Reinterpreting higher education quality in response to policies of mass education: the Australian experience
Type of Publication: Journal article
Lead Organisation: NCSEHE
Year Published: 2014
Lead Researcher: Tim Pitman
Written by Dr Tim Pitman, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education
Published in Quality in Higher Education Vol 20 Issue 3
22 Sept 2014
Abstract
This article explores the relationship between mass education, higher education quality and policy development in Australia in the period 2008–2014, during which access to higher education was significantly increased. Over this time, which included a change of national government, the discursive relationship between mass higher education and higher education quality shifted from conceptualising quality as a function of economic productivity, through educational transformation and academic standards, to market competition and efficiency. Throughout, the student was more often positioned as a servant towards higher education quality, rather than its benefactor.