Australia’s scandal-plagued university sector has today suffered another significant blow, with many slipping further down the QS World University Rankings.

The rankings of 70% of Australian universities have fallen, following revelations about a lack of accountability and scrutiny, poor financial management, exorbitant Vice-Chancellor salaries and lavish spending on consultants and corporate travel.

The Australia Institute has suggested an extensive list of reforms to fix the sector, including:

• Requiring a majority of university councils to be elected by staff and students
• Making university management more transparent including publishing full university council minutes and disclosing itemised spending on consultants
• Creating a national system of university education managed by the federal government
• Ending the corporate model of governance and refocusing on education/research
• Capping Vice-Chancellor remuneration

“Today’s news that Australian universities are falling down international rankings shows the sector is failing even by its own standards,” said Jack Thrower, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute.

“Australia’s universities are unaccountable; they are no longer properly public institutions, and while they try to operate like businesses, they don’t face nearly the same level of scrutiny or oversight as the corporate sector.

“Given this accountability vacuum, it’s not surprising they are suffering an endless series of scandals and governance failures. While the sector cuts staff who do the actual teaching and research, they spend hundreds of millions on elective spending like consultants, marketing, and travel, and give their Vice-Chancellors some of the world’s biggest pay packets.

“Systemic reform is needed to bring accountability to the sector and return to its core public purposes of teaching and research.”