Shorten gives university funding guarantee

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says a Labor government would guarantee more money for universities.

Mr Shorten will used a speech to his alma mater Monash University on Monday to spell out the higher education policy that Labor will take to the next election.

A new student funding guarantee, enshrined in law and indexed to ensure it does not erode, would remove the need for higher fees and provide certainty for universities.

The guarantee would equate to a per student boost of $2500 a year from 2018, which an independent costing shows is 27 per cent more than under the coalition.

"Labor's positive plan for universities will deliver more graduates, not $100,000 degrees, to drive our economy," Mr Shorten said.

Labor has also set itself a goal to increase the number of students completing their study by 20,000 graduates a year from 2020.

It followed a study that showed a rising number of students are leaving university with a HECS debt but no degree.

"We want Australian students that start university, to finish university with a high quality degree," Mr Shorten said.

An extra $31 million would go to improving teaching quality and resources through Tertiary Education Quality Standards Australia.

An independent Higher Education Productivity and Performance Commission would be set up, with input from universities, to ensure graduates meet the needs of the future economy.