Grattan Institute aspires to contribute to public policy in Australia as a liberal democracy in a globalised economy. Our work is objective, evidence-driven and non-aligned. We foster informed public debate on the key issues for Australia through both public events and private forums engaging key decision makers and the broader community. Twitter: @GrattanInst
The architect of Australia’s student loan system has poured cold water on a report highlighting record levels of student debt, saying he would not be surprised if a fifth of all student debt was never…
Online course host Coursera will verify the identities of participating students using web cams and technology that can fingerprint an individual’s unique typing style under a pilot project announced this…
Almost two hundred medical students from diverse countries have just finished their medical education as full-fee-paying students. They’re now looking for the one year of employment (internship) they need…
The impact of university research can and should be measured, says Australian Technology Network executive director Vicki Thomson, but more work needs to be done before impact can be linked to funding…
Major barriers still stand in the way of Australian universities giving students credit for completing Massive Open Online Courses say local analysts, despite Coursera signing up Los Angeles-based Antioch…
Australian universities should be wary of being their “own worst enemy” when embracing Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) delivery, says Australian National University vice chancellor Ian Young. Comparing…
Melbourne University has become the first Australian university to join the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provider Coursera. Coursera offers free study subjects to anyone with internet access, with…
Recent media reports have highlighted an anomaly in residential aged-care funding in Australia: that day-to-day operations of facilities are governed by both Commonwealth and state government policies…
Australian cities are growing fast – and fastest at the fringe. Streets, houses, parks and shops are appearing where recently all was paddocks and cows. A new house is completed in an urban growth area…
This week the Australian Government announced that the “payment for closure” element of the Clean Energy Future package would not proceed. The decision has saved taxpayers a multi-billion dollar outlay…
This is a story about two small Aboriginal communities in the Gulf region of North Queensland: Mornington Island and Doomadgee. They share two key characteristics with many other remote communities: very…
Carbon trading without a floor price is “second best policy” that will see Australian carbon prices tied to the European economy says John Daley, chief executive officer of public policy analysis group…
After releasing my report, Graduate Winners: Assessing the public and private benefits of higher education, the question I have most been asked is: if university fees go up, will students still come? It’s…
Today’s proposal by the Grattan Institute for higher education students to pay more will be viewed by many as unfair and unreasonable, says Australian National University Professor Bruce Chapman. “No one…
When some of the world’s most prestigious universities – including Harvard and MIT in their edX venture or Stanford and Princeton through Coursera – start putting courses online for free, it tells you…
When it comes to reducing emissions, most serious analysts agree: the market works best, but the market is not enough. The International Energy Agency, the OECD, leading British climate economist Nicholas…
If Australian governments are serious about raising rates of economic growth, they must reform the tax mix and increase the workforce participation rates of women and older people. Each of these reforms…
Teacher bonus schemes are yet another example of education reform with the wrong focus. They narrowly look at teachers and their performance, and not the needs of students and their learning. It’s the…
One in five academics from a range of fields say they have come under pressure from journals to pad out their papers with unnecessary citations to get published, a large survey has found. Analysis of 6,672…
Contrary to fears of falling enrolments in the sciences, the proportion of students taking science at Australian universities has been remarkably stable over the past half century: in 1962 16.4 per cent…