How large are the cuts in operating grants per student? - Gerald Burke

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper analyzes how Australia’s 1988–89 Budget affected higher-education funding by focusing on the decline in operating grants per student from 1989 to 1991. It reviews projections for total funding growth, changes to operating grants, and projected enrolment expansion, then estimates the resulting per-student reductions. It explains mechanisms such as the Four Per Cent Second-Tier wage funding approach, the 1 Per Cent Reserve Fund, and deductions transferring resources to the Australian Research Council (ARC), concluding that cuts could reach around 8% to 10% depending on the funding treatment of enrolments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Total funding

Grants per student

Explanation

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W How large are the cuts in operating grants per student? Gerald Burke Monash University Editor’s note: This paper has been reproduced in this issue by permission of Professor Gerald Burke. It was originally published in the Australian Universities’ Review vol. 31, no. 2, 1988. The paper was portentous; should you apologise for getting it right? As noted by Simon Marginson, governments learnt that they could get away with cutting university funding. It is clear that Gerald Burke is NOT like the alleged Marxist scholar, who was so far ahead of his times, that even 20 years after his death, some of his predictions had not been realised. The 1988–89 Budget provides more detail on the Commonwealth’s intentions for higher education as outlined in the Green and White Papers. This article focuses on one consequence of the Budget: the decline in operating grants per student in the period 1989 to 1991. Not all the data on expenditure and enrolments necessary for precise estimates are available in the budget papers and it is possible that the government will not proceed with some of its proposals such as the continuing transfer of funds to the Australian Research Council. Hence the estimates must be regarded as preliminary. Total funding Total resources available to institutions are projected to grow around 15 per cent by 1991, in part funded by the tertiary tax. (Estimates are in December 1987 prices.) There is an expansion of funds for capital purposes, continuing over the triennium. Capital grants estimated at $79 million in 1988 are projected to grow each year to reach $177 million in 1991, and to provide for renovations and for 26,000 new places. Institutions are now to receive a single Operating Grant in place of general recurrent equipment, minor works and special research grants. The total amount allocated to Operating Grants is to grow from $2,514 million in 1988 to $2,754 in 1991.This is an increase of around 9.5 per cent in three years. Enrolments are projected to grow about 40,000 or (approaching) 15 per cent over three years. Grants per student There is therefore an apparent decline in Operating Grant per student of about 5 per cent across the whole of higher education. Furthermore, institutions in higher education are to be only partially funded for the Four Per Cent SecondTier wage and salary increase in 1988.A rough estimate suggests that this will represent at least a 2 per cent cut in funds per student by 1991 if not before. 14 How large are the cuts in operating grants per student?, Gerald Burke vol. 50, no. 2, 2008 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W From the operating grant the government will establish a 1 Per Cent Reserve Fund which in the first instance will be used e.g. for early retirement or redundancy, management reviews or pilot programmes for a summer semester. Hence the real value of the Operating Grants per student received by institutions for their regular program a ‘researcher’. (The White Paper provides definitions of these.) The less than full funding of the projected expansion of enrolments can be dissected: • The Government announced that additional places are being funded at an average of $8,000 each. This represents about 3 per cent less per student than is projected to fall about 8 ~~ ~~ the average 1988 level of per cent in the period 1988 This reduction of 8 per cent follows the funding. to 1991.As will be discussed •Growth in student num below the decline will be decline in funding per student of about bers is estimated at 40,000 . greatest in the universities 8 per cent in the period from 1976 to The funds provided for where the cuts [could reach](could reach 1986 reported by CTEC ... in 1986 and the growth)[ 1986 reported by CTEC ... in 1986 and the](could reach 1986 reported by CTEC ... in 1986 and the growth)[ growth](could reach 1986 reported by CTEC ... in 1986 and th

FAQs

What is the main issue the paper investigates about higher-education funding?

It investigates how much operating grants per student were cut following the 1988–89 Budget, focusing on the decline during 1989 to 1991.

How does the paper describe changes in total and operating grant funding?

It projects total resources to grow, while operating grants are reorganized into a single Operating Grant that increases in aggregate, yet still produces a decline on a per-student basis.

What mechanisms does the paper cite as causes of reduced funds per student?

It points to partial funding for the Four Per Cent Second-Tier wage increase, deductions transferred to the Australian Research Council, the 1 Per Cent Reserve Fund, and less than full funding for projected enrolment expansion.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blitz