Australian Higher Education Governance Model Research

As governance is one of the most fundamental problems in education development, higher education management reform swept the whole world, from the great Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge University to Asia’s new universities. The higher education of a country can’t be famous for its scientific and effective management, but a powerful higher education implacably requires good management. Perfect higher education governance system contains all the structural factors such as stakeholders, the exercise of powers, rights protection, etc. And the huge governance system constantly evolves in the environment of country’s unique history, culture, politics, it eventually forms the unique higher education governance mode during the period.Australian higher education, though starts late, but develops rapidly, leaps into the first echelon of world higher education. Its educational idea and governance mode initially imitated Britain, then it absorbed the essence of higher education in Britain and the United States, meanwhile, it reformed constantly under the guidance of clear concept of governance adapting to the local higher education situation, formed a unique market-oriented higher education governance mode eventually. Although there were some internal contradictions in Australian higher education governance, the market-oriented higher education governance mode is still good for the relation between the external and university, meeting the demand of the interests from the university internal stakeholders, constructing a good foundation and platform to the strength of the Australian higher education.This thesis firstly explores the influence to higher education governance from external stakeholders such as state, market and intermediary organizations which have close relationship with higher education, on the basis of combing the changes in Australian higher education governance. Moreover, it explores the internal power operation mechanism among administrative power, academic power and democratic power, so as to grasp the current situation of higher education governance and a full view of higher education governance mode in Australia.This research unfolds mainly from the following several aspects:The introduction part introduces the reason and significance of this topic, expounds the relevant research results both at home and abroad, defines the key concepts in this research, and states research contents, framework and methods.The first chapter of the body combs the evolution process of concepts in Australian higher education governance, analysis the different funds and management policies to higher education from the government, the scale of higher education institutions development, internal governance reform to higher education institutions, so as to grasp the future development trend.The second chapter of the body analyzes the external environment of higher education governance in Australia. It explores the relations between higher education institutions and external stakeholders, such as the government, market and intermediary organizations, researches how these external stakeholders participate in the higher education governance respectively, and bring what impact to higher education.The third chapter of the body studies the internal operation mechanism of Australian higher education. Three typical universities are selected according to the internal classification of power:academic power, administrative power and democratic power. It analyzes their constitution texts, explores how the board of directors, academic committee or the principal exercise their different power in decision-making, execution, supervision, and rights protection, thus forming the internal operation mechanism.The fourth chapter of the body studies the characteristics of Australian higher education governance mode. It analyzes the characteristics of different types of institutions of higher education governance in Australia from decision-making, execution, supervision, power protection, on the basis of Australia’s overall external environment, so as to grasp the outline of the Australian higher education governance mode.