Raising the Stakes ― Gambling With the Future of Universities

This fully revised new edition probes the state of Australian higher education and its future Prosperity in the future depends on our ability to play our part in a more globalised, technologically-enhanced knowledge economy. Universities are widely seen as portals to success, and an ever greater proportion of Australians expect to attend at least one of these institutions. However, despite strong demand, universities are under pressure. They face constant criticism about their relevance and responsiveness, are subject to regular government review and reform, and their budgets have been squeezed for decades. International rankings, global competition for students, profound technological disruption and the rise of new providers have heightened the risks of falling behind. Many academics are unhappy with their lot, and students are paying more. While solutions to these problems have been put forward, few have been completely resolved. It is widely held that universities will have to change radically if Australia is to compete on the world stage. Peter Coaldrake and Lawrence Stedman’s seminal and comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by the higher education sector has been updated with revisions and a new chapter that addresses current policy and proposed reforms. They argue that neither the market nor central government will be able to shape higher education in an optimal way. Facing greater competition and reduced prospects for public funding, universities themselves must provide the impetus and take responsibility for change as they adapt to complex and uncertain futures.

Professor Peter Coaldrake is Vice Chancellor and President of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), a position he has held since 2003. A dual Fulbright Scholar, he served as Chair of Universities Australia, the peak body of Australia’s universities, for a two-year term to May 2011. He served as Chair of the governing board of the OECD’s higher education program (IMHE) between 2011 and 2015, and earlier in his career he was Chair of Queensland’s Public Sector Management Commission. In addition to the first edition of this book, Coaldrake and Stedman previously co-authored On the Brink: Australia’s universities confronting their future (UQP 1998) and Academic Work in the Twenty-First Century (DETYA 1999). Coaldrake is also the author of Working the System: Government in Queensland (UQP 1989). Dr Lawrence Stedman is Principal Policy Adviser within QUT’s Chancellery. He holds a PhD in mathematics from the Australian National University and, prior to joining QUT, he worked within both the Commonwealth Department of Finance (monitoring higher education) and the Commonwealth Department of Health, where he was Secretary to the Medical Research Committee of the NHMRC. In addition to the first edition of this book, Coaldrake and Stedman previously co-authored On the Brink: Australia’s universities confronting their future (UQP 1998) and Academic Work in the Twenty-First Century (DETYA 1999). Coaldrake is also the author of Working the System: Government in Queensland (UQP 1989).