JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
The Hon Julia Gillard MP Deputy Prime Minister and Senator the Hon Kim Carr
The Rudd Government is delivering a fairer indexation rate for Australian universities to help them meet the cost of quality teaching, learning and research.
The new indexation arrangements are one of the most profound reforms in the Rudd Government’s higher education package and will result in a significant increase in base funding for higher education providers.
Increased indexation will deliver $577.5 million over three years from 2011 and continue to grow to provide a sustainable base for higher education over the next decade.
The Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education found that current indexation arrangements were inadequate, making it difficult to maintain the real value of funding, and undermining quality and sustainability.
The new arrangement will provide valuable support to institutions to improve student-to-staff ratios, boosting the quality of learning and providing students with better access to teachers.
It will enable universities to raise the quality of courses, improve facilities, and allocate increased funding for core teaching, learning and research activities.
The new indexation arrangement will help the Rudd Government meet its objectives of ensuring that more students complete their degrees and that 40 per cent of Australians aged between 25 and 34 years have bachelor level qualifications by 2025.
All grants, including teaching, learning and research grants, will be indexed by the new formula from 2012.
In addition, conditional funding will be made in 2011 through facilitation payments to higher education providers who agree to teaching, learning and student engagement targets. The achievement of these targets will continue to be rewarded through a new performance funding stream for the sector from 2012 onwards.
This investment reflects the Rudd Government’s commitment to ensure that the sector makes a successful transition to a new student focused system commencing in 2012.
The Rudd Government understands the importance of investing in education for the long term prosperity of the nation.
The Rudd Government has set out a higher education reform agenda that will serve Australia well into the future.
Deputy Prime Minister’s Press Office: 02 6277 7758
Minister Carr’s Office: Catriona Jackson 0417 142 238
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