The Go8’s submission to the Senate committee inquiry into the provider category standards bill (CMM October 26) does not go on at length because it “has gone through an extensive consultation process.” Instead the Eight use the opportunity, “to inform the work of the Senate by placing (the bill) in the context of inter-related policies and legislation for higher education as relevant to the fundamental question of how we support research in the national interest.”

Thus, the Eight point out the proposed category standards increase “the scale and quality of research expected of a university” while the government is now providing base funding to support teaching and international student revenues, which have been used to “subsidise and underwrite government commissioned research,” are down.

The combination of funding policies, “may put pressure on some universities to retain their Australian university status. The alternative for institutions in this position is to transition to the university college category which comprises high quality, education focused higher education providers without research standards applied,” the Eight warns.

Neatly done.