Editorial

We kick-off the year with plenty of sector-focused news from the back half of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. At the forefront is the late 2017 MYEFO announcement on the freeze on government funding for undergraduate places. The Australian government projects this will save $2.2 billion over the forward estimates. The Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) payment to universities for bachelor level courses has been capped and frozen at 2017 total funding amount. This means no increases for bachelor degree places or for increased costs due to inflation, nor payment for additional enrolments. How this will impact on the strategic plans of our institutions will become obvious in the coming months.

So, as a distraction to this news we’ve provided plenty of higher education reading as well (page 8) and a reminder that we welcome book and report recommendations at any time during the year.

Finally, The Institutional Researcher is pleased to bring you our interview with Omer Yezdani Director, Office of Planning and Strategic Management (OPSM) at Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Deputy Chair of the Australian Network of University Planners (ANUP). Late last year higher education commentator Andrew Norton claimed (via social media) that Omer was ‘a sharp new voice’ in higher education. Well, we certainly agree.

Happy reading

Tracy Creagh

Editor, The Institutional Researcher