Australian | Higher Education

PROMINENT vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer calls for deregulation of university tuition fees and rejects a key Bradley report recommendation

HIGHER education is set for a $7 billion overhaul aimed at boosting graduate numbers by 330,000.

VOUCHERS could give universities the incentive they needed to lift student numbers towards ambitious targets set by the Bradley review.

"We thank the minister for setting us up as an independent review and we hope the report justifies her courageous decision."

UNIVERSITIES that do not perform could be shut down by a new super regulator proposed by the Bradley higher education review.

THE $8.7 billion Education Investment Fund should be enough to cover the sector's building and refurbishment needs during the next decade, so long as funds aren't drawn down at a rate of anything less than 20 years, the Bradley review has concluded.

THREE Australian universities have established a lucrative business selling curriculums in the Middle East.

THE Bradley review urges universities to trial broader student entry criteria to complement, or even replace, their reliance on tertiary entrance ranking scores that can count against school leavers from disadvantaged social backgrounds.

PROPOSALS from the Bradley review to make the federal Government the primary funding body for vocational education and training in line with universities could drive closer co-operation and even mergers between TAFEs and universities.

AFTER a few troubled years, Central Queensland is flexing its industrial muscle.

THE Bradley review strays into the research and innovation system as part of its comprehensive analysis. Citing a report commissioned by the review panel, Bradley estimates that the share of university revenue used to cross-subsidise research grew from 8per cent in 2000 to 12 per cent in 2006. The problem is that money received from the research infrastructure block grants program fails to support research undertaken as a result of success in the competitive grants process. This leaves the most competitive universities worse off. In submissions to the review, universities conceded that teaching funds were used to cross-subsidise research operations.

UNIVERSITIES are looking for broader ways to assess prospective students amid suggestions of an over-reliance on a single school score.

PROPOSALS to deregulate university student flows with a voucher-like system appear set to polarise the sector and potentially cause political headaches if freer competition drives some universities to merge.

AUSTRALIA'S biggest university could be created if a merger of regional universities recommended by the Bradley review is adopted.

UNIVERSIITES are vowing to start spending almost immediately some $1 billion in fast-tracked infrastructure funding from Canberra.

UNIVERSITIES will be merged, a national voucher system introduced and incentives given to enrol students from poorer backgrounds.

UNIVERSITIES will be merged, a national voucher system introduced and incentives given to enrol students from poorer backgrounds.

VICTORIA University has delayed any forced redundancies into next year, instead launching a voluntary redundancy program.

THE University of New England has cleared vice-chancellor Alan Pettigrew of misconduct allegations.

THE campus ombudsman, relied on by many universities facing a culture of complaint, is not trusted by students.