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The Teaching and Research Dichotomy – The Dangers of a

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Professor Elizabeth HarmanVice-Chancellor

Victoria University

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Yesterday Minister Nelson said

“One of the key priorities of this Government is to stimulate an informed debate about the role of our universities. It is the government’s view that universities should be defined more by their quality and diversity and less by their form and structure, which is currently the case”

“The Government is also determined to improve universities’ ability to respond flexibly to the needs of their constituencies including potential and existing students, staff, employers, industry, local and regional and national communities”

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The Dichotomy Limits Diversity

• Language is powerful• ‘Teaching’ versus ‘Research’

• Dichotomies discourage diversity• We need different language

• The ‘Engaged University’– Best fit with constituencies– Offer real productive diversity– Response to the knowledge economy

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A comment on teaching-only new entrants

• Does the argument allow for teaching-only universities?• Yes - but does the American model ‘translate’?

– Available pool of potential teaching staff– Different industrial contexts

• ‘Teaching-only’ model is not an engaged university• Exceptions may be corporate universities• eg. Carnegie-Mellon in South Australia?

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The Choices and Challenges of Engagement

• A two-way interaction• Transformative for both the university and its

stakeholders• Mutual benefits

• Replaces ‘community service’• Is not just a marginal or add-on activity

• Has economic, social and cultural impacts• Is increasingly international

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The Choices and Challenges of Engagement

• Challenges include• alignment of engagement choices with

constituencies• specialisation choices in teaching and research• more “community-centred” approach• reflection on how far engagement should go• staffing for engagement• supporting and resourcing engagement• recognition of engagement by Government

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Government policy examples

• eg.

• Costs of work-based learning

• Research funding impacts (Issues Paper on Research Quality Framework)

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All types of universities can make a claim

• AUQA audit outcomes show commendations for community engagement in

• 4 New Generation Universities• 5 non-aligned• 2 Innovative Research• 2 Group of Eight• 1 Australian Technology Network

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Some may specialise in engagement

• eg. New Generation Universities

• new universities since 1970s• access – ‘university without walls’• socially robust, applied research• community engagement

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Choices open to Victoria University

• Special mission – to serve Melbourne’s West• Industrial change, low innovation, high

unemployment• Community and home infrastructure is poor• Education as enabler: 1 in 2 is first in family to go

to University • High numbers of students from non-English

speaking backgrounds and socio-economically disadvantaged

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Low levels of home internet use

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People not fluent in English - 2001 - western

metropolitan region of Melbourne

St Albans Campus

Sunshine Campus

Footscray Nicholson Campus

Cultural and linguistic diversity

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Victoria University’s engagement activities

• Exceed and extend teaching/research activities – both are part of our repertoire

• Policy reforms must allow us to be among those universities that (in the Minister’s words) “respond flexibly to the needs of their constituencies”

• Our future lies in challenging convention

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