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Downhill for universities since Menzies? Australian Universities: A History of Common Cause by Gwilym Croucher and James Waghorne ISBN: 9781742236735 (pbk.), New South Publishing, Sydney, Australia, 278 pp., 2020. Reviewed by Paul Rodan
This history, commissioned by Universities Australia (UA, formerly the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee – the AVCC) deals largely with universities’ relationships with each other and with state and (later) commonwealth governments. They are seen as the key players in the creation of today’s university system and in overseeing the key policy developments in the sector. Thus, this is an account at the institutional and leadership levels rather than one delving into the social and political aspects which would be found in a more broadly-based approach, such as Hannah Forsyth’s A History of the Modern Australian University (see Rodan, 2015). The authors remind us that the first universities in the colonies were as much a part of the British network as of anything distinctively Australian. They trace the development of a more formalised cooperative relationship (within the obvious constraints of distance) to 1920, when a Conference of Australian Universities was held in Sydney. Federation and then World War I had played an important role in promoting a more national outlook. The AVCC would be formed in 1935, but it is worth noting that it was not until 1949 that every university employed a full-time vice-chancellor. Wars complicated life for universities, with the need to manage categories of exemptions from conscription (which in WW II could include overseas service), course completion rates and the like. Political oversight and intrusion were everlurking, and one wonders at the extent to which course failure rates were minimised by the risk that such failure could result in earlier military call-up for the poorly-performing student. Government funding of universities varied from state to state (some students paid fees; some were on various sorts of scholarships), but all were affected by the Great Depression as governments imposed savage cuts on expenditure. But the Commonwealth had commenced its inexorable move towards greater involvement (with research grants) in the 1920s and, as in other policy areas, this grew during WWII, with the introduction of student financial assistance being a significant development. The authors highlight the creation of the vol. 63, no. 1, 2021
Universities Commission in 1942 as reflecting this enhanced role. An important milestone was the 1946 referendum which gave the Commonwealth power to provide ‘benefits to students’ – allowing for the provision of scholarships and living allowances after this could no longer be covered under war powers. Commonwealth reviews and inquiries (notably the three Ms- Mills, Murray, Martin) played a prominent part in the post-war growth period and these are covered in considerable detail. The figure of Prime Minister Robert Menzies looms large in this era. His present-day Liberal successors would probably find quaint his contention in 1950 that ‘the University’s function was to educate individuals in culture and learning and not to create technical experts’ (p. 78). Importantly, he maintained the Chifley Government’s Commonwealth scholarship scheme, which was the only means of entry into university for many students. The importance of these scholarships cannot be overemphasised. Mythology tends to suggest that prior to Gough Whitlam’s abolition of university fees, it was mostly the fee-paying children of the rich who walked the hallowed halls. This is simply not true. By 1972, around three-quarters of students were either on commonwealth scholarships (with means-tested living allowances) or on quite generous teacher training bonded scholarships. As an undergraduate in the early 1970s, I knew no-one paying fees, although it was possibly not something one was likely to own up to, since it invited the conclusion that for some, parents’ wealth was making up for inability to secure a merit-based scholarship. On the international level, the 1950s and 1960s saw the height of the Cold War and its impact on universities included the growth of suspicion in some conservative circles about the loyalty of staff. Australia’s first foray into the provision of education for ‘overseas’ students, through the Colombo Plan, represented some soft power diplomacy in that ‘war’. The authors devote considerable space to outlining the creation of the Colleges of Advanced Education (CAE)
Downhill for universities since Menzies? Reviewed by Paul Rodan
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