Verity Firth (UTS) argues it’s a big chance to make up for a missed opportunity

From Friday Australian universities will be able to apply for accreditation from the Carnegie Commission for its Community Engagement Classification. Professor Firth explains how this has happened and what’s next in Features this morning.

The US scheme allows accredited institutions “to demonstrate their commitment to the communities they serve and to share good practices in the sector.”

The launch meets a need, Professor Firth suggests, that the previous government missed.

“Although universities lobbied hard for the definition of ‘industry’ to include ‘community’ as part of the previous government’s National Priorities Industry Linkage Fund, the focus of the funding remains narrow, primarily concerned with industry partnerships and work integrated learning.”

“University engagement should be, and is, much broader than commercialisation.”

She adds that the new government’s proposed universities accord will be “a perfect opportunity to renew the commitment to universities as public purpose institutions.

“The launch of the Carnegie Classification is therefore perfectly timed, offering a national, data-driven overview of the public benefit of the higher education sector in relation to community engagement.”