The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) has taken part in a panel discussion focusing on new business models in higher education at today’s AFR Higher Education Summit in Sydney.
ATN Executive Director, Dr Ant Bagshaw, took the opportunity to connect potential future models to the current turbulence facing the higher education sector:
“The biggest determinant of university business models is government funding and regulation. Our public institutions are just that, public-minded and purpose-driven, not free to do whatever they want in some uncontrolled market,” he said.
“We’re seeing now just how disruptive recent changes in policy can be. In exactly the area where universities had more freedom – the recruitment of international students – government can simply turn off the tap. Literally thousands of students who would have been granted a visa in previous years have been denied entry in 2024. Across the six ATN members – Curtin, Deakin, RMIT, Newcastle, UniSA and UTS – that amounts to about half a billion dollars in missing tuition revenue.”
He went on to make the case for coherence in policymaking to avoid losing that which is great about Australian universities:
“This policy chaos cannot continue. It’s patently unreasonable to apply student caps with only a few months to go before the start of the semester,” he added.
“We’ve been promised ‘system stewardship’ as part of a recognition that the sector benefits from some consistency of approach and thoughtful interventions. But what we’re getting is fragmented and unhelpful and causing damage to public universities, which will be felt for years to come.”
ATN Universities has consistently advocated for pragmatic and considered policymaking for the higher education sector, including making the case in June for alignment of policy across international student caps and development of domestic student policy.
Media Contact (not for publication)
Frank Coletta (Deputy Executive Director) m 0468 987 295 e frank.coletta@atn.edu.au
