The Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) is working on how universities could “achieve greater research excellence” by “concentrating … rather than maintaining research breadth across a wide range of teaching fields.”
It follows Education Minister Jason Clare picking up on the idea that universities do not have to research everything they teach, as suggested in the paper formally known as the Strategic Examination of Research and Development. It is seeking sector views on the current approach to regulating research
But not to worry; “research specialisation should not be viewed as lowering expectations for research performance,” ATEC advises. “Rather, the focus is how research excellence, capability and impact can be demonstrated through different institutional models while maintaining confidence in university status.”
And so the Commission sets out issues to address on specialisation including:
- Defining/measuring depth of research capability
- How a “broader teaching profile” would be supported in universities with a “more specialised” research model
- Minimum FoRs to “support academic ecosystems, cross-disciplinary engagement and university adaptability over time”
- Risks of universities deciding what to specialise in: “while a voluntary model supports institutional autonomy, it may create uneven sector-wide uptake, concentration in some fields, gaps in national capability, or strategic behaviour focused on threshold compliance.”
- Issues with funding/investing.
- Regulatory impacts during transition, including the terrifying for universities active but not especially successful in many FoRs: “whether existing providers should be deemed to continue meeting the category standard for a defined period while revised evidence requirements are phased in.”
Having stated the scary stuff, ATEC asks for advice on issues including:
- How to demonstrate research depth, scale and sustainability “under a more specialised model”
- Safeguarding research quality teaching and learning and “institutional maturity”
- Regulatory settings that maintain confidence in universities
- Transition arrangements.
Responses are due September 7.