Federal Budget

Base Funding Review “in right direction”, but postgraduates lose out

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) welcomed today’s release of the Base Funding Review led by Professor Lomax-Smith. “The twenty-nine recommendations put forward are predominantly sound and cover a breadth of issues,” said National President John Nowakowski. “Ultimately, the Review shows that whilst the Government has been moving in the right direction, there’s still a lot more funding needed to adequately support studies nationally.”

Postgraduates again overlooked by the Australian Government with the Carbon Tax

In announcing the details of its Carbon Tax, the Australian Government has forgotten to include Postgraduate students within its considerations. "While we are excited for the students on Youth Allowance and AuStudy receiving a 1.7% increase, students on an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) have been left out - and not for the first time" said John Nowakowski, National President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.

Salad Days In Higher Education Spending?

Sure, Gillard is spending more on higher education than Howard did – but is it enough? An 'unwavering commitment' to education needs to be matched by sustainable funding, writes John Nowakowski

Base Funding (Lomax-Smith) Review

At CAPA's 2010 Annual Council Meeting, postgraduate representatives from across Australia engaged in a lengthy discussion to revise existing CAPA policy on the funding of higher education. We ultimately ratified the following policy principles, which have fundamentally shaped the recommendations in this submission:

Lack of Funding Will Bankrupt the Knowledge Economy

The spectre of cuts to the NH&MRC in this year's Federal Budget, which come on the heels of the Government's decision to decommission the Australia Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), does not bode well for Australia's future. “This is a ludicrous plan totally at odds with the rhetoric of Australia as a smart nation,” said Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations President, John Nowakowski.

Base Funding (Lomax-Smith) Review

In 2009, Australia had 813,896 domestic higher education students enrolled in higher education institutions, 197,619 (24 per cent) of whom were domestic postgraduate students. If international students are included, postgraduates make up 27 per cent of the total higher education student population, and although international students only make up 28.3 per cent of the total student population, they are 36 per cent of the postgraduate student population.

Syndicate content