Is the Universities Accord the funding answer?

Not in the short term, and maybe not at all.

The Final Report of the Universities Accord is finally here. To help unpack it, here's a quick summary and our analysis of what it may mean to universities.

The Accord in brief

The Accord Final Report creates a blueprint for higher education planning out to 2050. Its core proposition, from which almost all else follows, is that the sector must double in size by 2050 if the nation is to meet the forecast need for graduates in the workforce.

Several proposals flow from that starting point:

• More students from equity groups – especially low SES, regional and Indigenous – will need to be recruited and retained if this target is to be achieved. The Report proposes a tertiary education attainment target (in vocational and higher education) of 80% for the working age population by 2050. The sector will need to double in size by 2050.