Higher education: corruption risks in the university sector

Speaker:
Professor Ian Lowe
Emeritus Professor, Science, Technology and Society, Griffith University

Abstract:
The clear trend of the last twenty years has been a steady and systematic reduction in the core funding of Australian universities from the public education budget. Universities now obtain a majority of their income from a range of other sources: full-fee-paying courses, competitive grant allocations, consulting, services to government agencies, industry bodies and private corporations, bequests, even investments in property and shares. As a consequence, our universities are less able to fulfill some of their core functions: basic research driven by intellectual curiosity, critical review and scholarship, acting as the conscience and critic of society. Even programs of student learning are likely to be steered in directions that are 'safe' and do not threaten financial security. The risk is that the interests of funding sources may limit which questions are asked and influence which answers are acceptable. We are entitled to expect better of our universities.