Academics in an Era of Structural Change: An Australian Experience
Title:
Academics in an Era of Structural Change: An Australian Experience
Author:
Mahony, David
Appeared in:
Higher education research & development
Paging:
Volume 14 (1995) nr. 1 pages 87-105
Year:
1995
Contents:
This article reports upon the results of a survey of academics in ten post-binary institutions, with respect to the impact of systemic restructuring upon them. Specifically, it is concerned with respondents' perceptions of the effects of amalgamation/redesignation, the values of the post-binary universities and the nature of the Unified National System. The study's findings reflect higher education institutions undergoing profound and discomfiting consolidation. Mergers, with some notable exceptions, seem to have been more difficult in the incorporated than the redesignated universities. Although binary backgrounds and subsequent placement in a redesignated or incorporated institution, have had a strong influence upon respondents, there is also notable agreement amongst them in relation to the values of the post-binary institutions, the nature of the Unified National System and the increasing privatisation of the universities. While official expectations were for a more diverse higher education system, influenced by the legacies of the former CAE system, and those of the former binary universities, the college legacy is not perceived to be notably significant in the new order. The absorption of the former binary system, into a unitary system of universities, has been difficult, and the values of the new higher education institutions are regarded as being neither highly adaptive nor pluralistic.
Journal description