The higher education sector should urgently drive new and innovative learning models to meet the federal government's tertiary participation targets, according to RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Alec Cameron.
Professor Cameron advocated for greater reform during the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Summit 2026 in Sydney.
"The environment in which we operate, and the needs of students, have changed," he said.
"As a sector, we can't keep doing more of the same.
"Vocational education and innovative learning models, like our flagship Earn and Learn program, will do the heavy lifting in this regard."
The Australian Universities Accord includes a national target for 80 per cent of working-age population to gain a tertiary qualification by 2050.
RMIT is helping to meet this target through initiatives like the Earn and Learn program and some 350 harmonised pathways, which allow students to seamlessly move between vocational and higher education streams, saving them time and money.
The contemporary student experience
Professor Cameron joined Olivia Roberts from TechnologyOne, Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations president Jesse Gardner-Russell and MortarCAPS Higher Learning Data Standard CEO Charlsey Pearce on a panel discussion about student experience.
He reflected on his own experience as a university student and how that had changed over the years.
"When I went to university, students could dedicate three years to study," Professor Cameron said.
"Students now have to fit study around work and life commitments - and may need to study at different points across the course of their lives.
Non-school leavers account for more than 30 per cent of RMIT commencements, and about 40 per cent of students undertake a study load less than 100 per cent.
"There are two dimensions to graduate outcomes: student experience and workforce readiness. It can't be an either-or situation; the whole sector needs to be doing both," he said.
"While we know the student profile and learning needs have changed, RMIT is very much still an applied, practical university. We have adapted to offer this same standard of education in new ways.
"There is so much to be gained from the in-person campus experience, not just in the classroom, but non-technical and social skills too."
