There’s one thing we can say for sure about higher education policy for the next 12 months: no matter which party wins the election, there will be more consultations and reviews. Last year, Labor announced a green paper-white paper approach ...
More »Budget snapshot: Key items affecting higher ed
SAVINGS MEASURES Higher Education Reform — deregulation shelved, funding cuts delayed to 2018 As explained in the budget papers regarding the government's deregulation reforms that were twice rejected by the senate: "The government will delay the implementation of the higher education reforms ...
More »Torch a flashpoint for innovation’s potential: Jacobs
The University of New South Wales’s Torch Innovation Precinct demonstrates how much of a mistake it would be for the federal government to carry on with predicted budget cuts and not invest in higher education, UNSW’s vice-chancellor has warned. Professor Ian Jacobs ...
More »Rankings kingpin warns against under-investing in unis
While Australia has performed solidly in this year’s Times Higher Education rankings of universities aged under 50 – the mastermind behind the list warns Australia’s performance could slip drastically if it doesn’t match the level of investment of its East ...
More »More funding for human research ethics committees: expert
The National Health and Medical Research Council must lobby government for funding to properly support human medical research ethics committees, an internationally renowned expert has argued. Professor Linda Shields, American Academy of Nursing fellow and Charles Sturt University nursing academic, ...
More »Lower HELP repayment threshold to $42,000: Norton
Grattan Institute modelling advocates lowering the HELP loan repayment threshold to $42,000 – calling it an “efficient and fair” solution to curb ballooning debt from unpaid loans. The current threshold stands at $54,126, though the federal Education Department estimates one-fifth ...
More »Remove barriers, then trigger ideas boom: report
“Welcome to the ideas boom,” is the catchcry of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. And universities are keen on the idea – they just want certainty it will happen. But now a report from Curtin University’s Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre (BCEC) has ...
More »Elite unis hard to reach for good students lacking money, study finds
International research supports a warning from the outgoing University of Canberra vice-chancellor that Australia’s universities perpetuate inequality. Earlier in February, soon-to-retire professor Stephen Parker challenged the perceived purpose of higher education in remarks made to the TJ Ryan Foundation. In his ...
More »Parker says unis help entrench inequality, offers solutions
Australian higher education perpetuates inequality, and ATAR should be scrapped and university places recapped to help fix the situation. That's the argument University of Canberra vice-chancellor professor Stephen Parker made in remarks to the TJ Ryan Foundation this week. Parker's comments came after a ...
More »Teaching degrees are uni cash cows: Dinham
Teaching degrees are used by universities as a cash cow and this can partially explain startling teacher attrition rates, an expert has said. Recent research from the Australian National University shows 30 to 50 per cent of teachers quit the ...
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