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Becoming a university

Most universities in Australia are public institutions but there are a few private institutions which have been authorised by governments to operate as a university. Bond University in Queensland is Australia's first government authorised private university.

Before a university can be established or recognised in Queensland, the Minister must be satisfied that the institution will comply with nationally agreed criteria, including those in the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes (new window) 373k .

The National Guidelines for Higher Education Approval Processes - Guidelines for establishing Australian universities (relating to National Protocols A and D) (new window) 852k outline the application process for seeking establishment as a university.

These National Guidelines are made pursuant to the Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2008 (new window) .

The Act protects the use of the term 'university' and provides significant financial penalties for entities using the term without being established or recognised as a university.

Criteria for the establishment or recognition of universities

Under the National Protocols, an Australian university will demonstrate the following features:

a culture of sustained scholarship which informs teaching and learning in all fields in which courses are offered
research that leads to the creation of new knowledge and original creative endeavour at least in those fields in which Research Masters and PhDs or equivalent Research Doctorates are offered
commitment of teachers, researchers, course designers and assessors to free inquiry and the systematic advancement of knowledge
governance, procedural rules, organisational structure, admission policies, financial arrangements and quality assurance processes which are underpinned by the values and goals of universities and which ensure the integrity of the institution's academic programs.

Additional criteria that allows an institution to operate with an unmodified university title, a university college title or a specialised university title can be found in the National Protocols.

The application process

An organisation seeking to operate as a university in Queensland should contact the Office of Higher Education to discuss the development of an application and the application process. If your organisation is planning to submit an application, please advise the Office of Higher Education of your expected submission date well in advance.

An application must be made in writing, and should be submitted to the Minister through the Office of Higher Education using the application form and the relevant submission template. The application must be accompanied by the relevant application fee as outlined in the Higher Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2008 (new window) .

An independent expert committee is appointed by the Minister, involving at least three persons (with at least two from outside Queensland) with substantial knowledge and expertise in:

academic affairs
university management
design, development and delivery of higher education courses
or business management.

The committee reports to the Minister on whether the applicant's claims, judged against the legislated and agreed national criteria, justify the institution being established or recognised as a university in Queensland.

To do this, the committee will consider:

documentation supplied by the applicant and confer with the organisation's representatives
interview key academic and administrative staff and students
inspect the facilities of the proposed university, including any site master plan for future development.

Queensland Treasury will conduct a check on the organisation's financial capacity to support the proposed university. The assessment process also includes consultation with the higher education and broader communities.

The committee prepares a report, containing an overview of its findings, comments and recommendations to the Minister. The applicant is afforded the opportunity to comment on the report and recommendations.

The Minister will consider the report and the applicant's comments, and may approve the establishment or recognition of the proposed university, with or without conditions attached to the approval.

Alternatively, the Minister may refuse the application.

If the application is successful, the Minister will seek authority from Cabinet to prepare legislation to establish or recognise the university in Queensland. The legislation will include a power for the Minister to require information of the institution and set conditions on the institution, such as willingness to participate in periodic review processes, including national quality assurance processes.

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This page was last reviewed on 02 Jun 2010