One of the Australian University Accord¡¯s most radical ideas is also among the most contested, with lobby groups sparring over the primary functions of a proposed tertiary education commission (TEC).

The accord panel is considering whether a TEC should be established to provide ¡°oversight, coordination and expert advice¡± to the higher education sector, the panel¡¯s?interim report?says. The commission would ¡°function as a pricing authority¡± for higher education funding and ¡°negotiate new mission-based compacts¡± with individual institutions.

Universities Australia (UA), which has not yet decided whether it supports a commission,??such a body ¡°could be useful¡± if it ¡°has the remit to create funding agreements¡± and ¡°sets tailored metrics and objectives in collaboration with each university¡±.

The Group of Eight (Go8) backs a TEC but says it must ¡°have no role in operational matters such as funding allocations or negotiation of institutional compacts. The risk¡­is that such a body lacks the independence from government to provide evidence-based, long-term advice,¡± the Go8 argues in its??to the interim report.

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The Regional Universities Network encourages ¡°caution¡± in letting a commission decide how many places should be funded, and where. ¡°There are very few examples where a central control model of place allocation has been successful,¡± its??notes.

The Innovative Research Universities group takes a different view. ¡°The UK experience shows the importance of one oversight body for all aspects of a university¡¯s operations,¡± its??says. ¡°[The TEC] will need the capabilities to provide oversight of mission-based accord agreements and to evaluate outcomes and impacts across the system.¡±

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The University Chancellors Council, which supports the establishment of a TEC,??the body¡¯s role should include performance monitoring. The Australian Technology Network (ATN), which is undecided,??a TEC¡¯s functions should include holding universities ¡°directly accountable for their research and major research collaboration and translation activities¡±.

The ATN and Go8 say the commission¡¯s main role would be to roll out the accord¡¯s reforms. ¡°It is¡­difficult to envisage how the recommendations arising from the accord process can be meaningfully implemented without such a body,¡± the Go8 observes.

Federal civil service chief and former University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis sees a more fundamental role for a TEC, which he championed in his 2017 book The Australian Idea of a University.

The commission¡¯s primary function would be to set relative funding rates within an overall budget set by the government, he wrote. ¡°An independent commission charged with exclusive authority to distribute all public funding according to transparent operating procedures would stop universities behaving like mendicants, always hassling government for some local advantage.¡±

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While university groups are split on what a commission should do, they are united on what it must avoid. Many submissions warn against extra administrative burdens, duplicated reporting obligations or diminution of institutional autonomy.

A commission¡¯s riding instructions must be ¡°well thought out¡± to avoid ¡°the real potential for unintended consequences¡±, UA¡¯s submission stresses. ¡°This will require care and caution in all phases of development.¡±

RMIT University deputy chancellor Stephen Duckett¡¯s??highlights the need for ¡°clear thinking about the commission¡¯s role and modus operandi in advance of its establishment¡±.

UA believes a TEC should be a ¡°medium- rather than short-term¡± project. The ATN cautions against any long-term aspiration, saying the commission should be a ¡°time-limited¡± body.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com