Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
The keynote will analyse and reflect on the state of Australian higher education in an election year, in which both government and opposition have promised an 'education revolution' and the May budget increased annual funding by about 10 per cent. It surveys the global position of the Australian system and institutions, the international education market and issues in that sector; government-institution relations; funding and resources; system organisation, differentiation and institutional mission; tuition, student financing and student engagement; and aspects of teaching and research, including the academic profession. There are many opportunities for innovation and development, especially in the global and Asia-Pacific settings. But policy has become unhelpfully politicised, government has developed a pathological fiscal resistance to making selective investments in tertiary education, especially in its people capacity, and the marketing mentality that is rife in the sector is blocking clarity and generality of vision. A new national policy process is needed.