Election policy announcements indicate the major parties are supportive of the broad Bradley and Cutler Reviews' recommendations for higher education. Recent public opinion research shows that the resourcing of higher education is an influencer of votes and the Australian public will take this into account on polling day.
"There has been a very large investment made in Australian universities over the last three years, an investment which is acknowledged and has led to major commitments to improve student access, indexation legislation for funding, and a welcome investment in infrastructure for research and broad operational purposes through Education Investment Fund (EIF), the Better Universities Renewal Fund, and building on the original Higher Education Endowment Fund," said Professor Peter Coaldrake, Chair of Universities Australia.
"The Reviews of the sector have highlighted the importance of education and research in nation building for the future, and these matters should be embraced by all political sides. Now is the time for taking the next steps in this investment in our nation's future," Professor Coaldrake said.
"The ALP in its Higher Education election statement has taken a `steady as she goes' approach. This demonstrates serious commitment to universities. There is a clear assurance that this commitment will continue if they are elected for a further term, and we look forward to higher education funding increasing as a share of GDP," said Dr Glenn Withers, Chief Executive of Universities Australia.
"Universities Australia is pleased to see a comprehensive set of policies emerge from the Australian Greens that support Australia's universities and recognise their contribution. The Greens' policy proposals on Youth Allowance, rental affordability, and postgraduate research awards would provide welcome additional support for students," Dr Withers said.
The Coalition has now released costings for their projected expenditure and savings, including those affecting higher education. Universities Australia's analysis of the likely impact suggests that it is a mixed bag. Some of the Coalition's costed initiatives would benefit the university sector, but Universities Australia has serious concerns about any attempts to diminish the EIF or reduce the loading for low socio-economic status (SES) university students.
"Universities Australia rejects the Coalition's intention to use the EIF to partially fund Training Centres. The additional $322 million for Youth Allowance is welcomed, but it must not be taken from the EIF, Dr Withers said.
"The Coalition stated in May 2010 that they would restore the EIF and make it a "universities only" fund. If the Coalition is elected to government, we would look to them to honour that intention and ensure that infrastructure funding available to universities through the EIF is quarantined and that it is renewed from surpluses.
"The Coalition plans to cut $227 million which would otherwise go towards encouraging the participation of poor and disadvantaged students in universities. We strongly believe in giving low SES students the chance to go to university and complete a degree. This funding must be retained to ensure these students are supported through their degree and can succeed. We oppose any move to reduce this funding," Dr Withers said.
The Coalition's promise of extra funding over three years for the Research Training Scheme (RTS) and the various science initiatives are welcomed.
"The RTS is critically important, and as such additional funding should be introduced quickly to ensure that the supply of urgently needed higher degree by research graduates will flow through to academic and research jobs," Dr Withers said.
The Coalition's proposal to reduce a student's HECS debt through community service is good in principle and deserves careful thought. Universities Australia believes that the scheme should offer choices of receiving a payment at the time of community service, or reducing HECS in the future, or be extended to offer paid internship options to assist students with living costs while studying.
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