By Jeannie Rea. Malcolm Turnbull has said that policies may need to be looked at and ‘political realities’ faced. But the new Prime Minister is also on record supporting the Federal Budget, including the higher education ‘reforms.’ New Education Minister Senator Simon Birmingham has said he is ‘not wedded’ to deregulation, but ‘finding a way through on higher education reforms was a priority.’ New Treasurer Scott Morrison says he wants to cut expenditure. More...
$100,000 degrees still Govt policy
ALP releases real alternative higher education policy
By Jeannie Rea. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bill Shorten, today released the ALP’s higher education policy which the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) says is in stark contrast to the unprincipled, unfair and unsustainable higher education polices of the Coalition. More...
New Education Minister Birmingham faces first real test
By Andrew MacDonald. New Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham’s commitment to driving dodgy private tertiary education providers out of business and protecting the interests of students will be tested in Parliament this week, ahead of the potential watering down of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act, according to the National Tertiary Education Union. More...
Vice chancellors refuse to rule out $100,000 degrees
By Andrew MacDonald. While the NTEU welcomes the launch today of Universities Australia’s new Policy Statement which puts public interest and public investment at the centre of the regulatory and funding framework for Australian research and higher education, the union is disappointed that vice chancellors have not ruled out support for fee deregulation. More...
Lettre Ouverte au Secrétaire général de la COP21 - Des institutions d’enseignement supérieur dans la lutte contre le changement
Des associations, représentant 3 000 universités et institutions d’enseignement supérieur à travers le monde, et des réseaux dédiés au développement durable, ont signé ce jour une lettre ouverte exhortant les Ministres et les gouvernements à reconnaître mais aussi à renforcer le rôle des institutions d’enseignement supérieur au sein de la Recherche et de l'Education dans la lutte contre le changement climatique. Cette lettre ouverte sera remise le 14 Octobre au Secrétaire général de la COP21 à l'UNESCO. L'Initiative sur la durabilité dans l'enseignement supérieur (HESI) est à l’origine de l’organisation de cet événement intitulé : «l’enseignement supérieur en faveur d’une action contre le changement climatique » (Higher Education for Climate Change Action). L’HESI est un consortium d'organismes des Nations Unies comprenant l'UNESCO, l’ONU-DESA, le PNUE, le Global Compact et l'UNU. L’AIU est partenaire de l’événement et le Président de l’AIU, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, prendra part à la session sur Le rôle des réseaux académiques internationaux pour atteindre les objectifs fixés par l’agenda de développement de l’après 2015. La lettre ouverte en anglais est disponible ici. Voir l'article...
Open letter to COP21 ministers - Higher Education Institutions & Climate Change
A global alliance of tertiary and higher education associations and sustainability networks on every continent and representing more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide, today jointly issued an Open Letter urging COP21 Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. The Open Letter from the global alliance will be handed to COP21 General Secretary on 14 October at the UNESCO Headquarters during the Higher Education for Climate Change Action Event. The event is hosted by The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative- HESI which was created by a consortium of UN entities UNESCO, UN-DESA, UNEP, Global Compact and UNU. IAU is pleased to confirm that Prof. Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, IAU President will be taking part of this event. A copy of the letter can be found here. More...
HEFCE highly respected by stakeholders
An independent survey [Note 1] has found that HEFCE is considered by its stakeholders to be highly respected, trusted and approachable [Note 2]. There is widespread and increased recognition of HEFCE’s role as a broker between Government and the higher education sector, and 94 per cent of respondents believe that HEFCE implements Government policy effectively [Note 3]. More...
Additional reports supporting consultation on changes to the National Student Survey and Unistats
The UK funding bodies for higher education have published two further research reports that provide supporting evidence for the consultation published on 1 October. More...
Enhanced version of the HEFCE Register of Higher Education Providers
After a successful first year in which the Register has shown its value to users, we are enhancing it further and continuing to encourage its use.
Following feedback from users the Register has been extended and improved. More...
Opportunity to join the HEFCE Audit Committee
We are looking to appoint a new member to the HEFCE Audit Committee.
Deadline for applications: 31 October 2015.
To apply, please download the information pack below or request one by email from auditcommittee@hefce.ac.uk. Then send a one-page application statement addressing the person specification in the information pack to the same email address accompanied by an equal opportunities monitoring form. More...