Sparks fly over Australian bush study centres

Equity experts have sounded the alarm over Australia’s decision to let universities monopolise grants to establish study outposts in the bush.

Canberra is allowing universities to apply directly for funding from the latest round of the Regional University Study Hubs programme, which supports 46 far-flung centres in locations including Garrthalala in remote Arnhem Land, Mallacoota in Victoria’s far east, Tom Price in Western Australia’s rugged Pilbara and Zeehan in Tasmania’s wild west.

The hubs offer study spaces, computers, video-conferencing facilities and high-speed internet along with administrative and academic support, study advice and pastoral care. Local students have free access, no matter where they are enrolled.

Until now, universities could apply to the scheme only in partnership with community-owned organisations. “The programme funding is not intended to replicate the existing traditional university campus model,” stressed an explanatory document for the first round in 2018.

But stand-alone universities will now be eligible for funding “as a trial”, according to an application guide for the fifth round. About A$30 million (£15 million) is up for grabs to establish another 10 centres.

Education minister Jason Clare, who is doubling the scheme’s reach in line with a recommendation from the Australian Universities Accord’s interim report, said he wanted universities “to have skin in the game”. The accord’s final report and regional education commissioner Fiona Nash have both recommended allowing universities to host hubs.

But academics said this could undermine communities’ sense of ownership while driving competition in a scheme characterised by collaboration, and creating a conflict of interest where universities pursue their institutional interests despite obligations to offer a “provider-agnostic service”.

Danielle Keenan, an equity researcher based at the University of Technology Sydney, said the hubs had originated years before the federal government became involved. They had been “born out of community desire” to solve higher education access problems in areas dismissed as offering “small margins” by universities.

“Now that there’s success, universities are…wanting ownership. [We need] further scrutiny on how and why. What’s the measure of success of this trial? What are the time frames? What are the metrics?”

She said the new arrangement raised “more questions than answers”, including the mechanisms to ensure that universities responded to community needs and did not use hubs as recruitment opportunities.

Ms Keenan questioned the need for a trial of university-run regional hubs given that an offshoot of the scheme – the Suburban University Study Hubs, which aims to establish 14 centres in the fringes of major coastal cities – is also allowing direct funding applications from universities.

“In my mind, that’s the trial,” she said.

The Department of Education said it would consider whether additional metrics were needed to “measure the success” of the regional trial, as part of grant negotiations with applicants. “[We] may also seek additional information from universities through milestone reporting on how they will maintain provider neutrality, or enact additional conditions on funding where appropriate,” a spokeswoman said.

She said the department already collected and analysed data on the hubs’ operations, local partnerships and student registrations, along with wider regional participation trends.

Ms Keenan said the hubs had been “extremely successful”. An analysis had found that higher education participation in regions surrounding the most longstanding hubs had risen by 24 per cent between 2016 and 2021, compared with an Australia-wide increase of 9 per cent, she said.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com