casual staff who receive little or no training. If you are an undergraduate student — or indeed the parent, partner or friend of one — you should know that university tutors have probably received no training as teachers, no office space, no pay to attend meetings with subject coordinators or sit in on lectures, and — in the worst examples — no pay to mark assignments. Across Australian universities approximately 50 per cent of teaching is now carried out by casuals.
As higher education expert Simon Marginson said earlier this year in a talk in Japan, "Governments use funding scarcity to control and shape the institutions." And while this may be true, it’s too easy to simply blame the government, which now provides just 44 per cent of higher education budgets.
Ultimately, we must ask university leaders to account for the ways in which they are prioritising their — admittedly limited — funds. Given that Australia sits near the bottom of international comparisons of both staff and student satisfaction levels in company with China and Portugal, we have a serious problem — and it’s not just the economy (stupid). If our managers aren’t addressing the moral, cultural and political consequences of systematic exploitation of their workforce, and the government refuses to dig any deeper, where else can we look for leadership?
Once upon a time, university councils might have helped its managers with such questions. But as the sector becomes increasingly corporatised, its governance bodies are focusing more on the bottom line and risky commercial ventures than on strategic oversight of universities’ educational philosophy and integrity. Councils are charged with the direction and superintendence of their universities, yet many seem to interpret this merely as financial and risk management, leaving educational vision to the "expert" management team.
The central role of governance in maintaining an ethical vision as well as practical constraints is too often ignored amid the buck passing. There is surely something wrong when a university council excitedly debates the commercial and reputational risks of involvement in a proposal for a community-based childcare consortium — and defers discussions of the importance of providing subsidised childcare for students to the senior executive?
Australian higher education institutions must learn to distinguish between sustainable governance and the governance of contingency, where risk is distributed as a new form of hierarchy. Currently, casuals bear the most risk: literally, will I have a job next semester? Professors and other senior academics carry a lesser, but nonetheless notable, load: will I get another research grant? Managers, on the other hand, have more or less permanent positions. Sustainable governance would mean investing in people to help them become world class academics — not using academics and young scholars as a resource to sell the corporate brand image of a university.
Let’s not underestimate the challenges facing university management: leading large institutions academically, financially and pastorally is an enormous task. Key responsibilities include maintaining a balanced budget, meeting government targets, and ensuring a university is internationally competitive in research — and, to a lesser extent, teaching.
The purpose of a governance body needs to be distinguished from the day-to-day demands of management: the role of university councils is to oversee the work of management from a slight distance such that the view of the bigger picture is not impaired by direct involvement in operations. If the system was functioning healthily, both governance and management would be concerned with, but not overly determined by, good fiscal management. Better, they would have robust debates about their ethical responsibilities to and for all members of the university community, from undergrads and postgrads through to casual, junior and senior academics, and including non-academic staff.
This is hardly the case now: students are paying increasingly high fees based on the reputations of universities. These reputations are largely earned by the research output of senior academics — who in turn are using grant money to buy their way out of teaching in order to focus on maintaining their international reputations built upon research portfolios.
As a consequence, many students will never be taught by Australia’s leading intellectuals, and will more often be taught by passionate and intelligent — but pedagogically untrained and dismally paid — casual staff. Many postgrads and early career academics would be happy simply to receive a few extra hours’ pay in recognition of their labour. They would also relish opportunities for greater involvement with their institutions via access to basic resources like offices and printing facilities as well as research materials. And those disenfranchised, isolated research students and early career academics would surely benefit from enhanced collegiality within the departments and faculties in which they work.
While we wait for a transformation in university administration, let every member of the academic community consciously choose to engage ethically with one another. If you’re in a position to hire casual staff, surely it’s not unreasonable to insist that your staff be paid for all the hours they work. Many, but certainly not all, senior academics already do this, or pay for the shortfall in central funding through their grants.
Instead of allowing our collective disenchantment at this untenable state of affairs drive us further into cynicism and disengagement, it’s time we radicalised our participation in the academy. We will never see change at the highest levels if we do not begin to "talk up agency, collectively and individually", as Genevieve Kelly urged at the recent State of the Industry conference. As we make our voices heard, our governance bodies may eventually find the political will to reengage with discussions of ethical and democratic participation in higher education.
Until they do, students and staff alike can expect little change to the status quo.
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Posted Wednesday, 16 December 09 at 3:22PM
Having read:
John Taylor Gatto’s insights into education, &
John Ralston Saul’s insights into corporatism,
none of this is very surprising.
As an analogical parallel, look at the buildings in your town or city. In years gone by they were constructed of brick, often with ornamental embellishments. Today they have concrete slabs for walls, or glass, ‘cos its cheap. No beauty.
I thought that the whole point of civilisation was to facilitate spare time for the pursuit of beauty (& no I don’t mean the Bankstown coke whores) and knowledge (cf: job training).
Symptoms of a civilisation in decline?? You decide.
:D
“Stupidity got us into this mess … why can’t it get us out?”
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 9:28AM
A agree with much of what you written.
However, on the question of risk distribution and, in particular, this comment
I would tend to disagree.
For me, one of the biggest contributions is that most management (at least at my institution) are on 5 year contracts. There is a risk that at the end of 5 years they will lose their job, unless they are seen to fulfill the requirements of the folk making the decision to renew and/or that they have “achieved” something.
It’s this risk that is enshrining and encouraging the type of short-term “corporatism” you’re talking about within senior management. None of them is allowed to take the long term view because of the 5 year contract hanging over their head.
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 9:31AM
Didn’t somebody else write exactly the same thing about corporate governance and universities on Online Opinion last week?
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 12:01PM
scottyea: I totally agree - the issues are across sectors, it’s not just unis that are suffering. And on the casuals issue - they’re exploited everywhere. It does seem ironic though that institutions that are ostensibly dedicated to the global public good are behaving in these ways. Sad and ironic.
djplaner: I take your point, especially regarding longer term vision (kind of like politics, eh?), though I would argue that most managers are trying to look beyond their own contracts and take it as relatively given they’ll be renewed (because let’s face it, they have to be really really bad at what they do to fail to renew). But the broader point there was about the distribution of risk along class lines: from casuals through to managers, in a way that is not just exploitative, it’s unstrategic and ultimately unsustainable.
David: I didn’t see the article in question - do you have a link?
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 12:22PM
tammois:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9808
There must be a growing view amongst academics that the university bureaucrats are not accountable. The academics at my uni feel the same way.
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 2:32PM
I would agree absolutely with the last comment. We are an independent Australian education agent operating in Central Europe and have to deal with the high profile International Office administrators and DVCs.
It has tainted my whole view of Australia seeing these self important, shallow, narcissistic, arrogant and nasty international officers who see their role as to simply travel under the guise of international marketing or more correctly, direct offshore sales, while obstructing the work of those who try to do good.
In over ten years we have not been aware of let alone privy to any marketing strategy as they prefer to make travel plans. As one insider complains, marketing funds are rorted to be used as their personel bonus travel schemes….. while avoiding the internet and expending 100s of tonnes of carbon annually.
Meanwhile they treat international candidates as a cash cow, or an expensive nuisance to be tolerated, without any care for their welfare.
With numbers plummetting it may be an opportunity to be rid of many admin personnal but not while VCs and DVCs enjoy the travel also….
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 3:12PM
Thankyou for a good article that speaks to my experience of the tertiary system in the Arts area. I am one of the “casual doctors” who spoke up and wrote letters to the Dean of Arts complaining about bad pay and conditions. This was part of a union campaign and was partially successful in bringing grievances to notice and resulted in a reduction in marking workload for casuals.
Unfortunately, as a result of taking two semesters out to write a book (which was published) I could not get back into the department I had worked for. Course coordinators who had employed me had either moved to another university or were on study leave themselves. The new “managers” hardly knew me and had their own favourites anyway. Your article is accurate in its condemnation of the system, but I would like to add that nepotism disguised as patronage is another tool of power that the managers wield, and no matter if one is successful at publishing (assuming a casual has time for research anyway) there is no mechanism for casuals to reduce the risk or increase their security, and it seems that professional success (ie publishing) is not much worth these days if you are a casual.
Posted Thursday, 17 December 09 at 8:03PM
What can I say - uni medal from UQ , PhD, about 20 peer reviewed pubs by the time I finished my PhD and I can’t get a job. The last academic position I had I left in disgust at the sorts of behaviours mentioned here and elsewhere. Effectively I was a whistle blower and suffered the whistle blower fate.
But on a serious note, my daughter is finishing her degree and going to live in England. All her friends - yep that’s all, and she is very social - who have international passports are leaving. That’s because they are smart and ethical and want careers as smart and ethical people. So they have to leave.
It’s no joke, but I can’t see any support for change outside of academics themselves, so I don’t think it will change in the foreseeable.
Posted Friday, 18 December 09 at 5:07PM
Thanks for the links, David and DrGideonPolya - I’ll hopefully have time soon to start collecting the many examples of the sector’s discontent in one blog post, as well as links to the RED Report and the LH Martin report on the attractiveness of the academy. All of your comments reiterate the many stories CAPA and the NTEU keep hearing about why people are leaving the sector.
In his end-of-year email to staff today, Melbourne’s VC noted the departure of no less than seven members of the senior executive this year, without a hint that he realises he may have a problem on his hands. Of course there was no mention at all of the number of disenfranchised junior or casual staff, or for that matter students, who have left in dismay.
We’ll be doing a lot more to maintain the spotlight on these issues throughout 2010 - if you’re interested in remaining informed or getting involved, email me at president(at)capa.edu.au
In solidarity!
Posted Wednesday, 13 January 10 at 2:58AM
Excellent article, and I came to similar conclusions in 2007 when the madness at the University of Melbourne really started to become unbearable (ie. the ‘Melbourne Model’ a la Glyn Davis). I was one of those dedicated, overworked academics described above.
From my point of view, what has not been emphasized sufficiently is the degree of heavy-handed ‘persuasion’ going on at management level. It is all very nice asking the academics to start questioning the system of governance, but this does not work in China, Burma, or at the University of Melbourne. Believe me - you will get targeted and either silenced or removed. By nature, corporations are secretive and autocratic, and can sack staff for any or no reason. This is now the organizational structure used to provide the education of our brightest minds. Says a lot about the future of Australia.
And what about the looming skills shortage? Perhaps, but all self-induced. It has been allowed to happen by government underfunding and inaction. In other words, a complete lack of leadership. The result is that I, like many others previously engaged in the Australian university sector, am now enriching the minds of students in another country.
Posted Wednesday, 13 January 10 at 12:56PM
Hurrah! In the first week of 2010 I was asked again to teach a full semester subject course (sole lecturer, theory lectures and practical classes) in 2010 to second year science students at an excellent university.
I have accepted, of course, because I love teaching and academic interactions.
I will do the equivalent of a full time academic’s full time undergraduate teaching load in about 10% of the time for 10% of the money - indeed about $12,500 is buying my solitary academic expertise in a particular key, crucial discipline previously provided until very recently by now-departed staff for circa $250,000 in salaries plus on-costs.
Our universities are grossly under-funded and the HECS ripoff is outrageous (I am living proof that undergraduate students are paying 10 times too much for their undergraduate teaching and learning experience, something that can and should be FREE anyway: http://accreditedremotelearning.blogspot.com/ ).
The Rudd Labor so-called Education Revolution on the super-highway roll-out of evidence-based broadband multi-tasking (you must see the brilliant Max Gillies as KRudd , Juliagillard et al in”Godzone” at the Melbourne Theatre Company) is a sham and a fraud - as was the “we are sorry” that ignored the ongoing realities of Racism , Genocide and education system-complicit Ethnocide (see “Aboriginal Genocide”: http://sites.google.com/site/aboriginalgenocide/ ).
Apartheid Labor - how else do you describe a party that excludes NT Indigenous Australians on a racial basis from the protection of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act? - is ripping off university students and pre-university students.
As an anti-war person I have never voted for the Coalition but as an anti-racist I cannot vote for neocon Apartheid Labor that is trashing education, human rights, our environment and our national reputation - hence the misgivingly suggested acronym APPALL: Australian People Put Apartheid Labor Last.
Academics, both casual and full-time, should apply what they do best to Apartheid Labor i.e. research, analyze and deconstruct the Apartheid Labor spin, inaction and betrayal over education, war, genocide, ecocide, climate change etc.
Perhaps the NTEU could officially provide credential-certifying Code Names and Descriptives for academic and student critics requiring anonymity in public commentary
Perhaps it is time the National Tertiary Education Union (I am a member) (NTEU) and other education unions thought about disaffiliating with pro-war, pro-coal, anti-environment, anti-education, neocon Apartheid Labor and becoming affiliated with the anti-war, anti-coal, pro-environment, pro-education, Australian Greens.
Peace is the only way but Silence kills and Silence is complicity.
Posted Tuesday, 19 January 10 at 5:01PM
Gideon
Congratulations(?) on securing further precarious employment in the sector! Just thought I should clarify that the NTEU (who I work for) are not affiliated with the ALP. Move a motion at your local Branch seeking affiliation with the Greens, if that is what you want, and see what happens? Michael