Research the ‘wrong’ priority

Teaching, not research, should be the main province of a university, says Adrian Lee Australian universities’ obsession with research is a mistake, and the holder of that opinion says it’s an error that has put universities at odds with what the public wants from them. On ABC Radio National’s Ockham’s Razor last week, University of New South Wales Emeritus Professor Adrian Lee said the primary expectation of incoming students and their parents was that universities provide an effective learning environment (http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2011/08/orr_20110821.mp3). “The key point is that universities should focus on learning, and effective learning depends on effective teaching,” Lee said. “I believe universities are not doing this to the best of their abilities, and they have their priorities wrong. The focus in most universities is primarily on research excellence, not teaching excellence.” He said there were “many inspirational academics in our universities who teach brilliantly”, but teaching excellence was not the norm. “As we reflect on how this has come about, I now run the risk of upsetting many vice-chancellors. This is because the issue is leadership and the message senior managers convey to their staff,” Lee said. “Nearly all articles written on this topic come to the same conclusion: university staff perceive that excellence in research is valued more than excellence in teaching. In many cases, the evidence that this is so is overwhelming.” Lee has made his case many times in recent years. He believes it so strongly that in 2000, after a 32-year career teaching medicine and science at UNSW, he changed course and entered senior management. As UNSW pro vice-chancellor (education and quality improvement) for six years until his retirement, he would become a pivotal force for influencing the status and appreciation of learning and teaching. Nonetheless, he said, the move to the “dark side” was initially a decision that required hours of agonising soul-searching. “ I knew I would have to close down my research team — no more grants, no more conferences, no more regular face-to-face teaching. [But] in my heart of hearts, I think it was because I felt that universities were not fulfilling their obligation to society." Lee had been hopeful learning and teaching were taking their rightful place alongside research, through the advent of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and, later, a federal learning and teaching performance fund. But now, with the fund gone and the closure of the popular council imminent, he is far less optimistic. “The loss of the symmetry between research and teaching councils makes it highly likely that it will indeed be back to research ‘rules’ in our universities." A shift in the whole underlying academic culture was needed, and a change in the marketing of universities, from the promotion of research performance to the promotion of an excellent learning and teaching experience. Lee admits that is a big call, when the research of universities the world round is judged in multiple league tables that vice-chancellors strive to top. He emphasises that research, too, plays a vital role in a modern university. The challenge is to excel in both endeavours, in equal measure, and for universities to be transparent about their teaching achievements. In the context of a closing ALTC and recent ratings in The Good Universities Guide that show Australian sandstones scoring poorly for learning and teaching, fellow academics may find his remarks poignant. A recent study, Are Excellent Research Environments Better for Teaching and Learning?, by Professor Garry Barrett of the University of Sydney, and UTS vice-chancellor Ross Milbourne, found that although students might be unhappy with the quality of the teaching in research-rich environments, this was more than compensated for by the overall experience. The findings were presented at the Australian Conference of Economists in Canberra last month.