Search

The challenge of funding a high quality higher education system, ensuring it has the capacity to help meet the increasing demand for high level skills in our economy and the aspirations of our students, has been an ongoing concern for successive Australian governments over many years. This paper reviews the findings and recommendations of significant reviews of Australia's higher education funding system from the 1988 Dawkins white paper through to the 2014 "Review of the Demand Driven Funding System." It summarises the challenges identified and responses proposed across that period as well as some recent international literature about higher education reform. What is clear from the survey of major reviews from 1988 to the present is the similarity of issues that were of concern to governments of the day. Successive governments have sought to build and fund a higher education system to meet the need for high level skills and innovative research for the Australian economy. The challenge for all governments has been how to enable greater numbers of students to access the benefits higher education offers--in terms of employment, earnings, social and cultural opportunities--while ensuring the system remains fair, high quality and affordable for both individuals and taxpayers. The number of domestic higher education students has more than doubled since 1989, reaching just over a million in 2014. International students comprised another 350,000 students in 2014. As student numbers have grown, they have come from more diverse social, economic and academic backgrounds. The number of providers and their diversity has also grown, with around 20 new public universities since the late 1980s and the emergence of significant numbers of non-university providers. The proportion of the Australian working age population with a bachelor degree or higher qualification has tripled since 1989 to just over 25 per cent. Direct Australian Government funding for teaching, learning and research has grown both in absolute and real terms, rising from $3.2 billion in 1989 to $15.4 billion in 2014, more than doubling when adjusted for inflation. Australia is not unique in facing this growth and higher education systems around the world are increasingly moving from elite to mass systems, and beyond to universal systems.

VET FEE-HELP is an income-contingent loan scheme that assists eligible students undertaking certain vocational education and training (VET) courses (diploma, advanced diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma) with an approved provider by paying for all or part of their tuition costs. The tuition costs are paid directly to the provider. Students' tuition costs (and a loan fee) are repaid to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) progressively once the student reaches a certain income level. VET FEE-HELP has been available to eligible students since 2009, with data on student enrollments and completions submitted annually to the Department of Education and Training by approved VET FEE-HELP providers. This report discusses the National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER's) analyses of the VET FEE-HELP Data Collection, which was used to investigate the following: (1) the characteristics of VET FEE-HELP assisted students; (2) which students are likely to access VET FEE-HELP; (3) whether the proportions of assisted students completing their training vary by provider; and (4) which students are likely to complete their training. The following are appended: (1) Terms and Definitions; (2) Raw Regression Output for Accessing VET FEE-HELP; and (3) Raw Regression Output for Course Completion. [For the summary of this report, see ED561219.]

Adam, H., & Harper, L. J. (2021). Gender equity in early childhood picture books: A cross-cultural study of frequently read picture books in early childhood classrooms in Australia and the United States. The Australian Educational Researcher. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00494-0

Cooper, T. (2017). Curriculum renewal: Barriers to successful curriculum change and suggestions for improvement. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(11), 115-128. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1161219