This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the funding mechanisms for higher education across sixteen countries which builds upon existing work on educational institutions, educational outcomes, and welfare regimes. We focus upon the current financing dilemma within the Irish higher education system, seeking potential solutions within an…

This paper summarises the evolution of student contributions in Australia since 1989, exploring system redesigns that commenced in 1997, 2005 and 2021. Public and private benefits are recurring themes in setting student contributions, both as high-level justifications for government policy and in pricing specific disciplines. Professor Andrew…

In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the funding systems for full-time, first-time undergraduate students differ. Despite these differences, universities in each of the three parts of the United Kingdom (UK) with tuition fees--England, Wales and Northern Ireland--all share a common tendency to set them at the same (maximum) rate for…

This study compares tuition funding arrangements, debt at graduation, and earnings outcomes for full-time domestic undergraduates in eight Anglophone countries: the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to multiple estimates, the average English student faces…

This report reviews the use of loans for learning in 33 European countries and analyses the schemes in eight selected Member States: France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the UK. The analysis shows that loan schemes vary considerably across Europe in terms of types and levels of learning covered, conditions of…

The increasing cost of higher education, coupled with the inability of federal and state governments to sustain parallel increases in levels of funding for student financial aid, has led to significant growth of student loans. This project analyzes the multidimensional student loans space in the US. This project also compares and contrasts some of…

In a period of student loan scandals and U.S. financial market instability impacting on the cost and availability of student loans, this paper looks at alternative models of higher education funding. In this context, it also considers the level of financial support that the government should provide to higher education.

There have been many changes to the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) since its introduction in 1989. The most significant of these is possibly the reforms announced in the 2003 Federal Budget, which allow universities to increase the contributions required of students by up to 25%. This paper considers the distribution of deferred HECS…

The Ontario Student Loan Program has experienced problems with default on student loans, as have loan systems in other countries where governments rely mainly on banks and special departments of quasi-public institutions to monitor or police the borrowers. This report discusses the need for radical modifications of the student loan program to…

The new Australian Higher Education Contribution Scheme allows students to either pay a standard tuition charge on enrollment or defer payment until they are earning at least the current average taxable income. At that point, they incur a debt to the government for the amount deferred and repayment rate is based on income. Conceptual bases and…

Two possible types of loans for undergraduate study are outlined (loans to cover fees only and loans for living costs), and suggested repayment schemes and need analyses are given. Some notes are given on the administration of such a program. (MSE)

This paper is in response to an invitation from the Victorian Department of Education and Training to undertake a targeted review of effective teaching recruitment strategies. The paper provides a "snapshot" of what is happening in other States and Territories and in selected countries overseas. The main focus of the review is on the…