The case for a greenfields renaissance Feature - Geological Society ...

Special Report
A rallying cry for geoscience in Australia: part 2
Part 1 of this paper in TAG 149 1 outlined the decline in Australian
tertiary geoscience and focused on the state of geoscience teaching in
secondary schools. Part 2 addresses the status of tertiary geoscience,
provides examples of remedial actions in Western Australia, and concludes
with a call for action.
Tertiary geoscience: problems
and solutions
The decline in Australian tertiary geoscience from 1990–2007 is
evident in several metrics. For example, academic teaching staff
decreased from about 220 to 170, third-year students increased
only slightly from 300 to 381, despite major expansion of our
resource industries, and the Honours retention rate fell from
50% to 31%. The latter decrease is of particular concern,
because a well-rounded geoscience qualification requires
Honours or postgraduate studies. These students also provide
geoscience teaching groups with relatively high student-load
income. Industry zeal for recent recruiting of BSc graduates is
a very short-sighted strategy. It deprives companies of better
qualified graduates, and weakens the teaching groups responsible
for a continuing supply of well-trained geoscientists.
In contrast, the number of full time geoscience researchers
in universities increased from 70 to 187, and this additional
research income enabled some geoscience groups to survive.
Nevertheless, Earth Sciences’ share of Australian R&D expenditure
declined by about 23% from 1996/7–2004/5, despite
continuous economic growth.
The status of 17 Australian tertiary geoscience groups in
2007 is shown in figure 1, based on data from the Australian
Geoscience Council (AGC)’s survey. AGC estimated an Equivalent
Full Time Student Load (EFTSL) of at least 150 is required for
financial independence under current funding models and
referred to a minimum of eight, and ideally 10–12, academic
teaching staff for a well-rounded geoscience degree. Although
such comparisons are complicated by curriculum variations
between universities, it is clear that few groups operate with the
desirable combination of EFTSL and staff. Furthermore, the AGC
analysis indicates that the required EFTSL per staff member may
be unsustainable, if quality people are to be attracted to academic
careers. In other words, improving viability through
increased student numbers is not a long term solution; more
funding is required. Finally, AGC’s survey was at an industry high
point, with peak demand and salaries for geoscientists; the
EFTSL loads in figure 1 are unlikely to be sustained.
Figure 1 provides another example of market failure, particularly
in resource-rich Queensland, where student loads are
relatively low. Institutional reactions have varied, with only five
stand-alone geoscience departments now remaining. Most are
integrated into larger groups and schools, with disciplines such
FIGURE 1: Plot of academic teaching staff versus equivalent full time student
load (EFTSL) in 2007 for 17 tertiary geoscience groups in Australia, identified by
state and institution (source: reference 1). The vertical line at EFTSL 100 indicates
very marginal economics without income supplementation.
as geography, environment, marine science, atmospheric
science and soil science. Some geoscientists fret about the loss
of identity, but such integration is consistent with progress in
science, and particularly Earth Science. It is certainly supported
by academic staff at the University of Western Australia (UWA),
who joined geographers and soil scientists in the School of
Earth and Environment.
Figure 2 highlights the per capita strength of third-year
geoscience numbers in Tasmania and the Australian National
University (ANU), in contrast to their unviable standing in
figure 1, and thus demonstrates the flaw in current funding
models and their impact on smaller groups and disciplines. It
also reinforces the lower relative standing of geoscience in
Queensland.
FIGURE 2: Number of third year geoscience students in 2007 per million
people by State (source: reference 1).
TAG March 2009 | 25