ANU Poll 2019: Role of the University

This poll is the twenty-ninth in an ongoing series of polls being undertaken by the Social Research Centre for the ANU. Their purpose is to assess Australians' opinions on important and topical issues, with an emphasis on international comparisons. These polls are typically conducted three times a year, or about every four months. Some questions appear in every poll in order to provide information about changes in opinion over time; the majority of questions appear in one poll only. This research is used to inform public debate and policy about issues affecting Australia. The aim of this poll is to measure Australians’ opinions on the role of the university. The study looked at confidence in universities broadly, as well as specific aspects of the university system. A representative sample of the Australian population was asked what they thought universities should be teaching and whether they are teaching the most important things either in general, or for the future labour market. Some data on two current policy debates related to universities – foreign students and academic freedom, were provided. The questionnaire included questions on gambling as well.

本次民意调查是澳大利亚国立大学（Australian National University, ANU）社会研究中心正在推进的系列民调中的第29项。该系列调查旨在评估澳大利亚民众对各类重要热点议题的看法，并重点开展国际比较研究。此类民调通常每年开展三次，即每四个月左右实施一次。部分问题会在每一期民调中重复出现，以追踪民众观点随时间的变化趋势；绝大多数问题仅在单期民调中设置。本系列研究可为影响澳大利亚的相关议题的公共辩论与政策制定提供决策参考。本次调查的核心目标是测度澳大利亚民众对大学职能的看法。研究不仅从整体层面评估民众对大学的信任度，还涵盖了高等教育体系的多个具体维度。调研团队向具有全国代表性的澳大利亚民众样本提问，内容涵盖民众认为大学应开设的课程方向，以及大学是否在通用层面或面向未来劳动力市场的维度上传授了最核心的知识技能。本次调查还收集了两项与高等教育相关的当前政策议题——外国留学生与学术自由——的相关数据。此外，调查问卷还设置了有关赌博议题的问题。