Australian universities will have to adopt definitions of Antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under new standards being introduced by the Government today.
Other governance principles are also likely to be rolled out, giving the Tertiary Education Standards and Quality Agency (TEQSA) oversight of a raft of responsibilities defined by the government as a basic threshold for governance in the tertiary sector.
The week after the NSW ICAC wrapped up hearings into governance and procurement issues at the University of Wollongong, the sector finds itself under a new microscope, with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism focusing on the lived experience of staff and students and the response of universities.
ANU Interim VC Rebekah Brown returned from leave last week ahead of the university’s appearance at the Royal Commission this week.
ANU will appear with Monash and the universities of Sydney and Melbourne. The Royal Commission is also scheduled to hear from a range of individual staff and students speaking about the impact of their experiences of antisemitism.
Speaking on Sky News yesterday, Education Minister Jason Clare said that evidence about universities to be presented at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion would be deeply troubling.
“I think you're going to hear some pretty horrific evidence tomorrow and over the next few days in particular from Jewish students about the abuse that they suffered, the intimidation and the harassment that they experienced at universities. And that's just not on.”
“The universities were caught flat footed here and in fairness to the universities, some of them have made important improvements over the course of the last few years, but not enough.”
The reforms are also understood to include annual reports by universities to TEQSA on a wide range of threshold governance performance standards, covering issues such as consultancy spending, remuneration reports and publication of governing body decisions, with a goal of improving accountability, diversity of perspectives, transparency, sustainability and trust.
“What we also need to do is give the regulator of universities more teeth, more powers when universities fail to act, to be able to fine them,” Mr Clare explained.
The week after the NSW ICAC wrapped up hearings into governance and procurement issues at the University of Wollongong, the sector finds itself under a new microscope, with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism focusing on the lived experience of staff and students and the response of universities.
ANU will appear with Monash and the universities of Sydney and Melbourne. The Royal Commission is also scheduled to hear from a range of individual staff and students speaking about the impact of their experiences of antisemitism.
Speaking on Sky News yesterday, Education Minister Jason Clare said that evidence about universities to be presented at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion would be deeply troubling.
“I think you're going to hear some pretty horrific evidence tomorrow and over the next few days in particular from Jewish students about the abuse that they suffered, the intimidation and the harassment that they experienced at universities. And that's just not on.”
“The universities were caught flat footed here and in fairness to the universities, some of them have made important improvements over the course of the last few years, but not enough.”
The reforms are also understood to include annual reports by universities to TEQSA on a wide range of threshold governance performance standards, covering issues such as consultancy spending, remuneration reports and publication of governing body decisions, with a goal of improving accountability, diversity of perspectives, transparency, sustainability and trust.
“What we also need to do is give the regulator of universities more teeth, more powers when universities fail to act, to be able to fine them,” Mr Clare explained.