New research examining the decline in the Australian public’s esteem for universities indicates that a third of the nation do not trust universities.
While Education Minister Jason Clare and sector leaders have discussed the decline in social licence of universities, Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Iain Martin is the first to have released the results of recent polling revealing the extent of the problem – as well as a clear blueprint to address it.
In a powerful speech opening this week’s Future Campus HE FEST conference, Professor Martin said social licence had plummeted, according to research conducted by Deakin and outlined a plan to address it.
The sector had made substantial progress over the past half-century, with a stunning growth in participation, a vibrant research capability and stunning success in internationalization – but many people in the community did not feel they had shared that success.
“We should be justifiably proud, but those very successes have created a series of fault lines that are now causing us significant challenge and if we don’t deal with this as a sector, we will miss a significant opportunity to set the frame for the next 50 years,” Professor Martin said.
“1 in 3 people say they don’t trust universities; 9 out of 10 trusted universities 20 years ago. That is a big shift.
In addition, around 40% of respondents in the Deakin research also believed that university leaders were focused more on revenue than quality.
“If we don’t have a compact between the population of Australia and our universities we will fail,” Professor Marin said.
“If we are not brave enough and honest enough to say, “We’re good, but we’ve got some holes and gaps we need to fill”, we are in trouble. And I think as a sector we have taken our eye off the ball in the last few years.
“Whether it’s perception or reality; it is now meaning the same thing, we have to address this.
“We must take responsibility for our own future. We need to rebuild trust set our own direction, and earn back the nation’s confidence.”
While many sector advertising campaigns champion research, it was time to accept that education and teaching were of primary importance to Australians – and must also be embraced as critical by the sector.
Key changes to win back public – and government – trust included:
- Elevating teaching within universities so that it has at least an equal status to research – Changing internal culture and promotion criteria
- Preserving academic freedom and redefining safety on campus, so students and staff can share differing perspectives and facts and ideas that challenge norms are welcomed: “we must make students ready for challenging ideas rather than making challenging ideas safe for students.”
- Pairing Equity with Excellence
- Embracing transparency – owning up to the fact that some education programs may need improvement, and owning and addressing that, rather than being defensive.
- Prioritising funding – in the national interest.
- Safeguarding research integrity
- Owning research limitations and communicating research in clear, jargon-free language – not pretending to make research breakthroughs if they are not.
“Australian university leaders need to advocate for education with the same vigour as they do research. That shift requires a change in culture and messaging.
“Our social licence is more under threat now than at any time in the last 30 years I have been involved in university roles. We can’t simply say its perception, we’re brilliant, leave us alone, we have moved past that point.
“We must strengthen our legitimacy by committing to credibility, trust and accountability to secure our role in Australia’s future.”