The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) welcomes today's release of the Research Quality Framework Expert Advisory Group's final advice by the Minister for Education, Science and Training Ms Julie Bishop.
"The AVCC looks forward to working with the RQF Development Advisory Group (RQFDAG) to be chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Jim Peacock AC", Professor Sutton said.
"Vice-Chancellors however, are concerned that the RQF Implementation Plan's timeline is tight and may not be adequate given the level and depth of the work the RQFDAG has to accomplish prior to final implementation.
"The AVCC also welcomes the acknowledgement that further consideration of the RQF model will need to occur if the Government is to adopt it," Professor Sutton said.
"The AVCC looks forward to working with the RQFDAG. It will do so keeping in mind the current experience in the UK, where the Government has announced this month that it will review the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 2006 and may look towards a simpler system that is mainly metrics based.
"Australia is already using a metrics-style assessment framework which includes measures such as research income, research publications, and research student load and completions," he said.
"The AVCC is particularly pleased that the final advice handed down by the Minister acknowledges that universities should not bear the considerable cost of implementing the RQF, and that the RQF Expert Advisory Group recommends additional resources be provided to support the implementation of the RQF," Professor Sutton said.
"The sector has estimated that the initial implementation costs of this exercise could reach up to $40 million depending on the nature and extent of the detailed guidelines.
"The Government needs to respond urgently to the advice from the EAG. Vice-Chancellors believe that money should not be redirected from existing resources to cover this implementation and administrative cost," Professor Gerard Sutton.
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