Bigger can be better. But not always – not tumours, debt, obesity and maybe not universities. Great universities are not merging; Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale are happily un-merged and our finest university, the Australian National University, is not suddenly merging with the National College of Vocational Education in Canberra.
Depending on the Upper House of the South Australian parliament, it looks as if two of the state’s universities, the University of Adelaide and the University of SA will be merged by order of the SA Government to become the mega Adelaide University.
This move is about as popular as herpes with staff (some of whom will lose their jobs) and students (all of whom will lose the university they chose to attend) and none of whom have been consulted. It will cost (pick a figure, any figure) between $600m and more than $1bn, depending on who you talk to.
Proponents of the varsity merger say that even after the merger our new mega university – Adelaide University – will still be smaller than interstate mega universities, Monash and the University of NSW (both of which were not merged but grew organically). They serve much bigger cities and, rightly or wrongly, Melbourne and Sydney may be more attractive to foreign students than Adelaide.
It is promised that the merger will cause no net job losses and that a mega university is a bonanza for research funding. Maybe I’ll get a PhD in Pigs May Fly.
In 2015, two universities in Manchester merged. That cost $2bn and 400 employees were encouraged to seek redundancies. Oops.
Much of the information about the merger of our universities is not yet public. It’s “commercial-in-confidence” for state-funded institutions. The merger was announced on a Saturday night, perhaps when they thought no-one would notice.
A report by eminent academics for the Joint Committee into the Establishment of Adelaide University is very critical of the merger and claims it will decrease research funding.
Our entire tertiary education sector is now for sale internationally. It is now predicated on the revenue of international students. This merger is primarily intended to attract thousands more international students to Adelaide so we can reap the spoils they bring to our economy.
What if they don’t come? We need thousands of Chinese students yet recent federal governments are sabre-rattling China and recently we sent our biggest warship, HMAS Canberra, to menace the South China Sea. We seem to be saying to China (our biggest trading partner) we hate you but please send your young people here to be educated.
Why would the excellent and highly progressive University of SA, which has developed an enviable reputation under wunderkind Vice Chancellor David Lloyd, want to amalgamate with the hidebound, fusty University of Adelaide, which of late has been mired in controversy and has merrily destroyed heritage?
Flinders Uni opens new CBD campus, slams ‘unfair’ $100m merger fund
What if the merger doesn’t work? There is no Plan B. You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube. Can’t two universities continue to grow independently?
Fortunately we still have the excellent and independent Flinders University (my alma mater), which continues to lead by example and grow.
It will soon increase its presence in our city away from the mothership at Bedford Park and offer courses in the (albeit hideous) new glass tower between the casino and Parliament House. At least it’s not an ivory tower.
By Peter Goers
September 2, 2023 - 8:55PM
Sunday Mail (SA)
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/peter-goers-bigger-isnt-always-better-and-this-university-merger-might-just-be-bigger/news-story/d129074fbfc6ea0b02e4ab7ca85c9499