Policy without (much) pain - University of Ballarat

Policy without (much) painthat have been commended by auditors. As a result, senior management has become attuned tothe use of policy as a mechanism for achieving good practice. Most institutions now monitor andcritique their policy suite almost independently of the audit cycle.Tertiary education became more highly regulated in the two decades 1990-2010. Increasinglygovernment has required institutions to set strategic objectives and/or institutional profiles andmeasure their progress towards achieving them. The funding of institutions has been reduced,and at the same time governments have expected institutions to manage themselves better andimprove their quality assurance systems. Governments have set increasingly detailedrequirements for a wide range of activities carried out by tertiary institutions: ensuring the privacyof student and staff information, equal employment opportunity, recruitment of indigenousstudents and staff, workplace relations, occupational health and safety, enrolment of students andfunding of their study, services to international students, monitoring of research productiveness,etc. In Australia, recruitment and support of students to increase the social inclusiveness of thestudent body is a major current topic offederal and state government highereducation policy. Reporting requirements inall these areas have grown more rigorous.Policy and procedures have been seen asperhaps the most important tool by whichinstitutions achieve compliance.Web policy repositories themselves havestimulated the policy industry. Before policyweb pages, whatever policies a university had would reside in hard copy. Many institutionsprovided a ‘policy manual’ to managers. This would reside in a ring binder folder, and from time totime internal mail envelopes would arrive, containing new/replacement sheets to be inserted. Aweb policy repository, in contrast, is universally available: to all staff, students and to the public.Gaps, overlaps and inconsistencies are on public display. Staff can look over the fence at acompetitor institution’s policies and notice that the other institution has policies they don’t. Sopublishing policy on the web has driven improvement.We would like to think that the ‘policy industry’ is emerging from a phase of rapid growth, andentering a phase of consolidation and refinement. Institutions are more likely now to value clarityand resource-efficiency in their policy suite – to seek a balance between effective regulation andreporting on the one hand, and resource constraints and operational practicalities on the other.To achieve this balance, we recommend a specialist committee or executive group withownership of the policy framework.Key points/tips:We would like to think that the‘policy industry’ is emergingfrom a phase of rapid growth,and entering a phase ofconsolidation and refinement.‣ Merging of Australian institutions in the 1980s and early 1990s created aneed for institution-wide policies.‣ External audits strengthened the drive for a full suite of policies.‣ Web policy repositories, by displaying policies to all and sundry, addedanother driver for policy development.~ 47 ~