Higher Education
11 August 2019
Risks and rewards: when is vocational education a good alternative to higher education?
Some university students with low school results would be better off doing vocational education instead. Vocational diplomas in construction, engineering, and commerce typically lead to higher incomes than many low-ATAR uni graduates are likely to earn, especially those with degrees in science and humanities.
16 April 2019
Commonwealth Orange Book 2019: Policy priorities for the federal government
The winner of the 2019 federal election should defy the national mood of reform fatigue and stare down vested interests to pursue a targeted agenda to improve the lives of Australians. The Orange Book charts the policy priorities.
16 September 2018
Mapping Australian higher education 2018
The graduate gender pay gap in Australia is narrowing, with more women in paid work than ever before. Women’s earnings generally outpaced men’s over the past decade. More broadly, the financial benefit of going to university is falling as domestic bachelor-degree student numbers reach record high levels. But student numbers are now increasing slowly. Combined with recent jobs growth, graduate job prospects are expected to improve in the next few years.
29 April 2018
Dropping out: the benefits and costs of trying university
More than 50,000 students who started university in Australia this year will drop out. Part-time students are particularly at risk. Policy makers should do more to reduce the number of young people who leave university with nothing but debt and regret.
4 December 2016
Shared interest: a universal loan fee for HELP
A 15 per cent loan fee on all new tertiary education lending could save the Commonwealth $700 million a year and make HELP fairer and stronger.
7 August 2016
Mapping Australian higher education 2016
Politicians and business people want students to study science, but half of recent science graduates looking for full-time work can’t find it, according to the fourth Grattan report mapping the state of the higher education sector.
14 June 2016
Orange Book 2016: priorities for the next Commonwealth Government
Australia faces many domestic policy challenges as the election looms. Yet a survey of seven years of Grattan Institute reports and policy proposals shows that a government prepared to forcefully articulate the public interest could win public support for a brave and powerful reform agenda.
28 March 2016
HELP for the future: fairer repayment of student debt
Reducing the thresholds at which former students repay HELP debt would increase repayments by $500 million a year. Without change, HELP costs will soar, putting other education programs in jeopardy.
1 November 2015
The cash nexus: how teaching funds research in Australian universities
More than $2 billion in surpluses from teaching are being used to fund research in Australian universities. Universities have powerful incentives to spend on research, but the benefits for students are less clear.
30 August 2015
University fees: what students pay in deregulated markets
Student fees now comprise a fifth of public university funding – almost $6 billion a year – and international students pay most of them. Despite often high fees, the market is growing.