The feds commissioned consultants Nous Group to report on the 185 submissions to the O’Kane Accord panel’s request for stakeholder priorities to consider. There’s quite a list, HERE

Top issues addressed grouped by terms of reference include, access, skills needs, equity group outcomes, funding for research, teaching and learning, regulation, the Job Ready Graduates programme, student experience and fees.

Submissions are less engaged with research training and workforce, Commonwealth investment, student demand for HE – and academic freedom, which came up in ten submissions.

There are calls for changes to research funding (simpler processes for grants, a higher proportion via block programmes). And Universities Australia wants, “flexible agreements between government and universities to make funding available for different mixes of provision and activities in accordance with a university’s institutional mission and the needs of its local (and wider) community.”

And QUT and RMIT point to the funding elephant in the Accord room.

* “undertake a considered and comprehensive analytical review within the Accord process to establish a fair, effective and sustainable basis for setting discipline funding levels including the split between Commonwealth and student share,” (QUT)

* reframe the funding of university places and agree a consistently applied ‘fair price’ for student co-contribution. This should be put alongside a true-cost-of-delivery higher education supplement from the Commonwealth,” (RMIT)