Full Fees For One In Three Students As Uni Bills Pass

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday December 6, 2003

Aban Contractor

Students will pay up to 25 per cent more in tuition fees and universities will be able to charge one in three students full fees after the biggest shake-up of higher education in nearly two decades was passed by Parliament yesterday.

But the four independent senators on whose vote the Federal Government relied to pass its package worth $1.8 billion over four years insisted that the Government drop a plan to force universities to offer Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA) to staff in exchange for $404 million in extra funding.

The University of Sydney moved quickly to announce it would increase its fees by 25 per cent from 2005, except in nursing and teaching, as a result of the deregulation package, which is also expected to affect the cost of courses at most other universities.

The universities will also now be allowed to offer up to 35 per cent of places in courses to students prepared to pay full fees. Other changes mean students will not have to pay back their university debt until their income reaches $35,000 in 2004-05 and $36,184 in 2005-06.

As part of the deal to secure passage of the reforms, the federal Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, also promised the independent senators Meg Lees, Shayne Murphy, Brian Harradine and Len Harris a review of the impact of the changes on the university sector in 2006.

Senator Lees has been promised a ``net increase" in the number of places offered by South Australian institutions and that the University of Western Sydney would ``be no worse off".

Dr Nelson said UWS would receive ``a minimum of 200 new Higher Education Contribution Scheme places".

State education ministers yesterday warned there would not be one new place next year at the nation's 38 publicly funded universities as a result of the package.

In Canberra for talks with Dr Nelson, they said they were angry that more students would get into university on the basis of their ability to pay, rather than on merit.

The spokeswoman for the group, Queensland Education Minister Anna Bligh, described it as a day of shame that would see entry scores rise and more people denied a place.

``We are angry that the cost of a university education has increased. We are angry that the wealthy students of this country will be able to buy places that their more talented and less wealthy peers will be denied," she said.

The NSW Education Minister, Andrew Refshauge, said UWS deserved a better deal. and the Premier, Bob Carr, would speak on their behalf, including meeting with Labor's new federal leader, Mark Latham.

``We need to make sure that the students of Western Sydney can go to university and can get the education they deserve," Dr Refshauge said.

Dr Nelson said education was an emotional issue and some items in the $1.8 billion, four-year package would not be well received by all people.

UWS vice-chancellor Janice Reid wrote to Dr Nelson yesterday, saying the university deserved a better deal.

``From a package that promised more funding and a better future, we face a bleak outlook," she wrote.

What Nelson wanted
* $1.5 billion in extra funding over four years
* Universities must offer individual contracts to staff
* Universities to increase fees by up to 30 per cent
* HECS repayment threshold of $30,000
* Double the number of full-fee Australian students to 50 per cent of course
* "Inflation plus 3.5 per cent" real rates of interest for full-fee student
loans
* Student Learning Entitlement limiting time students will be funded to study
fixed at 5 years
* 25,180 Commonwealth scholarships by 2007 and subject to social security income
 test
* Minister to have power to axe courses
* No money to help universities enrol poorer students

What he got
* $1.8 billion in extra funding over four years
* Universities may offer individual contracts to staff
* Universities to increase fees by up to 25 per cent
* HECS repayment threshold of $35,000 in 2004-05 and $36,184 in 2005-06
* Increase the number of full-fee Australian students to 35 per cent of course
* No interest rate for Australian postgraduate students and a fixed, flat 20 per
 cent loan fee for undergraduates
* Student Learning Entitlement fixed at 7 years and the right to appeal
* 30,000 Commonwealth scholarships by 2007 and not subject to social security
income test
* Parliament can stop the minister axing a course
* $50 million to help universities enrol poorer students

© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald

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