AUSTRALIA: 10-year plan to reform higher education

Australia's Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, last Monday released a discussion paper that invites universities to comment on the government's plans to link higher education funding to university performance, reports the Gov Monitor. The "An Indicator Framework for Higher Education Performance Funding" paper outlines the framework that will be used to determine the allocation of in AU$135 million (US$120 million) per annum in performance funding.

In the 2009-10 budget, the Australian government responded to recommendations of the Bradley Review of Higher Education with a 10-year plan to reform Australia's higher education system. Gillard said the government believes that Australia needs to enhance the quality and performance of its higher education system if it is to prosper into the future. In particular, the tied funding will be used to encourage universities to raise their efforts on teaching quality and the government will look closely at indicators that drive improvement in this area.

The performance funding will be allocated to universities on the basis of targets for each university negotiated as part of compacts and set against a framework of indicators.

The paper outlines potential measures and indicators which relate to the quality of teaching and learning, the student experience, participation and attainment.
Full article on the Gov Monitor site