Australia needs to at least maintain its current level of funding to higher education if it hopes to be a leader in the international knowledge economy, the head of the University of Southern Queensland has warned.
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Jan Thomas was responding to The Grattan Institute’s report, Graduate Winners, released this month (August 6, 2012), which looked at the respective public/private benefit of higher education and proposed transferring some education funding costs from government to families and students.
Professor Thomas said she welcomed a report that stimulated much-needed discussion on a sustainable funding model for Australian universities but any cost shifting away from governments on the basis of a limited definition of public benefit as put forward by Grattan needed to be carefully investigated.
If the costs of a university education were shifted away from government to students, it’s anticipated student fees could increase by about 50 per cent. Already students pay a significant proportion of the cost of their degree.
‘The Grattan report focusses on benefit to individuals, and while these are present, it underrepresents the benefit of Universities for Australian productivity and international competitiveness”
. The Vice-Chancellor said while many countries around the world were significantly accelerating their funding to higher education to boost productivity, Australia had one of the lowest levels of public investment in universities in the OECD, just ahead of Botswana.
‘Australia really can’t afford to have less graduates,’ Professor Thomas said.
‘Our productivity as a nation is critically dependent on all Australians, regardless of background, reaching their full potential through education. We need as many Australians as possible contributing fully into the knowledge economy.’
‘USQ’s student base is dominated by students who do not have a family history or expectation of higher education. Our students need support to succeed at University to fulfil their true potential.’ Any policy that decreases aspiration or funding to support such students is shortsighted.
‘There’s no question that improving Australia’s higher education will, in turn, boost the economy and our national prosperity and everyone benefits from that.’
‘Unfortunately, I think this report fails to recognise the role of universities in addressing the urgent need to up-skill the Australian workforce to meet future demand and to be a leader in the international knowledge economy.’
Media contact:
Jim Campbell, USQ Media, +617 4631 1163, jim.campbell@usq.edu.au
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