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“The role of the university ombudsman
in a changing Australian tertiary sector:
maintaining trust, relevance and
respect”
2nd Annual Student Health and Welfare Conference – July 29-30,
2013
Sally Varnham, Patty Kamvounias, Bronwyn Olliffe, Anita
Stuhmcke & Maxine Evers
The university will be fundamentally organized around
student-centred principles: Students will want education a
la carte: education when they want it, how they want it and
were they want it
So says Professor Stephen Parker, an Australian V.C. Is he
right? And
If he is, what does that mean for us?
This presentation will:
1.Outline the challenges and opportunities currently facing the higher
education sector in Australia – and the impact on student welfare;
2.Focus on overseas students, provision for the resolution of their
disputes with higher education providers, and the role of public sector
ombudsmen in this regard;
3.Turn to the role of the internal university ombudsmen, particularly in
relation to their role at the intersection of the international student,
plagiarism, systemic investigation and change agent;
4.Finally, ‘Neither fish nor fowl’ – we ask the question: is the current
student ombud(sman) model the best? And what do students want?
Setting the scene: the student and the student voice in
the new regulatory environment
The sector is undergoing dramatic change:
• National regulator TEQSA;
• Provider Standards;
• Revised AQF and compatibility requirements;
• Greater focus on risk;
• Widening participation and higher SES enrolments;
• Higher cost to students
• Dependence on international enrolments;
• Mass online offerings
• Funding constraints
• Students as consumers?
No longer a ‘community of scholars’?
How does all this affect student/university relationship?
• Higher cost – perceptions different and higher expectations of students;
• Impact of online education unknown but students have much greater choice;
• Value for money becomes central
• Students want to come in, get qualification in shortest time possible, get out;
• Are standards potentially compromised by demand to widen participation?
Students as consumers
Right mindset?
• Students are part of ‘making’ the product rather than
‘buying’ it as ‘consumers’;
• Student representation: for consultation or as part of
decision making processes?
[Provider Standard 6.8: “As appropriate to its scale and scope, the
higher education provider has student representation within its
deliberative and decision-making processes and encourages students
to participate in these processes”]
Education = Australia’s 3rd largest export earner + number 1 service export
7
Australian higher education:
student statistics – first half of 2012
› Total enrolments by full-fee paying international students on a student visa in 2012 = 515,853
- Higher education 230,923
- Vocational Education and Training (VET) 145,540
- English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS ) 95,224
- Schools 18,599
- Non-award 25,567
› Top 5 nationalities (contributing 53.5% of enrolments in all sectors)
• China
• India
• Republic of Korea
• Vietnam
• Malaysia
› http://www.innovation.gov.au/HigherEducation/HigherEducationStatistics/StatisticsPublications/Pages/default.aspx 8
ESOS: external review by public sector ombudsmen for students at public universities
› 9 public sector ombudsmen in Australia
› ‘Information sheet’ for overseas students provided by Ombudsman offices in NSW, Victoria, WA
› Hard copy and electronic complaint forms for overseas students
› E.g flowchart on Ombudsman WA website
http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au
9
Public sector ombudsmen
- can investigate domestic and international student complaints about public institutions
- can undertake own motion investigations e.g Victoria
- Investigation into how universities deal with international students (October 2011)
- Review of complaint handling in Victorian Universities (May 2005)
- have expressed concerns about the rising number of complaints and the quality of university complaint handling
- submit annual reports to parliament
10
Overseas Student Ombudsman (OSO)
› ‘Stronger, simpler, smarter ESOS: supporting international students - Review of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000, Final report February 2010 (Baird Report)
› Government response? established the OSO within the Commonwealth Ombudsman office: role effective from 9 April 2011 http://www.oso.gov.au/
› can only investigate a complaint if it relates to a private education provider and the problem relates to an overseas student
› 2011-2012 annual report:
- Number of complaints received (588) and investigated (262)
- Complaint themes: refunds following student default or transfer to new providers, student visa attendance requirements
11
QUALITY AND STANDARDS
Universities in Australia are largely responsible for
maintaining their own quality and standards.
(Higher Education Support Act 2003)
CASE STUDY: Victorian Ombudsman – 2011
Investigation into how four Victorian universities deal
with international students
“Well, if you’re living and breathing and you know
three words of English, we’ll put you in [to the
university].”
A lecturer, quoted in the report at p 26
University Ombudsman: a need for change?
1. Dealing with plagiarism: the ‘problem’ of jurisdiction
2. Discretion to investigate: an elephant in the room
3. Ombudsprudence: the answer?
Principle 1: Integrity - independent, fair and impartial
Principle 2: Responsiveness and flexibility
Principle 3: Accountability and transparency
Principle 4: Aspiration to create and improve standards
of university governance
Principle 5: Accessibility
Principle 6: Catalyst of change – ‘they say that sunlight
is the best disinfectant’
University Ombudsman and systemic change
Barriers and opportunities:
1.Focus on procedure and process and degree of systemic
influence and change
2.Offices ‘own’ interpretation of procedure and process–
degree to which this is informed by policy/strategic
plan/academic standards
3. Resources – independence and reach
Academic risk + students as consumers
= improved student experience • “students are reluctant to complain (even informally) because of
concerns about how this will affect their academic progress”
(Student grievance and discipline matters project, Jackson, Fleming,
Kamvounias & Varnham, 2009)
• Student grievances
• Complaints handling
• Models of investigation & resolution
• Formal v informal complaints
• International students
Formal v informal complaints
Informal
complaint Resolved
Formal complaint Resolved
External to university
Formal versus informal complaints trend (UTS)
Models of investigation & resolution
• Triage – “first resort”; focus on early resolution
• Multi door - “one-stop shop”; focus on central agency for resolution
• Therapeutic – focus on mediation
• Investigation and recommendation – “last resort”
• Independent adjudicator - dedicated external national ombudsman
• External avenues – state/federal ombudsman
Int Local
0.51 0.42
UTS Student Ombud Office Local and International formal complaint rate
Avg
CAGR 9.5% 15.6%
Local students are 18% less likely to initiate formal complaints than international students Formal complaint rates are falling for both student groups with local students falling 50% faster than international students over the last 5 years
21
Universities – they are a changin’
• Corporate ‘Managerialism’
• Academic standards and income
• Globalisation
• MOOCS
What students want: trust, relevance and respect
“Students are both the hearts and hands of the
system, ….incorporate them not only in
governance but in your thoughts about curriculum
development and design, and students as
learners and partners, not consumers as we are
often referred to”
Jade Tyrrell, President 2013 NUS at Academic Board Forum UTS
“The Future of Learning: how they want it , when they want it, where they want
it?”, April 30 2103.