Australian universities as enterprise universities: Transformed players on a global stage

During the last decade, competition for funding and privatization transformed most Australian universities into corporate enterprises. This paper describes three Australian universities, established in different eras, all restructuring themselves to become more enterprising: Melbourne University (1855), a traditional university, recently developing Melbourne Private, and creating an alliance, Universitas 21, with Australian and overseas universities to deliver online courses; Monash University, established in 1961, becoming a multiversity by merging six campuses in Australia and building campuses in Malaysia and South Africa, and capitalizing on satellite television and other new technologies extending open learning to students in Australia and overseas; and Murdoch University, a small university established in 1975, beginning as an alternative university and now struggling to be a global player in this competitive environment. Pressures are mounting for all Australian universities to commercialize, to become more utilitarian, and to market their courses more aggressively in Australia and overseas. This paper discusses the potential benefits of these transformations, some of the controversies surrounding these decisions, and the possible negative consequences for these universities of becoming corporate enterprises