{"id":42835,"date":"2018-03-14T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=42835"},"modified":"2018-03-14T13:00:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T20:00:55","slug":"australia-doesnt-have-too-many-universities-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/australia-doesnt-have-too-many-universities-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia doesn\u2019t have too many universities. Here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nRecent\u00a0closures and transfers of university campuses<\/a>\u00a0and the University of Wollongong\u2019s opening of a\u00a0campus in Liverpool<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0southwestern Sydney<\/a>\u00a0reflect more general changes in Australian universities. This is affecting not only campuses but faculties, study modes and student groups. It may even have implications for some universities\u2019 future.<\/p>\n

Australia does not have too many universities, overall. The median student load of\u00a0Australian universities<\/a>\u00a0is 21,400 equivalent full-time students. This is double the median enrolment of\u00a0UK universities<\/a>, of 10,700, and almost triple the median of\u00a0Canadian universities<\/a>\u00a0of 7,700 students.<\/p>\n

Small universities<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Currently, an Australian university of fewer than about 10,000 students would struggle to maintain a broad range of programs and strong research in all its fields that many consider necessary to be a full university.<\/p>\n

There are currently eight universities with fewer than 10,000 equivalent full-time higher education students. Half of those are private, but their support by sponsors and specialised mission protect them from standard public policy expectations.<\/p>\n

Of the public smaller universities, Charles Darwin University\u2019s (6,600 students) and Federation University\u2019s (7,700) smaller numbers of higher education students are augmented by large numbers of vocational education students. These students add educational strength but not financial strength, in view of the parlous funding of vocational education.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s smallest universities are private, and so don\u2019t rely on normal public policy, financing, or politics. The\u00a0University of Divinity<\/a>, formerly Melbourne College of Divinity, reported a load of only 713 students in 2016. But it is a specialist university that does not expect to offer a full range of programs. It is supported by more than 30 partners in the Christian churches and religious orders who compensate somewhat for its economic disadvantage.<\/p>\n

Torrens University Australia<\/a>\u00a0reported a load of just over 3,000 students in 2016. It was formally launched in 2014 and has grown strongly since then. It is supported by its parent\u00a0Laureate International Universities<\/a>, a for-profit chain of almost 70 universities in 29 countries.<\/p>\n

Bond University<\/a>\u00a0reported a student load of only 5,645 in 2016, a fall of 7% since 2009. But its student load has been recovering in the last three years. It is a private not-for-profit university, though supported by extensive public subsidies, and presumably will continue with the support of private sponsors.<\/p>\n

Australian universities have depended heavily on international students since the late 1990s, and manage shifts in demand well. But some universities faced additional challenges from 2010 to 2017. This was when the demand-driven system allowed public universities to enrol as many domestic students in bachelor programs as they wanted.<\/p>\n

Southern Cross University<\/a>\u00a0in northern New South Wales now has a student load of only 9,743, which has fallen by 4% since 2009. Its domestic bachelor student load exposed to the demand-driven system fell even further, but the ending of that policy should give the university time to rebuild, and its total student load\u00a0increased by 6% and 5% in 2016 and 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other smaller universities outside big population centres have expanded domestic bachelor student loads since 2009:<\/p>\n