This little university went to market

The income contingent loan (ICL) is the Hills Hoist of Australian higher education policy. We might think about upgrading the garden furniture, putting in a pool, deregulating fees, but there, proudly in the middle, will remain the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS, now Higher Education Loan Programme) mechanism. There's something about the way that HECS mixes egalitarianism and capitalist pragmatism that has made it such a success in Australia. Whether pegging up the fees for a law, business or medicine degree on the upwardly mobile side, or nursing, teaching or generic BA/BSci degree on the mundane middle-class side, we can be confident that there will be enough room for all and the sunny Australian economy will steadily evaporate the debt. If the rain persists, we won't have to pay. Most importantly, there are no upfront costs for installation. As university enrolments have risen from 15% to nearly 40% of the population (by age) over the last generation, the line of HECS repayments in our tax statements has become as ubiquitous as the demountable rotary clothesline in our backyards.