A Very Peculiar Practice (1): Outsourcing of Education by Australian Universities

This paper examines the justification for the use of outsourcing by universities in Australia and the extent to which profit motives appear to outweigh the risks to the reputation of the university. Given that the universities have taken great care to arguably conceal the outsourcing of the education providers there are matters of concern that the students may perceive these actions as misleading or deceptive. In addition, the global ranking systems of universities have tended to place a greater emphasis on research rather than on the provision of education. The use of outsourcing would arguably appear to have some benefits for universities in the ranking process. However, if outsourcing should only be used for non-key activities and teaching would seem to be a key activity there seems to be an inconsistency.