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Print Chapter 8 (PDF 168KB) | < - Report Home < - Chapter 7 : Appendix A - > |
Background
Adequacy of funding of teacher education courses by university administrations
The overall level of funding for teacher education
An underestimation of costs
Impact of the identification of education as a National Priority Area on funding
Practicum costs
Background |
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8.1 | Since 2005, funding from the Australian Government has been provided to universities and higher education providers under the Commonwealth Grants Scheme (CGS) through annually negotiated funding agreements. The funding agreement specifies the number of student places in a broad range of discipline areas that will be funded by the Australian Government. The discipline areas are grouped into twelve funding clusters. The funding rate per place for each cluster or priority area is set in legislation. The amount is based on relativities derived from the teaching component of the Relative Funding Model (RFM) developed in the early 1990s.1 |
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8.2 | Table 3 sets out the rates for Commonwealth contributions for 2006. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table 4 Commonwealth and student contribution rates for funding clusters for 20062
Source: Department of Education, Science and Training |
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8.3 | A second stream of funding to universities is through student contributions known as HECS. Student contributions are usually paid to the university by the Commonwealth on behalf of the students, most of whom defer the payment and are required to repay the Commonwealth. This arrangement differs from the pre-CGS arrangements in which the HECS component was paid as part of the overall block grant. |
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8.4 | Since 2005, providers have been able to set the student contributions up to 25% above the 2004 HECS rates (indexed) except in two areas, teaching and nursing. |
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Table 5 Student contribution bands and ranges for 2006
Source: Department of Education, Science and Training |
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8.5 | In 2005, the Government introduced a practicum loading for education, partly to compensate for the inability of universities to raise the extra 25% on student contributions, and as part of identifying teacher education as a national priority.3 The amount for 2006 equated to $686 per EFTSL in units of study in teacher education. This sum is considerably less than the amount that would be available to the universities if they were able to add the extra 25% to the student contribution charge. |
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8.6 | Having received what is essentially a block operating grant, universities are generally free to use it for their overall operations. Accountability remains largely at the block level with universities having to provide detailed statistical data on their student load in their annual reports and financial statements. The data on student load includes details of units of study and courses that students are undertaking, campuses on which the students are studying, mode of delivery and liability status. Funding agreements now include a clause specifying that “The CGS funding clusters for nursing and teaching have been funded in part in recognition of the costs of the nursing clinical placements and teaching practicum. The University must utilise such funds for the purpose for which they are allocated.”4 There are, however, no specific reporting requirements attached to funding for the practicum component. Monitoring tends to be done more informally through the discussions that take place around the drawing up of the funding agreement. The Minister at the time, The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, advised the Parliament that should the Government become “aware of instances where the funds were being used for unintended purposes it would consider appropriate ways in which this could be rectified.”5 |
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Adequacy of funding of teacher education courses by university administrations |
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8.7 | As part of this inquiry, the committee was asked to examine the adequacy of funding by university administrations. The evidence received on this issue was very mixed. Many submissions suggested, mostly on the basis of anecdotal evidence, that funds for teacher education were in effect being used by universities to cross-subsidise other areas.6 The committee also received evidence that suggested general satisfaction with internal funding arrangements.7 Some contributors suggested that education was being cross-subsidised by other areas of the university. |
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8.8 | The issue of the adequacy of the funding of teacher education courses by university administrations was of enough concern for it to be included in the terms of reference for this inquiry. There is simply not enough transparency in the system to enable the committee to make a proper assessment of the matter. That this is the case is itself a matter of concern. |
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8.9 | There is general acceptance that universities will keep a portion of the Commonwealth funds for student admissions, student support services and general operating costs. The committee recognises that universities have different priorities and needs at different times and that the flexibility that is provided by the current funding arrangements is of value to them. Universities should retain the capacity to direct the funds they receive from Commonwealth course contributions and student contributions (with the exception of funding tied to practicum) according to their priorities. However, the system should be more transparent. Universities should be required to report to the Commonwealth on how much of the money allocated for each funding cluster area is spent on that area. Strategic cost management and activity-based costing, as used by some universities8, would facilitate meeting such a requirement. |
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8.10 | The current funding agreements are only a few pages long and include one page with a table showing what sum is allocated to each funding cluster (see Appendix G). Although universities may claim that they already provide detailed financial information to the Minister, in accordance with the financial guidelines,9 the financial acquittal for the CGS funds is at block level only. This is not sufficiently detailed to show the actual disbursement of funds (see Appendix H). Universities should be required to provide at the end of the year a table setting out the amount actually distributed to each cluster and this document should be tabled in the Parliament, as is the original funding agreement. While universities submit annual reports to state parliaments, these too, do not provide sufficient detail on the disbursement of funds at cluster level. |
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8.11 | Given the high levels of taxpayer investment in higher education including teacher education, financial reporting should enable a ready assessment of how that investment has been applied. The acquittal according to funding cluster would provide a clearer factual basis to inform deliberations about the adequacy of funding of teacher education courses and other courses, by university administrations. |
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Recommendation 10
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The overall level of funding for teacher education |
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8.12 | A large proportion of submissions expressed concerns about the level of funding for teacher education. All viewed the funding level as inadequate and many singled the issue out as the most important in the inquiry. Submissions described the inadequacy of funding as having serious consequences for teacher education. These include: a significant rise in staff-student ratios; increased workloads of staff; limiting capacity to build strong partnerships with schools; limiting capacity to innovate; limiting the number of places that can be offered in teacher education; limiting the capacity to properly resource the school experience component of the course; preventing maximising the use of information and communications technologies; and hampering the ability to attract quality staff.10 |
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8.13 | The concerns about funding centred around three themes:
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An underestimation of costs |
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8.14 | The amount of the Commonwealth’s contribution for each Commonwealth supported university place varies according to the discipline cluster that the place is in. The amount was not revisited when the new CGS was developed and is still based on the relativities derived from the Relative Funding Model (RFM) developed in the 1990s.11 A number of submissions claimed that the amount never accurately reflected the real cost of preparing a teacher nor takes account of the increases in costs that have occurred over the years.
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8.15 | The Commonwealth course contribution for education for 2006 is $7,251 per EFTSL which includes the practicum component of $686. Without the practicum component, a place in Education is funded at almost the same rate as a place in Behavioural Science and Social Studies.15 The ACDE suggested that, “even leaving aside the cost of the practicum requirements”16 funding should be commensurate with funding for Nursing ($9,692 in 2006) or Languages and the Performing Arts ($9,037 in 2006).
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Impact of the identification of education as a National Priority Area on funding |
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8.16 | As part of the Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future package of higher education reforms, teaching was identified as an initial key area of national priority. The intention behind establishing this as a National Priority Area was to allow the Government “to respond to current and emerging national needs, such as shortages in particular areas of the labour market, and the education of students from low income backgrounds and indigenous students.”18 |
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8.17 | One of the measures put in place to support education as a National Priority Area was to fix the student contribution rate for units of study undertaken in education at 2004 levels (indexed).19 From 2005, higher education providers have been able to set student contributions in all other funding clusters (with the exception of nursing) within a range from $0 to an amount up to 25% higher than the 2004 rates (indexed). Many contributors to this inquiry claimed that this move has significantly disadvantaged teacher education.20 |
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8.18 | One financial consequence of ‘capping’ HECS is to disadvantage teacher education in relation to other areas of study.
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8.19 | One course provider pointed out that in institutions with a large proportion of the student load in teaching and nursing, capping HECS represented a significant impost.22 Another claimed that the “reduction in HECS-based income for Education seems likely to lead inevitably to a conclusion that less University resources ought to be devoted to it, thus paradoxically turning what is recognised as a priority into a non-priority”.23
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8.20 | In 2005 the Government provided additional funding for practicum both in recognition of the cost of practicum and to compensate course providers for the cap on HECS.25 Many submissions argued that the additional funding for practicum was insufficient compensation.
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8.21 | The Government claims to make the additional payment to practicum in recognition of the cost of providing practicum and to compensate universities for the HECS cap. However, the amount of the additional funding for practicum is less than the sum that universities could raise by increasing the student contribution by 25%. |
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Recommendation 11
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Practicum costs |
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8.22 | Even if the practicum loading introduced in 2005 served only one purpose and was not also claimed to be compensation to universities for capping HECS, it does not adequately assist universities with practicum costs. These costs include payments for supervising teachers in schools, payments for casual university supervisors and payments for administrative staff who organise the placements. They also include travel costs of university supervisors28 and, where it does occur, training and preparation of school supervisors of students. |
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8.23 | A number of universities expressed the view that the loading did not adequately reflect the costs of practicum.
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8.24 | The way that the practicum loading is calculated by DEST and distributed within universities came under criticism.
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8.25 | A particular issue is the treatment of the loading in respect of students studying some units outside education faculties who attract a proportional payment.
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8.26 | The way that the practicum loading is calculated for part-time students also results in anomalies.
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8.27 | The ACDE proposed an alternative model for funding in which the practice component would be calculated on quantum of placement rather than taught load.
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8.28 | The implementation of recommendation 6 on partnerships, would assist providers to meet the costs of some measures aimed at improving practicum. The recommendation would also encourage employing authorities to make a greater contribution to supporting practicum. Notwithstanding the increased resources that may flow as a result of this recommendation, universities need substantially more funding for practicum from the Commonwealth if they are to be expected to ensure that their courses provide high quality professional experience components. The funding of the professional experience component of teacher education courses should reflect its critical importance. |
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Recommendation 12
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1 | Department of Education, Science and Training, HigherEducation Report 2004-05, Canberra , 2005. Back |
2 | Amounts are for an Equivalent Full-time Student Load (EFTSL) calculated according to the discipline in which the units of study are classified. (The base funding cluster amounts are increased by 5% for higher education providers that meet the National Governance Protocols and specified workplace relations requirements.) Back |
3 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59.1, p. 1. Back |
4 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59.1, p. 1. Back |
5 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59.1, p. 1. Back |
6 | See, for example: Lutheran Education Australia, Submission No. 118, p. 6; University of Sydney, Submission No. 133, pp. 10-11; NSW Department of Education and Training, Submission No. 135, p. 14; University of Southern Queensland, Submission No. 146, p. 1, and Transcript of Evidence, 7 July 2005, pp. 30 & 35; Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31, p. 9; Queensland Catholic Education Commission, Submission No. 71, p. 6; Dr Mike Grenfell, Submission No. 96, p. 11; South Australian Secondary Principals Association, Transcript of Evidence, 27 September 2005, p. 92. Back |
7 | See, for example: Flinders University , Transcript of Evidence, 27 September 2005 , p. 4; Edith Cowan University , Transcript of Evidence, 26 October 2005 , p. 19; University of Western Sydney , Transcript of Evidence, 8 March 2006 , pp. 23-24; University of Western Australia , Transcript of Evidence, 26 October 2005 , p. 64. Back |
8 | See, for example: Monash University, Submission No. 105.1. Back |
9 | See Department of Education, Science and Training, Financial Statement Guidelines for Australian Higher Education Providers for the 2005 Reporting Period, Canberra, 2005. Back |
10 | See Victoria University of Technology, Submission No. 21, p. 13; Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31, pp. 6-7; University of Western Sydney, Submission No. 152, pp. 11-12; Open Universities Australia, Submission No. 33, p. 3; Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania, Submission No. 117, p. 3. Back |
11 | Department of Education, Science and Training, HigherEducation Report 2004-05, 2005, p. 44. Back |
12 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31, p. 7. Back |
13 | Flinders University, Submission No. 126, p. 14. Back |
14 | University of Western Sydney, Submission No. 152, p. 11. Back |
15 | Department of Education, Science and Training, HigherEducation Report 2004-05, 2005, p. 44. Back |
16 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31.1, p. 1. Back |
17 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31.1, p. 1. Back |
18 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59, p. 8. Back |
19 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59, p. 8. Back |
20 | See, for example: University of South Australia, Transcript of Evidence, 28 September 2005, pp. 18-19; University of Western Sydney, Submission No. 152, p. 2; University of Melbourne, Transcript of Evidence, 7 June 2005, p. 69; Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, Transcript of Evidence, 10 February 2006, p. 31; Edith Cowan University, Transcript of Evidence, 26 October 2005, p. 19. Back |
21 | Australian Technology Network of Universities, Submission No. 66, p. 12. Back |
22 | Edith Cowan University, Transcript of Evidence, 26 October 2005, p. 19. Back |
23 | Murdoch University, Submission No. 159, p. 11. Back |
24 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31, p. 10. Back |
25 | Department of Education, Science and Training, Submission No. 59.1, pp. 1 & 2. Back |
26 | Prof. Elizabeth Harman, Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, Transcript of Evidence, 10 February 2006, p.31. Back |
27 | 2006 figures to be indexed to 2008. Back |
28 | University of Newcastle, Submission No. 98, p. 11. Back |
29 | Monash University, Submission No. 105, p. 15. Back |
30 | Flinders University, Submission No. 126, p. 14. Back |
31 | University of Western Sydney, Submission No. 152, p. 11. Back |
32 | Prof. Jeffrey Loughran, Monash University, Transcript of Evidence, 7 June 2005, p. 57. Back |
33 | University of Ballarat, Submission No. 55, pp. 5-6. Back |
34 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission No. 31.1, p. 2. Back |
35 | Flinders University, Submission No. 126, p. 14. Back |
36 | Australian Council of Deans of Education, Submission 31.1, pp. 2-3. Back |
Print Chapter 8 (PDF 168KB) | < - Report Home < - Chapter 7 : Appendix A - > |