The principal priorities for the Go8 with regard to higher education policy are coherence and sustainability. Good public policy is based on principle and backed by evidence. This, the first in a new series of Go8 Policy Notes offers an inter-linked set of principles for the development of higher education policy in Australia.

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Go8 Policy Note 1 – Guiding policy principles for higher education

This briefing examines government and private funding across educational sectors. It finds that levels of government funding are not informed by clear principles.

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Go8 Policy Note 2 – Enrolments, funding and student staff ratios

Mike Teece, Go8 Director, Policy, presented a paper at the 2011 Forum of the Australasian Association for Institutional Research (AAIR) in November 2011.  The paper re-examined university applications and offers data collated by DIISRTE to examine the impact of a move to demand-driven funding of undergraduate university places. 

You can view or download an updated version of the paper (adding the latest year of data) HERE.

Alan Mackay, Go8 Director, Information Strategy, presented a paper at the 2011 Forum of the Australasian Association for Institutional Research. The paper used previously unpublished data from several Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys to demonstrate the relationships between educational qualification levels and

-employment

-unemployment

-income

-self-assessed health and health risk factors (psychological distress; smoking; risky alcohol consumption; obesity)

-volunteering

-community participation

-crime victimisation

-home ownership or rental.

Age/sex disaggregations of several variables were explored.

For several of these variables, there is a strong gradient observed across the educational attainment spectrum.

The presentation can be viewed or downloaded from HERE

Further work is planned to present data on the social and economic benefits of education.

This is a detailed report on academic staffing trends in Australian universities in the past decade. It shows the average student staff ratio in Australian universities has risen to 21:1 and that universities have increased casual teaching only staff to deal efficiently with increased student numbers. In the past decade the number of students in coursework programs at university increased by 56% to 528,558. Universities have also increased research only staff as funding for research has risen. The report also highlights some differences between Go8 and non Go8 universities. While the student staff ratio for Go8 universities is 16.8:1, in non Go8 universities it is much higher at 24.4:1.

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Go8 Backgrounder 25 - Staffing trends in Australian universities

There is now a great deal of experience across different countries as they work to improve the productivity and excellence of their higher education institutions. Each nation strives to create an international reputation for excellence that will attract students, academic staff and business.

This backgrounder describes and explores the lessons of the German Excellence Initiative and a similar program in France.

To view or download the document, please click here: 
Go8 Backgrounder 24: Answering the Global Challenge- Experiences from European Excellence Initiatives

Current economic conditions and the increasing competition for government funding are leading to an increased focus on the impact of research. 

This backgrounder looks at a wide variety of methods of measuring the impact of research.  Each method has its own characteristics and advantages.  No one method is complete in itself and does not offer unambiguous or certain results.  Measuring the impact of research is necessary and can be useful but it is important to use the results of such evaluations with care.

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Go8 Backgrounder 23 - Measuring the impact of research - the context for metric development

The Higher Education Support Act Amendment (Demand-Driven System and Other Measures) Bill is intended to bring into effect the Government’s commitment to uncap the supply of Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) in universities, as recommended by the Bradley Review. The Bill qualifies the commitment, by setting up mechanisms to limit growth in places and Commonwealth spending, should this become necessary in the future. The Go8 views this as sensible public policy. However a more effective policy framework would open access to CSPs to a wider range of providers, and would reconfigure both Commonwealth and student contributions to provide for flexibility, choice and value for the student’s and the Government’s dollar.

 Please click here to view or download - Legislation for a demand-driven system

The current and first independent review of Australia’s student visa program by The Hon Michael Knight AO is a welcome indication of the Government’s recognition of the importance of international education to Australian society. It represents a crucial opportunity for reform to ensure Australian education institutions can compete for the most talented international students.

Please click here to view or download - Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program

This report deals with how university selection procedures can better support student diversity and success in higher education.  It was prepared by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Melbourne, with funding from the Go8 and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

The report finds that while tertiary entrance rank (ATAR) is a good indicator of likely success at university, there are other indicators which can be used in combination with the ATAR to support social inclusion in higher education.

In commissioning this report the Go8 aims to improve the way university selection criteria and practices foster diversity of participation and student success in an expanding tertiary education environment.

 Please click here to view or download -  Selection and Participation in Higher Education

Over recent years governments have been placing more emphasis on innovation as a source of national competiveness. Governments now assess their investments across many areas in terms of the contribution that such investments make to increasing innovation. This has been especially significant for education and in particular for the development of policies for universities because universities perform research as well as provide learning. The measures governments use to assess the performance of universities frequently include indicators of research-related engagement with business, or of the level of patenting, licensing and start ups. Assessing university performance by focusing on just some of the direct services or outputs that universities provide, or on narrow aspects of their individual services, seriously underestimates the contributions that universities make.

Please click here to view or download - Role of universities in the national innovation system

The Review of Higher Education Base Funding gives Government an historic opportunity to set higher education funding on a sound footing for the future, and to commit the support needed to achieve its important quality and participation goals. There is a significant funding gap, which has led universities to neglect infrastructure and let class sizes grow.  The quality of the student experience has suffered.  The funding gap is likely to widen in an expanding, demand driven system, and universities will not be able rely on increasing international fee revenue to cover rising costs.  Government investment in higher education has been insufficient and should be increased, as the Bradley Review recommended in 2008.  But Government will not be able to pay the whole cost of growing the system while maintaining quality.  Student contributions should be partially deregulated to increase revenue, diversity and competition.  Australia led the world in introducing income-contingent loans for university fees to allow students to co-invest in their education, without imposing up-front barriers to participation by the less affluent. In the coming decades, Australia will need to build on this world-leading system to ensure that higher education funding is adequate and fair, and that it effectively supports growing participation and world-class quality.

Please click here to download or view -  Go8 submission to the review of higher education base funding

The Group of Eight (Go8) appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the consultation about the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) - Draft Provider Standards.

It is the Go8’s understanding that the various proposed standards are to be developed by a Standards Panel, independent of TEQSA, which will provide advice to the relevant Minister who will have the legislative power to create standards. With the advice gained through this consultation process to be provided to the Standards Panel. However, at this stage the legislative basis for the establishment of TEQSA and the Standards Panel has not passed through the Federal Parliament.

The Go8 recognises the draft provider standards are based largely on the existing National Protocols, which universities are required to provide evidence of compliance with as part of Australian University Quality Agency (AUQA) audit cycles. However, under the TEQSA legislation they will no longer be guidelines, rather they will become statutory instruments, and along with the AQF, will underpin TEQSA’s registration and regulatory activities...

Click here to download or view -  Go8 response to the draft provider provider standards consultation guide.