Australian universities¡¯ public relations problems have arisen partly because they are collectives of ¡°sole traders¡± forced to behave like ¡°academic supermarkets¡±, a Canberra conference has heard.

Veteran journalist Michelle Grattan said universities¡¯ conversion from small, elite institutions to large, comprehensive ones had ushered a change of mindset among their clientele. ¡°Students are consumers as much as learners,¡± said Grattan, chief political correspondent at?The Conversation?and a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra.

¡°They¡¯re paying very substantial fees. They are much more demanding of these institutions; much more critical of the¡­education they get if they regard it as not satisfactory. The institutions are really on notice. You¡¯ve had this great transformation of the sector and how it¡¯s regarded, and that has made it more difficult to maintain its social licence.¡±

The Brand Australia 2025 symposium was convened by the Future Campus website to brainstorm ways to renovate the sector¡¯s image ahead of what is expected to be a?gruelling federal election?¨C largely because of perceptions that universities have exploited their staff and failed to keep their students safe.

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Organisational anthropologist Jodie Trembath said the bad press included perceptions that universities ¡°don¡¯t live in the real world¡± and ¡°don¡¯t want to engage with the public¡±. This ¡°absolute rubbish¡± reflected a ¡°tension¡± between universities and the people who worked in them, she said.

Trembath, a former university employee who is now skills and employment director with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said academics¡¯ primary loyalty was to their disciplines rather than their institutions. She likened them to ¡°sole traders¡± peddling their wares on eBay.

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¡°Universities look to outsiders [like] any other [large] institution ¨C like a school, like a hospital, like a corporation,¡± she said. ¡°But actually, internally, they don¡¯t operate that way at all ¨C and you can¡¯t see that from the outside.¡±

The misconception was exacerbated by academics¡¯ tendency to use the language of their disciplines. ¡°Jargon is¡­there so that other people can recognise that you¡¯re part of the club. But the Australian public...feels like they¡¯re not part of the club. It¡¯s no wonder¡­that when academics speak publicly and try and communicate their ideas, the public feel they¡¯re not being included in that knowledge journey.¡±

Victoria University vice-chancellor Adam Shoemaker said universities were also failing to register emotionally. He said listening ¨C the ¡°most important skill of all¡± in academia ¨C had become a ¡°forgotten art¡±.

¡°We try and fill¡­pauses all the time, and we don¡¯t listen to criticism,¡± he told the conference. ¡°We¡¯re trained to be rational debaters. If we win the argument, we think we¡¯ve won the issue.

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¡°In fact, a lot of things are very emotive out there. There¡¯s a lot of pain and it¡¯s not rational. The whole socialising thing sits¡­in that emotive pain territory, and rational argument isn¡¯t going to win the day unless you can really show you¡¯re doing something about it.¡±

University of Canberra vice-chancellor Bill Shorten said it was telling that there had been no public outcry when thousands of university workers?lost their jobs?during the coronavirus pandemic. ¡°I think what we¡¯ve done is give society and our community the rationale to support us, but not the emotional connection to fall in love with us,¡± he told the conference.

Shorten, a former federal opposition leader, said politics was more an emotional than a rational process. ¡°Appealing to the community and rebuilding some of the licence ¨C making people want to fight for us, to appreciate us enough to care what happens ¨C I think that¡¯s, in part, also an emotional process.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com