Will universities performance funding assessments be published?  Senator Louise Pratt (Labor-WA) asked in Estimates. The short answer is no – not that it will matter much

“The assessment of universities under the performance scheme, I don’t expect will be published; that’s a matter of some consideration we still need to have with the sector, I think, to manage whether they want to release their results or not.”   Dom English, Group Manager, HE in the Department of Education advised.

Not that it matters as a measure of performance. Senator Pratt also asked how many universities officials expected to qualify for maximum funding, “We don’t expect any to not receive all of their funding one way or the other, David Learmonth, Department of Education deputy secretary, replied.

“There are some in the sector who do not like the phrase a lot, but I think ‘earned autonomy’ is a reasonable concept to apply here. If your performance is clearly strong and in line with the benchmarks that the panel has determined, then you get the funding and off you go. If there is a gap, then there is a case to be made as to the things you are doing to address that gap, and then the rest of the funding will be released to the provider,” Mr English added.