Higher Education Policy and History

Research themes

This research program aims to develop a range of historical reflections, contemporary analyses, critical studies and forward-looking perspectives on:

• Higher and tertiary education policy and policy-making in Australia and beyond, including access, funding, marketisation and the political economy of HE.
• The history of higher education and universities in Australia, especially at critical points in the development of the sector and the nation, including the history of the University of Melbourne.
• Higher and tertiary education system governance, including government-institution relations, federal and state policy, legislation and the role of intermediary bodies in higher and tertiary education.
• Institutional governance, leadership and management in higher and tertiary education, including an understanding of the organisational cultures of higher education institutions and the influence of institutional rankings.
• How universities and their staff and students engage with external partners and collaborators, how knowledge is transmitted, exchanged and co-created and how this activity can be evaluated and measured.
• The role of tertiary education and research in regional innovation and the development of regional knowledge and capabilities.
• The changing higher education workforce, including academic and professional roles, careers and working conditions, shifting staffing patterns, the role and nature of doctoral education and the particular needs of early career and casual academics.

Contributing Researchers

• Associate Professor Gwilym Croucher, Associate Professor in Higher Education Policy and Management
• Liz Bare, Honorary Fellow
• Janet Beard, Honorary Senior Fellow
• Dr Mark Rahimi, Senior Research Fellow
• Dr Ross Jones, Senior Fellow, Lead Project Editor, Indigenous History Project
• Professor Andrew Norton, Honorary Fellow
• Associate Professor James Waghorne, Principal Research Fellow - Uni History Program
• Mark Warburton, Honorary Fellow
• Associate Professor Peter Woelert, Research Associate
• Professor Chris Ziguras, Professor in Higher Education

Selected recent publications

• Croucher, G., & Bare, L. (2026). Where has the ‘precariat’ done the heavy academic lifting? Examining detailed data on academic casual employment in Australian universities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 1–19.
• Croucher, G., & Rahimi, M. (2026). Analysing the costs of teaching in universities through structural cost profiling. Higher Education, 1-37.
• Woelert, P., Croucher, G. & Hoang, S. (2026). The rise of a “casualised” workforce: A conceptual account of the institutional forces legitimising contingent academic employment in Australia. Highger Education, 91, 23–38.
• Jones, R. L., Waghorne, J., & Langton, M. (Eds.). (2025). Dhoombak goobgoowana: a history of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne (Vol 2: Voice). Melbourne University Publishing.
• Croucher, G. (2025).  Academic Democracy in the Age of Corporate Governance: Addressing Challenges to Widening Participation in University Governance. Higher Education Quarterly, 79, no. 3.
• Waghorne, J. (2024). Different forms of friendship: Overseas and Indigenous students at the University of Melbourne, 1950–1960. History of Education Review 53(2): 135–147.
• Jones, R. L., Waghorne, J., & Langton, M. (Eds.). (2024). Dhoombak goobgoowana: a history of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne (Vol. 1: Truth). Melbourne University Publishing.
• Croucher, G., & Lacy, W. B. (2022). The emergence of academic capitalism and university neoliberalism: Perspectives of Australian higher education leadership. Higher Education, 83, 279-295.
• Croucher, G., & Woelert, P. (2021). Administrative transformation and managerial growth: A longitudinal analysis of changes in the non-academic workforce at Australian universities. Higher Education, 84, 159-175.
• Croucher, G., & Waghorne, J. (2020). Australian Universities : A history of common cause. UNSW Press.
• Waghorne, J. (2022). By students, for students: A history of the Melbourne University Union. Australian Scholarly Publishing.
• Croucher, G., Goedegebuure, L., James, R. & Ahsan, A. (2018) Scoping study to inform the Review of the Higher Education Provider Category Standards, LH Martin Institute & Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• James, R., Baik, C., Millar, V., Naylor, R., Bexley, E., Kennedy, G., Krause, K., Hughes-Warrington, M., Sadler, D., Booth, S., & Johnston, C. (2015). Advancing the quality and status of teaching in Australian higher education, Australian Government Department of Education, Office for Learning & Teaching.

Research reports

• Croucher, G., Baré, E. & Moore, K. (2024) Patterns of casual academic employment In Australian higher education, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne
• Larkins, F. (2024) Examining gendered differences in participation in higher education, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• Is Australian higher education fit for the next generation? Establishing a diverse higher
  education sector that can meet future needs. (2024). Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Croucher, G., & Ziguras., C. (2023)  What are the implications of a levy on International Student Fees?, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Baré, E., Beard, J., & Tjia, T. (2023) What happened to casual academic staff in Australian public universities in 2020?, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Croucher, G. (2023) Three decades of change in Australia’s university workforce, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Warburton, M. (2023) Gender, equity and policy neglect in student financing of tertiary education, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Norton, A. (2022) From public to private benefit: The shifting rationales for setting student
  contributions, Occasional Paper Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
• Croucher, G., & Locke, W. (2020) A post-coronavirus pandemic world: some possible trends and their implications for Australian higher education, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• Locke, W., & French, S. (2019) Developing a new vision for post-secondary education: Ideas for government, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• Croucher, G., Goedegebuure, L., James, R. & Ahsan, A. (2018) Scoping study to inform the Review of the Higher Education Provider Category Standards, LH Martin Institute & Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• James, R., French, S., & Kelly, P. (2017) Visions for Australian tertiary education, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
• Lacy, W. B., Croucher, G., Brett, A., & Mueller, R. (2017) Australian universities at a crossroads: Insights from the leaders and implications for the future, Centre for the Study of Higher Education & Berkley Center for Studies in Higher Education.
• French, S., & Kennedy, G. (2015) The value of campus in contemporary higher education, Centre for the Study of Higher Education.

CSHE Occasional Papers

• Is Australian higher education fit for the next generation? Establishing a diverse higher
  education sector that can meet future needs. (2024). Report from the roundtable discussion.
• Patterns of casual academic employment in Australian higher education. (2024). Authors: Croucher, G., Baré, E. & Moore, K.
• Examining gendered n in higher education. (2024). Author: Larkins, F
• What are the implications of a levy on International Student Fees? (2023). Authors: Croucher, G. & Ziguras, C.
• What happened to casual academic staff in Australian public universities in 2020? (2023). Authors: Baré, E., Beard, J. & Tjia, T.
• Three decades of change in Australia’s university workforce. (2023). Author: Croucher, G.
• Gender, equity and policy neglect in student financing of tertiary education. (2023). Author: Warburton, M.
• From public to private benefit: The shifting rationales for setting student contributions. (2022). Author: Norton, A.
• A post-coronavirus pandemic world: Some possible trends and their implications for Australian higher education. (2020). Authors: Croucher, G. & Locke, W.
• Developing a new vision for post-secondary education: Ideas for government. (2019). Authors: Locke, W. & French, S.
• Visions for Australian tertiary education. (2017). Authors: James, R., French, S. & Kelly, P.
• Australian universities at a crossroads: Insights from the leaders and implications for the future. (2017). Authors: Lacy, W. B., Croucher, G., Brett, A. & Mueller, R. CSHE & Berkley Center for Studies in Higher Education.
• The value of campus in contemporary higher education. (2015). Authors: French, S. & Kennedy, G.