Editorial
2016 – A Year in Review
Demand-driven no more?
University enrolment growth has plateaued with growth in applications fell to 1.7 per cent in 2016, down from 3.2 per cent in 2015.
Who will be funded?
A new package of funding reform is due to be released in early 2017. Some are calling for a 15 per cent fee on student loans, while others call for a complete overhaul, with vocational and higher education treated similarly and all courses backed by government subsidies as well as the unified loan scheme. Some proposed five key principles that should be used to guide the reform agenda. Let’s also not forget the VET FEE-HELP debacle and its replacement VET education loan program that came into effect on 1 January 2017.
Life after ATAR?
The ATAR debate was everywhere in 2016. Whilst some will assure you that the system “is really not that bad” and, that there are other factors that determine eligibility for tertiary education. Others were concerned by the lack of transparency and are calling for open reporting that saw two universities (UWA and UNSW) openly publish their ATAR scores online, and an admissions transparency implementation plan by the Higher Education Standards Panel that was accepted by the government.
To blend or not to blend?
Online and/or blended learning continue to be a hot topic in the learning and teaching space. The latest views seem to be that there’s not much point in talking about it anymore, but rather, just focus on developing quality course design which will be key to better student engagement.
Research impact – how do we measure it?
The Turnbull Government will pilot ways to measure the impact of university research and their engagement with business and industry in 2017, a next step in the National Innovation and Science Agenda.
Monica and Tracy
Editors, The Institutional Researcher
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