Despite extensive and on-going efforts, people from a low socio-economic background continue to be significantly under-represented in Australian higher education. In response to this situation, a two year action research project explored the broad issue of higher education access for young people from low socio-economic backgrounds in South East…

The Arab Gulf States are the largest hosts of international branch campuses globally. By increasing higher education capacity in the Arab Gulf States by over 30,000 places, foreign institutions have, through various forms of transnational provision, increased significantly the accessibility of higher education to young people living in these…

One of the outcomes of the "Bradley Report" (Bradley et al. 2008) is that Australian universities have a new incentive to enrol students from low socio-economic status. Consequently, a flurry of interest is growing around knowledge concerning the targeting, recruitment and retention of low socio-economic status (SES) students. Working class people…

Public universities in the US are now confronted with conflicts in their missions of access and quality, in the form of legitimacy, as they face severe funding reductions as a result of states' responses to the Great Recession. With an US$800 million budget shortfall, the University of California has chosen to maintain its preeminent position…

The "Review of Higher Education in Australia" (the Bradley Review) has recommended a massive expansion in the level of domestic training in Australian universities. This article examines the Report's rationale for rejecting the previous orthodoxy that there is no need for such expansion and, to the extent that there is, it would be better focussed…

Examines the evolution of the concept of tuition-charged higher education in Russia from a quasi-tuition model in the form of contract training, to self-financed students in public institutions and full-fee private education. Discusses the pros and cons of the student stipend system and its deterioration. Considers recent tuition-related…

Discussion of trends in World Wide Web-based delivery of higher education in Australia looks at issues in the pedagogy of online teaching and learning, its costs, and some philosophical concerns of access and equity. All are examined in the context of a recent Australian report (the West Report) on technology in higher education. (MSE)

Examines distance teaching in Australian higher education, with particular reference to predictions made in the recent West Report ("Learning for Life"), arguing that discussion of technology and change in the universities must be framed in the context of the wider educational system, considering especially the government's construction of…

A discussion of the philosophy of open learning in higher education, particularly in the Australian context, looks at a variety of issues, including societal pressures to redirect higher education, the teaching role of faculty, student-centered curricula, lifelong learning, need for new student assessment strategies, and student attitudes toward…

There are severe structural barriers to improving access to higher education in Australia. Free public higher education and increased funding to improve public schools, increase higher education's capacity, and augment financial aid are recommended. (MSE)

A study of Australian university and college of advanced studies applicants and rejections in 1986 suggests that between 9,000 and 14,000 applicants eligible and willing to accept a place were unable to begin studies that year. (MSE)

Alternatives to the current system of financing college instruction in Australia are considered, and their potential for maintaining student access to education while helping to make Australian higher education self-supporting is examined. (MSE)

Sixteen articles discuss the implications of Australia's Green Paper, a public policy statement recommending substantial changes in the higher education system to improve access. The issues discussed include labor force development, educational equity, women's education, and the financing of higher education. (MSE)

The economic case for the deregulation of Australian universities, for reasons of efficiency and improved access, is presented and the economic and social implications of such a move are considered. Some discussion of the case against deregulation is also given. (MSE)

The review examines (1) social class and improving access to higher education in Australia from 1852-1945; (2) interventions from 1943-74; and "winners and losers" since the 1960s. It is concluded that, in comparison with western nations, Australian university students are more representative of the general population, and the curriculum is more…