On the resilience of Australian public universities: why our institutions may fail unless vice-chancellors rethink broken commercial business models

James Guthrie; Martina K. Linnenluecke; Ann Martin-Sardesai; Yun Shen; Tom Smith

doi:10.1111/acfi.12858

On the resilience of Australian public universities: why our institutions may fail unless vice-chancellors rethink broken commercial business models

James Guthrie^*, Martina K. Linnenluecke, Ann Martin-Sardesai, Yun Shen, Tom Smith

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

COVID-19-related public health measures have severely impacted the Australian higher education system (AHES). This paper examines the resilience of the AHES, particularly its past reliance on onshore international students to generate revenue that cross-subsidises operational and research expenses. By our measure, ten universities are at risk of financial default. With a different approach on the part of the Government and university leadership, surplus monies could have contributed to building a more resilient AHES. Our findings correct widely held misconceptions about the state of the AHES and aim to provide valuable learnings to individual universities and the sector more broadly.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2203-2235
Number of pages	33
Journal	Accounting & Finance
Volume	62
Issue number	2
Early online date	22 Sept 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12858
Publication status	Published - Jun 2022

Keywords

Accounting
Australian public university system
Business models
Financial ratios
Neoliberal
New public management
Resilience

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10.1111/acfi.12858

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abstract = "COVID-19-related public health measures have severely impacted the Australian higher education system (AHES). This paper examines the resilience of the AHES, particularly its past reliance on onshore international students to generate revenue that cross-subsidises operational and research expenses. By our measure, ten universities are at risk of financial default. With a different approach on the part of the Government and university leadership, surplus monies could have contributed to building a more resilient AHES. Our findings correct widely held misconceptions about the state of the AHES and aim to provide valuable learnings to individual universities and the sector more broadly.",

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On the resilience of Australian public universities: why our institutions may fail unless vice-chancellors rethink broken commercial business models

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Keywords

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