This Month
Fixing the ‘crisis’ of Australian universities
Higher education, in the words of one expert, is in “serious trouble”. Can Jason Clare, regarded as the nicest minister in Canberra, fix the system?
Labor wants 50/50 split between universities and VET
The move would mean pushing tens of thousands of prospective university students towards TAFE and other vocational courses.
May
Trump’s war on Harvard could cripple Australian research
The blunt-force targeting of foreign students is not only reckless but erodes the pillars of intellectual diversity that Trump claims to be defending.
Unis to increase fees as international student numbers fall: S&P
Top-tier universities will be hit hardest by falling enrolments but can most easily increase fees for courses seen as “luxury goods”, the ratings agency says
Fail: University degree targets ‘can’t be met’
On current trajectories and with falling funding, enrolments could be lower by the end of the decade than today.
April
UTS chief jets to US amid cost-cutting purge
The lure of alumni events in Los Angeles and New York has Andrew Parfitt flying across the Pacific.
March
Trump administration cut $1m funding for ANU terrorism research
ANU lost a $923,000 US-funded research grant into terrorism and targeted violence because it no longer “effectuates the priorities” of its backer, the Department of Homeland Security.
$60m overstatement of ANU deficit raises staff alarm
Three months after senior figures at ANU questioned whether budget forecasts were being “catastrophised”, the university’s 2024 deficit has been downgraded.
February
We asked 4 experts to mark Labor on education. Here’s what they said
Anthony Albanese says education is one of his greatest accomplishments in his first term in government. We asked four experts if that adds up.
November 2024
Labor’s uni debt election bribe trashes fairness
The principle of ensuring fairness all-round will be trashed by handing out a 20 per cent debt cut regardless of income. It is middle-class welfare on steroids.
July 2024
The $50,000 arts degree arrives, as student debt climbs
The cost of a degree is at historical highs, with no relief in sight for at least another two years.
June 2024
Set an ATAR-style uni entrance score for foreign students: Rizvi
If international students had to get a minimum grade to win a place – as domestic applicants already have to – fewer would be able to rort the visa system.
May 2024
Failure to rein in uni bosses led to problems of ‘excess’
Peter Coaldrake has been deeply involved in the university sector for five decades, the past four years as head regulator. And he is troubled by what is going on.
February 2024
Unis that would pay the most – and the least – under ‘envy tax’ plan
Just six of the country’s 41 universities would bankroll half of the annual contributions to the higher education future fund proposed in the Albanese government’s universities accord.
The universities accord is like one giant déjà vu
The report has big ambitions. So did the 2008 Bradley review. They are not too dissimilar in scope and intent.
10 big ideas in the universities shake-up
From doubling the numbers of students to a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on rich institutions: Here are some of the biggest recommendations in the universities accord and what they mean.
Bright, poor students guaranteed a uni spot
Aspiring university students whose families earn less than $54,000 a year will be guaranteed a place in a degree if they meet admission benchmarks.
Universities accord report highlights funding shortage
If Australia is to have a world-class university system to sustain our standard of living in a highly competitive world, we are going to need to invest far more in it.
‘Wealth tax’ for top unis in $10b funding shake-up
A major review of higher education has recommended a return to demand-driven funding to get more poor students into university; a $10 billion infrastructure fund; an independent tertiary education commission; and bonuses paid based on graduation.
January 2024
School leavers shun uni, enrolments hit near-decade low
Gap years were back in 2022, but the 8.2 per cent drop in first-year university students also confirms a worrying trend that young people are shunning degrees.