Responses by Some Australian Universities to Demand-Driven Policy Reforms by Prof. Emeritus Frank Larkins Frank Larkins' latest analysis on Australian higher education looks at the responses to the demand-driven reforms of 2009. 2016 postgraduate courses - applications open and online info sessions available Master of Tertiary Education Management A two-year, part time course designed for middle to senior level educators, administrators and scholars seeking to extend their knowledge and skills in tertiary sector leadership and management. Read more about the course. Read also about the recent papers by our graduates which were published in … [Read more...]
Higher education isn’t like other markets
04/09/2014 by
The Conversation | 3 September 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The government’s higher education reform package has been referred to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee for consideration and report by 28 October. Leo Goedegebuure, director of the LH Martin Institute, argues that "if higher education policy research has resulted in anything significant over the last decades, it is the almost uniform agreement that unregulated market coordination does not work". Just look to the "mother of all unregulated systems" in the US and the concerns of US families and policy-makers. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Tertiary … [Read more...]
Higher ed bill: what’s likely to pass and what’s likely to be be blocked
01/09/2014 by
The Conversation | 1 September 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The higher education reform bill , if passed, it will result in the most significant changes to the Australian higher education system since the Dawkins reforms a quarter of a century ago. However, it is unlikely to make it through the Senate in its current form. Education Minister Christopher Pyne has as much as accepted this. He is prepared for a marathon, not a sprint, suggesting it might take until November before the Senate decides the fate of the bill. Each of the following elements of the bill will be debated at length. Tim Pitman (Curtin University) assesses the likelihood of passage of the … [Read more...]
Setting non-university student subsidy gets tricky
17/07/2014 by
17 July 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… With the Higher Education Legislation and Financing Working Group having delivered its advice to the government on extending public subsidies to student places at non-university higher education providers, the speculation is that it will be proposing a considerably lower rate for these providers and for sub-degree programs. The Australian Council of Private Education and Training (ACPET) isn’t particularly happy. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......… A review of budget documents by The Australian indicates that if the higher education reforms announced in the Budget are implemented, undergraduates can expect to attract an … [Read more...]
Higher education outside the universities: a better option?
03/07/2014 by
Grattan Institute | 3 July 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The likely extension of commonwealth student subsidies to non-university providers portends big changes for the higher education sector. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Australia has around 130 higher education providers outside the university system. They are a diverse group, ranging from large multinational companies to small theological colleges to the TAFEs now offering degrees. Together they enrol more than 70,000 students. These numbers could increase significantly in the future as a result of the government accepting a recommendation of the review of the demand driven funding system, to … [Read more...]
Govt blinking over budget measures
24/05/2014 by
ABC News | 24 May 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Commonwealth government has conceded it will need to compromise on some of its more controversial budget measures to get them through a hostile Senate. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Education minister Christopher Pyne has told told Fairfax Media that he accepts his plan to deregulate universities is unlikely to pass in full. He said he is "realistic enough" to see that the proposal will require amendments. Pyne has highlighted potential changes to the interest rate and salary threshold at which students would be required to pay back their university loans. Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the … [Read more...]
The Scan #150 23 May 2014
23/05/2014 by
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Making a stab at fees poses grave risks: UA 22 May 2013 | With Prime Minister Tony Abbott acknowledging that he can’t guarantee that university fees might not double, University Australia chair Sandra Harding says that there are “grave risks” in a precipitate move to fee deregulation, set to take place in 2016. As the new fee regime will apply to all enrolments after 14 May 2014, students enrolling after that date will not know the fees that will apply from 1 January 2016 until such time as universities announce their fees. In order to provide some degree of certainty and inform student … [Read more...]
