UA calls for a rethink of reforms

6 June 2014   |     Universities Australia has called for a “pause” to enable a rethink on the design of the proposed changes to the student loan program and the 20% cut in the Government contribution to student fees. Applying what UA describes as “reasonably conservative assumptions”, its modelling of the impact of the proposed shows that student debt levels are likely to at least double. Under a “medium fee increase” scenario, with a 4% interest rate, an engineering graduate working full-time faces a HELP debt of between $98,952 and $113,169 and would repay it over a period of 20 – 25 years. This is compared with $46,701 to $49,284 debt and 14 to 18 years repayment time under the existing arrangements. A nursing graduate under a medium fee increase scenario who works part time for six years after working full time for six years will pay off their student loan of $51,620 over 20 years, compared with 17 years to repay a HELP debt of $24,646 under the existing arrangements....[ MORE ]….

Go8 takes a contrary view on fees

6 June 2014    |    Mike Gallagher, executive director of the Group of Eight universities, says the Abbott government had no “realistic policy alternatives” to its proposed budget reforms, which will see funding rates cut, student fees deregulated, a real interest applied to student loans and universities exposed to private sector competition. Gallagher told a Brisbane conference that the reforms are “logical, coherent, sustainable, equitable and inevitable.” Meanwhile Fred Hilmer, head of the University of NSW and a long time and strident proponent of fee deregulation has slammed Universities Australia modelling of the impacts, saying it was based on a “fundamental misunderstanding of the way the system works”.....[ MORE ]….

Vice-chancellors united against student debt proposals

6 June 2014    |    Although vice-chancellors are divided on the issue of fee deregulation, a Fairfax Media poll reveals the Commonwealth government faces blanket opposition from university vice-chancellors to its plan to increase the interest rate on all student debts to up to 6% and slash university funding by 20%. These measures have sparked criticism from many university leaders who would otherwise have rallied behind the government’s plan to deregulate university fees. Peak body Universities Australia is calling on the government to rethink both policies. Giving ground on these measures could help the government win broader support for its reform package, which faces a hostile Senate…..[ MORE ]….

Melbourne confirms 540 jobs to go

6 June 2014    |    The University of Melbourne plans to cut 540 administrative jobs (15% of its non-academic workforce) by January 1, 2016 as part of a $70 million savings program. The job cuts do not include academic staff. Vice chancellor Glyn Davis is hopeful the impact on staff can be minimised through natural attrition and by focussing on reducing the total number of casual and fixed term staff….[ MORE ]….

Scholarships an “Orwellian tax”

6 June 2014    |    The government’s plan to fund its proposed Commonwealth scholarships from hiked fee revenue has been described by QUT’s equity director Mary Kelly as “a tax on students” and “Orwellian” by the NTEU. The scholarship program is to be funded directly by $1 in every $5 of increased student fees and is being promoted as a means of preventing disadvantaged students from being priced out of expensive courses following the deregulation of fees. Kelly says she keeps “waiting for someone to call it a levy or a tax, because that’s what it is. Students will have no option about paying it, and the tax-collectors (universities) will have no option about charging it.”….[ MORE ]….

Quelle surprise: fees set to soar

1 June 2014   |     Student fees at Melbourne University will need to rise by up to 61% in some courses to manage federal budget cuts, federal government’s increasingly controversial overhaul of higher education. Price hikes of a similar scale are predicted for Sydney University. In an email sent to staff members on Friday 30 May, Melbourne University Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis said initial analysis shows the gap caused by reduced public funding “…..is momentous indeed – fees would need to rise by 45% to make up lost funding in social science disciplines, by 54% in Science, and by 61% in Engineering. The budget has significantly changed the allocation of public money across disciplines. There are some winners – mathematics and humanities – and many losers.”....[ MORE ]….
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