Although the government has identified a real problem, its heavy-handed regulation would create unnecessary red tape for universities and exclude students who should get a second chance.
Doubling the cost of degrees in the humanities and social sciences has a disproportionate impact on women because they account for two-thirds of the students.
More than 70 of Australia’s Laureate professors have signed a letter to the minister for education, Dan Tehan, outlining the flaws in the proposed university reforms.
From December 2017 (when the government put a cap on demand-driven funding) to 2024 (when the Job-ready graduates package is fully implemented) — the government will save nearly A$1 billion annually.
Experts predict today’s graduates will have several different careers throughout their working life. The government’s university changes seem ignorant of this.
Research shows predictions for the jobs of the future are unreliable, and the government’s funding changes don’t match what their own data shows about future earnings.
The implications of the government’s announcement are about more than incentivising the career trajectories of students. They are a direct assault on the premise of universities.
The education minister has outlined reforms to higher education funding aimed at producing ‘job ready graduates’. But his announcements don’t seem completely in line with the data.
This essay explores the way the social contract between universities, society and the state has changed over the course of the 20th century. And how generations of students paid and benefited.
For years, we’ve heard Australia’s spending on tertiary education is some of the lowest in the OECD. This is only true if you ignore GDP growth. Real spending was actually going up, until 2016.
In 2018, domestic numbers for undergraduate courses fell for the first time since 2013 – they will remain stagnant for some years. This and other factors put unis at face financial risk.
Around 7.5% of university government funding will be tied to performance measures, including graduate outcomes and participation rates of disadvantaged students.
Evaluation is a critical tool for decisions on improving performance. It also assures that African universities are getting value for money from grants, donations and the like.