Tag: HECS
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Changes to the HECS Scheme – Let’s Put This Into Perspective
On Monday night, Education Minister Simon Birmingham outlined the government’s plan for reform within the tertiary sector. These announcements come as we expect an announcement of a tripling of student loans, amounting to $52 billion, with one quarter of the debt unlikely to be repaid. In light of the infamous 2014 budget, marked by…
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The end of HECS as we know it
In 2013, Education Minister Christopher Pyne announced that the wave of asset sales the Abbott government was embarking on – aimed at making Australia “open for business” – would not include the $26.3 billion of secured loans the government owns in the form of HECS debt. If you were a student, past, present or future,…
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University Rankings Question Need for Deregulation
Only a fortnight after UNSW Vice-Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer criticised government bureaucracy and fee regulation as restrictive, newly released university rankings have shown Australian universities are performing better than ever. The latest Academic Rankings of World Universities places 19 of Australia’s 37 universities in the top 500, the third highest number of universities in the list.
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Hilmer Calls for Greater Fee Deregulation
UNSW Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer has used a speech to the National Press Club to call for greater deregulation of universities, criticizing government policy as dysfunctional. Hilmer told those gathered that tight budgetary conditions and increased enrollments had seen many universities realise that ‘fee-flexibility’ was the best way to increase funding.
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Politics, Ice-Cream, Gossip Girl: Gonski
Education funding. It’s all the rage these days. “Should we fund it?” “How should we fund it?” “What should we fund?” During O-Week this year I participated in a political debate where the moderator, who was about to launch into the topic of education, added a caveat. She said “Education funding isn’t a particularly engaging…