In late 2025, the Australian National University (ANU) found itself in the spotlight for reasons less flattering than its academic reputation. After only two years at the helm, Professor Genevieve Bell resigned as Vice Chancellor. There were months of speculation, debate, and even criticism.
Australia has, on average, some of the largest universities in the English-speaking world. Some might speculate that this is an idiosyncratic outcome of the Australian education funding approach. While this is possible, even likely, the effect of global ranking algorithms may also factor into this. Those who have attempted to reverse engineer the three or four largest rankings appear to recognise that controlling for scale is a near-impossible task.
Do Economies of Scale Exist in Australian Universities? Read More »
Earlier this year, the Higher Education and Research Group released its latest annual analysis of the productivity of the Australian university sector, including, for the first time, the three large private universities.
Four universities sit at the top of teaching and research efficiency Read More »
There is growing anticipation that the federal government’s response to the Universities Accord review’s final report will come soon. Given this and the fact that the budget is less than a month away, it is timely to review one of the final report’s key insights.
Accurate measurement of university costs is essential Read More »
Recently released analysis finds that one large Group of Eight university outperformed other public universities in its research and education productivity outcomes during the pandemic.
University of Sydney is a standout in productivity growth Read More »
Last week in The Australian, Australian National University economics professors Bruce Chapman and Rabee Tourky reignited a debate about a levy on international student tuition revenue (“Universities should pay levy on ‘foreign student industry’ ”, 15/11).
An international student levy could ease the research funding squeeze Read More »
For several weeks, those interested in higher education have been contemplating the interim report of the Universities Accord review.
The report makes many insightful and far-reaching observations. Undoubtedly it will be a turning point for important aspects of the educational offerings within our public universities.
Universities should be encouraged to specialise in what they do best Read More »
It’s now virtually certain that the South Australian Legislative Council, the state’s upper house, will initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the planned merger of the state’s two largest universities.
Parliamentary inquiry must fill the information gap on SA’s uni merger Read More »
For several years economist Keith Houghton, a former business and economics dean at the Australian National University, has been gathering data on the productivity performance of Australian universities to give a picture of the efficiency of their research and the efficiency of their teaching.
Productivity is the crucial, but unmentioned, word in the SA uni merger Read More »
Erica Wilson and Thomas Roche provide a rich description of changes in teaching and learning at Southern Cross University involving the newly introduced “Block” mode teaching model (CMM November 25).
The cost and academic consequences of block teaching Read More »