Universities have seen a decade of cuts and unfavourable policies under the Coalition government. Here’s what the major parties should be promising now.
Capital city universities can use income from foreign students to maintain their buildings. Their regional cousins are struggling.
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If you’re confused about all the millions and billions thrown around for education by the two major parties, here’s the low-down on what the policies actually mean.
A demand-driven funding model increased enrolments dramatically.
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Labor’s main election promise for higher education is to restore the demand-driven system of funding, also known as scrapping the “cap” on government funding. Here’s why that would be a good policy.
We need a tertiary education funding system that will help get students into courses with employment opportunities at the end of them.
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If Labor is to once again uncap university funding, vocational education reform is a vital.
The legacy of capping funding for universities will be a less skilled future workforce, and an Australian youth that miss out on the educational opportunities available to their parents.
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Discontinuing the demand driven system will mean less people are able to get a higher education, particularly groups of people who are already at a disadvantage.
Capping the number of students at current levels would reduce future participation in tertiary education.
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The main failure of university expansion is the unwillingness to fund it. Costs are certainly escalating, but priorities are always political as well as financial.
Under a demand driven system, poor students are finding more opportunities to attend university.
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While on the face of it a 1.5% increase in the number of disadvantaged students going to university might seem minimal, in real terms this is genuinely significant.
How have student enrolment patterns changed since the government introduced the “demand-driven” system in 2012?
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Tim Pitman, Curtin University y Paul Koshy, Curtin University
The latest Selected Higher Education Statistics have revealed an increase in student attrition, or the percentage of students commencing in 2013 who neither completed nor re-enrolled in 2014.
Academics want to conduct blue sky research, but that’s not why people pay to go to university.
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In recent years higher education enrolments have surged. This is triggering many policy issues including ballooning student debt.
Students with low ATARs are less likely to graduate from university, but very likely to leave with debt. So is it ethical to give places to all-comers?
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Controversies surrounding university courses with low ATAR admission requirements have become a January ritual. Once universities make their offers to potential students, debates start over whether widening…
More people are going to university, which means pass rates are dropping in many cases.
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Since the removal of caps on how many people can attend university came into effect, enrolments at Australian universities have grown by close to 40%. Earlier this year the Group of Eight elite universities…
The demand driven system has opened up more university places, but not all equity groups are seeing an increase in their share.
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The 2013 student data has been released, which includes information on access for groups of students under-represented in higher education. Lately, most of the attention has been on students from low socio-economic…
Vice-Chancellor of Southern Cross University Peter Lee says universities have to consider their social obligations when looking to raise student fees.
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In tackling the challenge of funding universities, we constantly confront a particular conundrum. Universities are hybrid organisations, straddling the public and private spheres. We are creatures of (mainly…
A financially sustainable higher education sector is one that meets costs through a combination of user charges and government revenue.
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Late last year, education minister Christopher Pyne announced a review of Australia’s demand-driven system (DDS) of higher education. Pyne wants to know if it is: Increasing participation (particularly…