The Role of Universities Roundtable Report

Jen Jackson, Peter Noonan, Peter Dawkins

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

This report presents proposals for shaping the future of the Australian tertiary education sector, arising from Roundtable discussions at The Role of Universities in the 2020s Symposium at Victoria University on 31 August 2019. The Roundtable participants comprised 40 leaders from universities, vocational education and training (VET), industry, and the not-for-profit sector. There was broad agreement on responses to the five issues that were posed to the group:
  1. Participation in tertiary education must continue to grow, including growth in university enrolments, and a turnaround in the steep decline in enrolments in the VET sector.
  2. Pathways and credit were seen as important mechanisms for improving coherence in the tertiary education sector;
  3. Work and job readiness issues generated a lot of discussion, especially about generic or general skills, and work-integrated learning. Overall, the group felt that Australia could do more to achieve stronger relationships between tertiary education providers and industry;
  4. Financing challenges are closely linked to the need to grow participation, and the need to create a holistic financing model that levels the playing field between university and VET;
  5. Innovation was embraced as critical, including the need for more diversity in university provision.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2019

Disciplines

  • Higher Education
  • Education Policy

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