Elite universities call for cap on student places

The nation's elite Group of Eight universities has proposed that the federal government reintroduce limits on how many students each university can enrol, a suggestion slammed by other vice-chancellors as "cancerous" and "selfish", writes Matthew Knott for The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Group of Eight, which includes the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, last Wednesday released a paper calling for a "moderation" of the demand-driven system that allows universities to enrol as many students as they want.

Group of Eight Chair Dr Michael Spence said the uncapping of university places in 2012 had blown out the budget by billions of dollars while leaving important university research underfunded. "Simply enrolling more students in underfunded places is not in the best interests of the country," Spence told Fairfax Media.
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site