Why do ten per cent of Australian students choose non-government (independent) institutions of higher education in preference to universities? With over 140,000 students enrolled in approximately 120 independent higher education institutions, this sector saves the Australian taxpayer the cost of ...

The architect of Australia’s original Higher Education Contribution Scheme – known as HECS – is calling on the government to roll out income and revenue-based loans to soften a likely world recession. Australia National University leading economist Professor Bruce Chapman ...

The federal government has scrapped plans to place a "lifetime cap" on student loans, but has been granted support from the lower house to reduce the repayment threshold. Legislation to lower the repayment threshold from $55,000 to $45,000 has been ...

When Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand's Prime Minister in October last year, many were surprised because of her youth, inexperience and femininity. Staunchly Labour, she moved quickly to enact her 'progressive, anti-capitalist' agenda. Among her reforms was making all forms of higher education ...

Today, in UTS' 'brown paper bag', a symposium on advancing the public benefit of universities took place. Resisting commercialisation The need for universities to focus on research and education – not marketing – was a major topic. Professor Raewyn Connell of USYD ...

The Grattan Institute report that suggests we should consider pay-your-own-way degrees might work if we were all financially secure, but we aren’t. I’ve copped a little bit of stick over comments I made last week regarding the Grattan Institute’s report ...

The number of students in hoc to the federal government – and the debt – has never been higher. Australian university student HECS-HELP debt is the highest in history, currently more than $23 billion. The average debt per student is ...

Maths and science university subjects could soon lose Commonwealth subsidies as a result of the federal government’s attempts to save an extra $1 billion. The government introduced a bill to Parliament on Wednesday to reinstate the maximum student contribution for ...

A proposal by the federal government to extend HECS-style loans to some VET students has been welcomed by the sector, which has been lobbying for such a scheme for some time. Negotiations are still underway with the states and territories ...

Tweaks to the nation’s higher education contribution scheme (HECS) could improve student outcomes, researchers say. Extending HECS to cover living costs and offering the scheme to international students is the subject of new research at the Australian National University. HECS ...