Access – The Scan

University fee deregulation bill

30/10/2014 by intermediatescan

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30 October 2014 Sector responses ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… It's hardly news that all the university groups are as one that there is no alternative to fee deregulation to provide the funding to maintain the quality of Australian higher education (given declining public funding). They are not as one on how the proposed Commonwealth Scholarship scheme funding (provided by students) should be divvied up: the Group of 8 and ATN argue the money should be held and disbursed by the collecting institution, the RUN and IRU argue that it should be pooled and disbursed on a needs basis. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Universities Australia Drawing on a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ATN, Budget, Group of 8, Higher education policy, Innovative Research Universities, The Scan, Universities Australia, University budgets, University reform Tagged With: Access, Budget 2014-15, Commonwealth scholarships, Equity, Fee deregulation, FEE-HELP, Fees, HECS-HELP, Senate inquiry into HERRA, University affordability

Forrest review says TAFE funding and courses should be decided by employers

04/08/2014 by intermediatescan

TDA Newsletter | 4 August 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… "Misguided", says TDA TAFE Directors Australia has labelled proposals to bypass TAFE and universities with TAFE divisions under the Forrest Review of Indigenous Training and Employment as “missing the mark” and likely to result in hundreds of millions of dollars in duplication. It also goes way beyond its remit in proposing to remake the entire VET system. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Martin Riordan, CEO of TDA, said while the approach by Mr Forrest was commendable to improve the capacity for indigenous communities to enter employment, it ignored the demand-led industry system of VET … [Read more...]

Filed Under: TAFE Directors Australia, The Scan, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: Access, Equity, Indigenous access, Indigenous participation, Tertiary participation

ACPET: govt to be commended on crucial reforms

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

ACPET | 13 May 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… "The government’s higher education reforms are a major milestone, and deliver equity and fairness for the growing number of higher education students choosing to undertake their degree or sub- degree program at a non-university institution." ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, Claire Field has commended the government on its investment in tertiary education and creation of a level playing field for all tertiary students. “In what is clearly a difficult budget environment, the government is to be commended for its … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACPET, Budget, Coalition policies, Higher education policy, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: Access, Equity, FEE-HELP, Fees, Higher education in VET, non-university higher education, Tertiary participation, VET

NTEU: road to ruin for public higher education

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

NTEU | 14 May 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… No longer will students gain entry into university based solely on academic merit, but on their capacity and willingness to pay the market price for a degree. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The Budget has seen Tony Abbott succeed in his quest to be known as an ‘infrastructure prime minister’. He and Christopher Pyne have paved a road to ruin for our public higher education system. Student fees will now skyrocket at some universities, university funding has been cut, the cost of servicing student debt will increase and the viability of some of our universities will be undermined by for-profit private … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy, National Tertiary Education Union Tagged With: Access, Demand driven system, Equity, FEE-HELP, Fees, HECS, non-university higher education, NTEU

TDA: finally a fair deal for TAFE on higher education

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

TDA | 14 May 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Concerns for apprenticeship students with cost shift from grants to loans. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Advocacy initiated by TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) over more than four years has emerged successful, with Budget 2014 overhauling Federal course funding contributions toward students enrolling in higher education courses at TAFE Institutes and non-university institutions. The deregulation of higher education, to take place from 1 January 2016, is listed as one of three features of Budget 2014, along with the Infrastructure Growth Package, and the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund. Student … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy, TAFE, TAFE Directors Australia, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: Access, Apprenticeships, FEE-HELP, Fees, HECS-HELP, non-university higher education, TAFE, Tertiary participation, VET, VET funding

RUN: an ambitious budget for higher education

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

RUN | 14 May 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… " ...keeping the demand driven system for bachelor places and extending it to sub-bachelor places...will assist in providing pathways and lift participation in higher education in regional Australia for less well prepared students," ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The Regional Universities Network (RUN) welcomes the announcement in the Budget of an ambitious program of reform for higher education which recognises the importance of the sector to Australia. The Treasurer and the Minister are to be congratulated for highlighting the important role Universities play in Australia’s future. The Chair of RUN, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Government, Higher education policy, Regional, Regional Universities Network, Research, universities Tagged With: Access, Demand driven system, Deregulation, Equity, FEE-HELP, Fees, HECS, Regional delivery, Regional universities

IRU: A package to explore for the future

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

IRU | 14 May 2013 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… "Ensuring the open charges system is introduced well, is a major challenge. The changes move more of the cost of higher education onto students, including research students. We need to ensure that this works and that students gain the education they deserve and need for the additional impost." ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The IRU will engage actively with the Government on the final shape of the interlinked set of changes to the structure of higher education in Australia it announced in the 2014 Budget. Bringing together all higher education provision in Australia with a combination of base Government … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Higher education policy, IRU, Research, universities Tagged With: Access, budget, Demand driven system, Deregulation, FEE-HELP, Fees, HECS, Research funding

Go8: Structural reform of higher education long overdue

14/05/2014 by intermediatescan

Group of Eight | 13 May 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… “These historic reforms reconcile access and quality, and make growth affordable.” ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The Group of Eight (Go8) commends the Government for progressing structural reform of higher education in its first budget. “The Government has announced a number of important measures to position the Australian higher education sector for the future,” said Go8 Chair, Professor Ian Young AO. “These historic reforms reconcile access and quality, and make growth affordable.” The Government has announced its intention to extend the demand-driven system to non-university … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Coalition policies, Government, Group of 8, Research, Science, universities Tagged With: Access, budget, Demand driven system, Fees, non-university higher education

A system of capped funding?

14/11/2013 by intermediatescan

IRU News | 1 November 2013 Capping university funding, as proposed by Melbourne University vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis, would create a system that would be opaque, have no coherence across institutions and invite extensive micro managing of university expenditure, writes Conor King of the Innovative Research Universities group. What does it mean to change university funding to a capped funding amount which universities can use as they will? Can it both give Government certainty of expenditure and protect universities from micro managing of their operations? Under current arrangements universities receive base funding based on the load of enrolled students in particular … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Budget, Higher education policy, IRU, Uncategorized, University of Melbourne Tagged With: Access, Diversity, Equity, Fees, Funding, HECS, Tertiary participation, university admission

Pyne announces review of demand driven system

12/11/2013 by intermediatescan

Commonwealth Media | 12 November 2013 The minister for education, Christopher Pyne, has announced the scope of his foreshadowed review of the demand driven funding system for higher education. He has appointed former education minister David Kemp and director of higher education at the Grattan Institute (and and a senior adviser to then minister Kemp) Andrew Norton to undertake the review and report to the government in mid-February 2014. As education minister, Kemp proposed deregulation of fees, following the West review of higher education (Learning for Life), but it was torpedoed by John Howard after the proposal leaked, which never made it to cabinet. Norton (self … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth policies, Government, Grattan Institute, Higher education policy Tagged With: Access, Demand driven system, Diversity, Equity, Funding, Tertiary participation, university admission