Tim McLellan

Here is a clip from the exchange on UniForum between ANU exec and Senator Mehreen Faruqi.

Apologies for video quality and big thank you to Senator @mehreenfaruqi.bsky.social for continuing to be such a fantastic advocate for better university governance.

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Second, ANU’s COO admitted “we don’t have access to the underlying formulas and the raw data, we have access to the [Nous authored] reports”.

This suggests university executives are making huge decisions based on proprietary UniForum data and methodology that they have no way of scrutinizing.

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Some very interesting revelations about UniForum at Senate Estimates last night.

First, ANU exec appears to have misled the Senate by implying they gave staff access to the underlying UniForum data and methodology.

In fact, they gave staff little more than opaque scatter plots like this one👇

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Exclusive: University sought secret KPMG staff spreadsheet The University of Technology Sydney denied the existence of a KPMG spreadsheet ranking the research performance of academics, in breach of its EBA, until it was forced to release it.

University of Technology Sydney ordered a spreadsheet from KPMG targeting individual academics by research income, which might contravene the bargaining agreement. They repeatedly denied it even existed for several info requests. But that wasn't true. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/educati...

Absolutely, this is one of the concerns I raise in the Senate submission. I’m also planning to dig deeper into this by running interviews with staff who are asked to respond to UniForum’s surveys. In the broader project, I’m very keen to engage with the experiences staff have these things.

Put simply, where universities have competent leaders and are governed through robust structures, one would not expect to find them relying on UniForum data or external consults to the extent that we see at so many universities in Australia and beyond.

These problems include: senior executives lacking the appropriate skills, character, and expertise to run universities; excessive emphasis on cost-cutting; and toxic workplace cultures that are inconducive to upward feedback or collaborative governance.

I argue that we need greater transparency about and scrutiny of the role of external consultants in university governance.

More fundamentally, however, reliance on consultants reflects much deeper problems with how universities are run.

Nous’ simultaneous contracts with unis and the Dep. of Education create conflicts of interest.

e.g. in 2024, DoE paid Nous to summarize public feedback on a University Accords discussion paper. Nous’ 80-page summary fails to mention feedback criticizing the role of consultants in uni governance.

University restructures often follow a similar playbook.

If restructures are based on UniForum data, then its blind spots and biases may be hardwiring a flawed, one-size-fits-all model of governance across the sector — a model that undermines educational quality and institutional diversity.

UniForum is operated by Nous – a firm who charge unis millions a year to tell them how to operate.

One wing of Nous provides "independent" UniForum data that shows the case for change at a uni, then a second wing of the same company swoops in to sell a program of cuts to deliver that change.

If you begin to open the UniForum black box, however, it’s clear that:
❌UniForum’s underlying data and methodology are poor
❌Data analysis is selective, inconsistent and opaque
❌UniForum benchmarks create perverse incentives

I also ask how UniForum fits into Nous’ wider business model:

Nous and uni execs use scientific-looking graphs and scientific-sounding jargon to imply UniForum data is grounded in rigorous methods and expert consensus. This performance of authority lends UniForum data an air of credibility and facticity that makes acting upon its results irresistible.

Image of a scatterplot graph titled, “Overall effectiveness score vs normalised cost – parts 1 & 2 services.” Graph subtitle: “Net Satisfaction (-100 to +100), Parts 1& 2 Services 2017 – 2023” Vertical axis is titled: “increasing effectiveness score” Horizontal axis is titled: "increasing normalised cost for services assessed”. Each point on the graph represents a university. ANU is highlighted in the bottom right of the graph implying that it have poor service effectiveness and high cost.

UniForum is a “benchmarking service” that Nous provides to universities globally.

University executives frequently invoke UniForum as an objective justification for cuts and redundancies.

This UniForum graph, for example, was a centerpiece of the case ANU’s ex-VC made to Council for Renew ANU. 👇

Image shows a screenshot of the conclusion of the linked Senate inquiry submission. This text can be found on page 10. The text is too long for alt text, but here is the first three quarters of the text: Conclusion Over the past decade, Nous Group’s UniForum data has quietly taken on the status of authoritative benchmark for the quality of a range of professional and academic services performed by public universities in Australia and across the world. This authoritative status is performed through scientific-looking graphs and scientific-sounding jargon designed to imply UniForum data is generated through rigorous methods and backed by expert consensus. This performance of authority is significant: it lends UniForum data an air of credibility and facticity that makes acting upon its results irresistible. When one begins to open the black box and examine how UniForum data is actually produced, however, it becomes difficult to justify the degree to which Australian university executives are relying upon it in their decision-making. My analysis is based on a review of publicly available documents, and it is therefore possible that Nous or its clients would point to things not in the public domain that address some of the conceptual and methodological flaws that I have highlighted in UniForum. But the fact that the underlying UniForum data and methodology is not in the public domain is itself one of the key causes for concerns. When the stakes are so high, it cannot be acceptable for Nous Group and its clients to simply tell university staff and governing councils, ‘trust us, these numbers are based on rigorous methods and analysis.’ The lack of rigor, external scrutiny, and transparency in UniForum’s underlying data and methodology would be a cause for concern in any public institution, but it is especially concerning in the context of universities where rigorous, transparent, and accountable knowledge production is a core part of what we do. ...

Private consultants are taking control of how public universities are evaluated and run.

My submission to the Senate university governance inquiry raises concerns about the impact of Nous Group and their dodgy UniForum data on our universities.

www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStor...

A thread

I am one of the staff members impacted by this. I truly thought when I first read the email that it might mean my job is safe because I have not yet been made redundant, but, no, I am still facing the axe. It was a maliciously cruel email to send.

Good on you Francis! Thank you for your courage and integrity, and for all the work you’ve done to stand up for our university and our community.

@drdemography.com Thank you for your words and for speaking up. We are with you.

Open letter: Concerns Regarding the Treatment of Casual Sessional Academics at ANU This letter is now open for signatures, and will be sent on August 18, 2025. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letter to Minister for Education Jason Clare, Se...

Important open letter concerning the poor and rapidly worsening treatment of our casual sessional colleagues at @ouranu.bsky.social

ANU staff please read and consider adding your signatures.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Check in with your colleagues this week, and please submit feedback about these damaging and unnecessary cuts. Support from academics and students is critical.

'Hunger Games scenario': four ANU lecturers and only three jobs Four lecturers going for three jobs speak out about the stress and the cost.

This is based on an interview I did last week. For days, I’ve been anxious about repercussions for speaking to media. I was totally overwhelmed to discover today that my colleagues have all stuck their necks out with me.

I have the best colleagues!

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/901572...

Day after this puff piece went out, I was called into a meeting to tell me I'm in a spill and fill along with three amazing friends and colleagues.

To the meeting, I wore Nanyang 205S Sneakers. For those who know, they are as much a style item as a Tesco Bag for Life. 👟

ANU VC made a serious allegation against NTEU ACT division secretary today on ABC radio, totally unchallenged. Asked why the VC hadn’t met with the union head, Bell claimed Clohesy screams out front the VC’s building for the VC to rot in hell. Gobsmacking allegation. It’s untrue.

NTEU supports the Australian Council of Trade Unions call for an end to the occupation of Palestine and a just and sustainable peace.

Read the full statement here: nteu.info/actustatement
@australianunions.bsky.social

By deskilling household surveys, AR4D produces poor social science, devalues field officers and perpetuates colonial hierarchies of knowledge.

Ben Eyre and I argue that to challenge this we need alternative repertoires of 'scientific rigor' like 'situated knowledges'.

doi.org/10.1177/0030...

ANU Council vote is a damning indictment on the leadership & governing body. Staff have had enough. I believe Dr Francis Markham is best-suited.

Francis is a fearless & formidable advocate who will stand up for the ANU community & hold Council to account www.anu.edu.au/about/govern...

Asian Tricks and Research Misconduct: From Orientalism and Occidentalism to Solidarity against Audit Cultures Science journalism and academic commentary often paints China as a nation plagued by publication misconduct and beset with an immature culture of research ethics. Aspects of this commentary are ech...

Narratives of research misconduct in China reproduce Orientalist prejudices and romanticize science in the West.

In my new article, I suggest some starting points for a more inclusive and less nostalgic conversation about audit cultures and the futures of global science.

doi.org/10.1080/1875...

Excited to be hosting @anthroprofhage.bsky.social at ANU next Monday. Join his seminar in-person or online at 3pm AEST.
archanth.cass.anu.edu.au/events/pierr....

Happy IWD to everyone except the Vice Chancellor of ANU whose corrupt and incompetent management of the institution has meant that the “remarkable female leaders” she celebrates, including myself, wake up every day not knowing if we will even have a job in the coming weeks #VoteNoConfidence #ANU