Public universities in Australia are in a dire state.  1 in 5 academics have been made redundant over the past year. At the same time, the government’s Job-Ready Graduates program doesn’t cover the cost of cuts to university funding. Before the pandemic, international students were Australia’s third largest export.  Australian universities are heavily reliant on their upfront fees to cover teaching and research costs. But with borders closed and no additional government support to make up the shortfall, can these institutions continue to meet demand as the financial support runs dry?

This week, Toby Hemmings was joined by:

• Alison Barnes, NTEU national president
• Mark Warburton, honorary senior fellow at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education
• Roy Green, emeritus professor at UTS

Further reading:

• The Australia Institute – An Avoidable Catastrophe: Pandemic Job Losses in Higher Education and their Consequences – September 2021
• Mark Warburton – The Rhetoric and Reality of Job-Ready Graduates: What do we know about growth in student opportunities after one year? – September 2021
• Peter Hurley, Mitchell Institute of Education and Health Policy – Australian Investment in Higher Education – August 2021