“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

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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

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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.