29 October 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… If there is the collective will, a window of opportunity has opened for a serious discussion about the future architecture of Australian tertiary education and the funding mechanisms that would encourage genuine diversity to flourish, write Richard James and Leo Goedegebuure. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… After two lost years the sector desperately needs funding reforms. But how can the debate be placed on a new footing? We believe the answer lies in returning to first principles: what kinds of institutions, and what mix of institutions, would best serve Australia? Our thinking is simple: let’s develop a farsighted … [Read more...]
Birmingham releases “synthesis report” on HE reform
29/10/2015 by
The Australian | 28 October 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Commonwealth government has released a synthesis report of the past seven reviews of higher education over the past 30 years rather than conducting a further separate review in the wake of its failed higher education reform package. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Education minister Simon Birmingham told the Australian Financial Review’s Higher Education Summit said that the government is under intense time pressures to come up with a new and revitalised higher education reform package after its the package devised by former education minister Christopher Pyne was rejected by the Senate … [Read more...]
Universities warned to brace for funding cut
02/07/2015 by
The Australian | 1 July 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Universities have been warned their funding will be cut by 20% almost immediately, an average of $32 million a university, if the government can get its higher education reform package through the Senate by the end of the year. The legislation, rejected by the Senate in March, was due to be reintroduced during the budget sittings of Parliament but has been left to "lie fallow" as education minister Christopher Pyne presumably cultivates the Senate crossbenchers. Most informed commentary is that the legislation has little prospects of passing in its present form. So will the government amend the bill? … [Read more...]
Deregulating university fees “not essential” – new UA chair
11/06/2015 by
Fairfax Media | 31 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Deregulating university fees is not essential for Australia to have a sustainable and high quality university sector, according to the new chairman of peak body Universities Australia, Barney Glover. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Glover, who is the University of Western Sydney vice-chancellor, said the university funding debate must focus on the "compelling case" for increased government investment – not just requiring students to pay more for a degree. In an interview with Fairfax Media marking his arrival at Universities Australia, he also queried the effectiveness of Labor's proposal … [Read more...]
High Wired
21/05/2015 by
The Australian | 21 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Scan always checks The Australian's offbeat but always insightful High Wired for its take on higher education issues. The edition of 21 May is a particularly informative one. Here are snippets. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Cutting to the chase Amid all the welcoming noises about education minister Christopher Pyne’s review of the research training sector, HW was relieved to see the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations finding a different narrative. They made the (obvious) point that the review comes as the government is cutting the research training scheme by 10 per cent — … [Read more...]
The Scan # 169 15 May 2015
15/05/2015 by
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GDP spending on higher education set to fall to half OECD average 15 May 2015 | Spending on higher education as a proportion of GDP will fall from 0.56% in 2015 down to 0.48% in 2018, well below the OECD average of 1%, an analysis of the 2015 Budget figures has determined. According to Vin Massaro, an honorary professorial fellow with the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, higher education spending is slated to drop from $9.3bn in 2015, to $8.9bn in 2016, $9.1bn in 2017 and back to $9.3bn in 2018, representing a drop in GDP every year. … [Read more...]
The Zombies that make the numbers look good
13/05/2015 by
13 May 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Australian's editor-at-large Paul Kelly says the 2015 Budget has "one idea above all else right at its heart and that's about saving the Abbott government." Quite clearly The Oz's stable of writers and analysts think it's very much about positioning for an early election, should the portents seem promising. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Too right it's about positioning for an early election. As Fairfax Media's Peter Martin observes, "the coalition's second budget is propped up by "zombie measures" from its first. Announced a year ago but not yet passed in the Senate, they are politically dead but not yet formally … [Read more...]
