With the widespread onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Australian universities anticipated a significant loss of students and revenue and hence forecast the need for significant job reductions. Using Higher Education Statistics (HES) data on student numbers and full-time equivalent (FTE) staff by field of study, we explored changes which…

Australian universities are places of great diversity and there is broad acceptance that promoting and learning through diversity can enhance all students' university experiences. However, there is little known about how this is done across the Australian higher education sector. As the composition of the student population continues to expand, it…

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…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption to Australian international higher education. By some estimates the number of international students commencing at Australian universities dropped by 23.3 per cent in 2020 due to the closure of borders. The impact on universities has been dramatic, with many making significant cuts to…

Asking students questions is a ubiquitous but often underestimated aspect of teaching within higher education. Questions can be used to engage students in discussion, to check their understanding, and to encourage participation or sharing of ideas. However, while it is a useful strategy to prepare a few key questions before class, many questions…

In-class feedback is an invaluable component of the teaching and learning process. It is an important tool by which students understand how well they are doing and what they need to do differently before completing their final assessments and receiving their summative marks. It also enables teachers to assess how well their students are following…

Mobile devices, particularly smartphones, have become an integral part of daily lives, and we take them with us almost everywhere we go. In most cases these are examples of informal learning and how we now choose to find and utilise online information and create and share rich media. How then can we use these devices to learn in "formal"…

How can educators create learning activities and tasks, or modify existing tasks, to support general ambitions for high quality online learning? This document provides some advice to respond to this in the form of seven specific ways to improve online learning in a subject. The focus is on providing ways in which educators can, relatively easily…

Authentic online collaboration focuses upon exploring (often complex) real world problems or practice, and highlights the importance of designing learning experiences that involve interdisciplinary collaboration. Most professions involve some form of teamwork and collaboration across a variety of discipline and cultural boundaries; therefore, this…

This document provides advice on moving from in-place, closed-book examinations to open-book, remote assessment. It offers conceptual considerations, practical tips, and discusses the relative merits of two common approaches to open-book exams: those with strict time limits, and those with broad time limits ('take-home' exams).

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) continue to be relied upon for the efficient assessment of students' learning in higher education. However, the use of MCQs has not been without criticism. Poor design of MCQs, testing only lower-level learning outcomes such as information recall, and encouraging students to focus on these rote and reproductive…

This paper summarises factors and emerging trends for higher education following from the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the responses of providers and governments. It is framed as a provocation to stimulate discussion about futures for higher education in Australia and beyond following the immediate COVID-19 disruption. While…

As University communities are increasingly affected by the global pandemic, University engagement will and should 'look different' in 2020. There is a risk that academic engagement may be pushed to the sidelines during the time of global pandemic. This report offers eight recommendations of small actions that a University community could take to…

This collection emerged from a series of three public policy discussions organised by the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne from June to August in 2019. The initial idea for the series was conceived prior to the 2019 Federal Election and motivated by the opportunity to engage in a full and frank…

Feedback is known to be one of the most important factors influencing learning and achievement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). However, ensuring that feedback positively influences student learning requires careful curriculum and assessment design by academic staff. This can be challenging in higher education when subjects are delivered in digital…