Illusion or reality? Diversity in the Unified National System

The changes in higher education in Australia following implementation of the White Paper proposals of 1988 have been far reaching. Many are concerned to gain some picture of what the new Unified National System looks like and anxious to know how the new universities, especially those formed through mergers, are evolving. As there was so much controversy attendant upon the birth of this new system it is surprising that there has been so little analysis of the impact of the change on institutions. Only one paper has yet been published (Dixon 1990) describing in any detail the evolution of one of the ‘new’ universities. This paper seeks to address some of the concerns which have been raised by commentators on the restructuring by examining early predictions that the new arrangements would adversely affect the diversity of the higher education system in Australia. It focusses on the formal decision making processes which established the mission and objectives in one of the ‘new’ universities and discusses the implementation of this mission in key areas. There are obvious limitations in concentrating on a single institution but there does seem to be merit in an analysis that is based on detailed scrutiny of an actual example rather than the broad system‐wide generalisations commonly employed by those who claim an increase in homogeneity. In conclusion I will suggest some areas where research and critical scrutiny of what is occurring might be fruitful.