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Executive Director's Comment
An efficient equity framework?
13 May 2013
Sharon Bird the Minister for Higher Education and Skills has announced a new look at equity policy and revised arrangements for allocating the funding from the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP).
So what do these announcements mean in the age of efficiency, given the speech does not mention the Government efficiency dividend and the transformation of equity scholarships into equity debt? Will the Government now remove program acquittals and reduce project reporting to let universities exploit the Bradley policy settings as originally proposed?
Government changes to future higher education funding
7 May 2013
Government changes to future higher education funding
The IRU understands the fiscal challenge the Government faces. It has accepted the array of modifications to the Government's higher education reforms announced in each budget and mid-year review since 2011, as necessary to assist with restraint in budget outlays without undermining the thrust of the reforms flowing form the Bradley report and Senator Carr's additional research investment.
The Government's 2013 changes will serve to hamper severely the success of the Government reforms through reducing revenue per student and the bad policy in transforming a grant to students eligible for Youth Allowance into further graduate debt.
The tie to school funding is particularly galling.
Demand driven system fuels growth in science and technology students
18 March 2013
It is going unnoticed that the demand driven expansion of universities places is raising the number of students studying science and technology degrees and health profession degrees at a much higher rate than the growth in business, law and arts degrees.
Settling scores: universities can cope without ATARs
5 March 2013
Every year we require all five- to six-year-olds to enrol in primary school. We do not apply an Australian Primary Academic Rank (APAR) to determine who is most worthy of a place.
Seven years later nearly all those children move onto secondary school. Again, there is no entrance score required. If there were one, half of those beginning secondary schooling would have a ranking of 50 or under - a ranking some media regard as a fail.....
Some schools select students for academic capability but most private, and almost all government, schools enrol a wide range of students. We expect the schools to cope - to educate to their potential the full cohort of their students.
The HECS generation will lead a further surge in demand for HIgher Education
22 February 2013
The viability of HECS-HELP has been under scrutiny following the annual Grattan Institute report on Australian higher education.
The following looks at the inevitable tendency for overall outstanding HECS debts to rise and why, and then at the implications of the HECS generation for higher education policy.
Why acquitting the low-SES loading is a waste
9 November 2012
Is the low-SES loading paid to universities to encourage universities to enrol more low-SES students or is it paid to make universities spend more money?
The policy intent as set down in Bradley and endorsed by the Government is the former, the recent letter DIISRTE has sent to each university would make you think expenditure is the rationale for the payment. DIISRTE has indicated to each university that it will recover funds from the 2011 Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) grant if these have not been spent by end of 2012.
IRU presents at OECD
17 September 2012
Paris, France - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Headquarters.
Mr Conor King, Executive Director IRU and
Professor Richard James, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne.
Presented - Creating a Demand Drive System, An analysis of the early effects of Australia's policy for growing participation and attainment
at the Insitituional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) conference.
At what point does HECS break?
7 August 2012
At what point does HECS break? In response to the Grattan Institute Report Graduate Winners" the IRU argues that there are strong reasons to retain a mix of Government direct funding and Government loans to students as the main revenue sources for undergraduate higher education.
Executive Director's 2012 Budget summary
11 May 2012
2012 Budget decisions
SAVINGS measures
The Government targeted its savings at student benefits avoiding
reductions to universities' revenue.
1. Student contribution for science and mathematics units
The Government announced in December 2011 that from 2013 new students enrolling in science and mathematics units from 2013 would be charged up to the Band 2 rate, and no longer be limited to the national priority rate. The Budget has extended the change to existing students, bringing forward the full saving.
Funding Higher Education
30 April 2012
Base Funding for Higher Education: Exploring the possibilities
Monday 30 April 2012 - The Centre for the Study of Higher Education held a national seminar on the Base Funding Review for higher education. The IRU Executive Director's presentation is attached.
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