Higher education: a new bureaucratic era

Abstract

Across a range of areas – student engagement and success, sexual misconduct and racism in university contexts, student complaints, staff payments, governance, and the allocation of student places – the Australian government is increasing higher education regulation. Often multiple rules and agencies cover the same issues. This article describes the reasons given for these interventions and outlines the changes. While in most cases the government had legitimate reasons for concern, cumulatively its policy responses represent a change in governing philosophy, away from university autonomy and towards bureaucratic control.