In regards to the paper, AQF Qualification Issuance Policy and Protocols - Final draft for consultation, September 2009, the Go8 has a number of issues it would like to see addressed in the final policy documentation.

As indicated previously, the Go8 does not support the inclusion of the AQF logo nor the statement - ‘This qualification is recognised within the Australian Qualifications Framework’ - on certification documents. University testamurs operate within a long academic tradition internationally and the inclusion of a national stamp of approval could well be seen as demeaning.

The other concerns shared by the Go8 universities are related to proposed AQF policies that would add unnecessary complications or burdens to administrative processes or restrict the flexibility of the higher education sector and limit its capacity to innovate. Specific issues are outlined in the attached document.

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Go8 response to the review of AQF Qualification Issuance Policy and Protocols

The 1957 Murray Report on Australian Universities makes important and sustained arguments about the relationship between universities and society, which are still relevant today. Given the current level of consultation and debate around higher education and research policy and the role of universities, the Go8 has digitised and made the report (now out of print) available on the Go8 website, with the permission of the House of Representatives Tables Office.

Please click on the following chapters to download the report: Introductory

Chapter 1 The Role of the Universities in the Community

Chapter 2 General Characteristics of the Australian Situation

Chapter 3 Problems of the Australian Universities Today - 1

Chapter 4 Problems of the Australian Universities Today - 2

Chapter 5 Problems of the Australian Universities Today - 3

Chapter 6 Problems of University Expansion

Chapter 7 Problems of University Policy Formulation and Administration

Chapter 8 The Need for an Australian University Grants Committee

Chapter 9 The Immediate Financial Needs for the Universities

Chapter 10 Summary and Conclusions

The Group of Eight (Go8) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Senate’s inquiry into international student welfare.

Together the Go8 universities are the institutions of choice for around one third (33.7%) of all international students and over half of all international higher degree by research (HDR) students enrolled in universities in Australia.1 Their contribution to scholarship, campus life, and more broadly to Australia’s multicultural society is highly valued by all Go8 Vice-Chancellors.

While focusing specifically on the welfare of international students, this Senate inquiry also provides an opportunity to reconsider the role of international education in Australia.

International education needs to move into a new phase. A phase in which we no longer argue over the one-sided financial “value” of the international education export industry but instead appreciate and facilitate its reciprocal benefits such as educating Australians to understand, respect and value cultural diversity at home and abroad.

Any aspirations Australia might have for leadership in the Asian region will be undermined by a failure to address the need to renew our understanding of where we are and our ability to engage more seriously at an international level.

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Go8 Submission to International Student Welfare Senate Inquiry.

The Group of Eight (Go8) appreciates the Government’s decision to enter into mission-based compacts with universities ‘to support them to pursue their distinctive missions and to contribute to the Government’s ambitions for the higher education sector’. The way in which compacts are implemented will determine how effective they are in meeting these objectives.

The Government’s vision for the sector can be summarised as a responsive and high quality higher education system.

Please click on the links below to view or download the PDFs -
Compacts policy paper
Illustrative compacts template

The Go8 strongly supports the introduction of a statutory experimental use exemption to the patent law in Australia. Go8 universities seek to ensure that the outcomes of their research are disseminated through academic publications and, where appropriate, the translation of those outcomes into products and services which benefit society.

There is a significant public interest in seeing university research take place with as few impediments as possible because new knowledge and scientific breakthroughs achieved as a result of this research facilitate and promote further innovation in the community.

Click here to view or download the Go8 Issues Paper - Excellence in Medical and Health Professional Education, Research and Health Care Delivery (PDF).

Go8 Vice-Chancellors have agreed to develop a coordinated equity strategy to increase the participation and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This backgrounder reports the results of some initial research being undertaken to inform the design of the proposed joint Go8 equity initiative.  The analyses are based on data from the 2009 Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) national unit record data collection for undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances and the annual student data collection.

It shows that while participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds is lower at Go8 universities than other universities, equity students at all course levels have better outcomes in terms of attrition, retention and success.  Outcomes for Remote and Indigenous students are markedly better at Go8 universities.

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Go8 universities enrol 16.8 percent of Australia’s regional and remote student population, providing them with access to Australia’s leading education and research training universities.  Through additional scholarship opportunities and high level student support services these students thrive in our excellent learning environments, achieving lower attrition, and higher retention and success rates than their peers in other universities.

As the higher education system adjusts to provide better access to those from equity groups, in line with the Government’s ambitious attainment and access targets, the Go8 supports government policies which direct finite resources towards those who are most deserving.

Please click the link below to view or download the PDF file -