[2] The reforms merged higher education providers, granted university status to a variety of institutions, instituted a system for income contingent loans to finance student fees, required a range of new performance monitoring techniques and methods, and revamped the relationship between universities and the Commonwealth Government.
The reforms were aimed at enhancing the "quality, diversity and equity of access" to education while improving the "international competitiveness" of Australian universities,[5] as well as a solution for the perceived brain drain.
The introduction of HECS meant a significant new revenue stream for universities was unlocked without further relying on government grants and without introducing large financial barriers to study in the form of up-front student fees.
[8] The Dawkins reforms have attracted criticism particularly from academic circles for what's viewed as the application of neoliberal ideology to universities.
[16] Other critics, especially those among the Group of Eight, saw these reforms as "dumbing down" higher education, as college diploma students became university graduates overnight.