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Ancora Imparo

23 March 2005

It is wonderful to see the university come to life with the return of the students. There is no doubting the excitement of O-week and the first week of term.

One of the best aspects is the enthusiasm with which students, both new and returning, embrace the multitude of campus-based clubs, societies, theatre, debating and sporting activities.

We have indicated in our Monash Directions document that we wish to remain a campus-based university. We believe the educational experience for university undergraduates is much more than can be acquired in lecture theatres, from text books or from the internet. It also consists of the broadening experience that comes from social interactions, sporting activities and extracurricular activities in clubs and societies that expand perspectives, build intercultural understanding and develop life-long friendships and interests.

It is disturbing, therefore, that these activities are threatened by the Minister for Education Dr Brendan Nelson's stance on what he likes to call Voluntary Student Unionism. Most of the activities listed above are funded in part or in whole by funds collected as amenities fees and made available to the student associations.

Although Dr Nelson and some others would argue that these activities should be supported on a user-pays basis, the viability of many of the activities would be undermined and many students who would otherwise have taken part in campus-based activities would no longer do so, either because of the deterrent effect of fees or because these activities were no longer available.

Just as we feel it is appropriate to pay rates to our local councils and receive in return the opportunity of affordable or free access to libraries and sport and recreational facilities, so it is reasonable that the cost of desirable infrastructure for the student experience be spread amongst the student body, allowing and encouraging equitable access for all.

Portraying the activities of the student associations as predominantly political and akin to a union is trivialising their substantial contributions to student life and the student experience.

Elected student bodies funded through the amenities fees also allow a workable method for the university administration to consult the student bodies and to achieve student representation on relevant committees. The senior management of the university is allied with the student associations and the National Union of Students in opposing the legislation foreshadowed by the Minister.

Other changes in university governance and regulations are also being foreshadowed, including changes to workplace relations regulations, the Commonwealth taking over the statutory control of universities and the introduction of teaching-only universities. Also, a committee has been established to explore the desirability of some form of research assessment exercise to determine allocation of research infrastructure funding. The long-awaited review of indexation of the Commonwealth operating grant is due to be released in April and is of critical importance.

Altogether, far from quieting down after the passage of the Higher Education Support Act in December 2003, we can anticipate further tumultuous times.