tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/university-fees-3561/articlesUniversity fees – The Conversation2024-02-24T13:07:38Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242402024-02-24T13:07:38Z2024-02-24T13:07:38ZUniversities Accord: many students could pay less for their higher education … eventually<p><em>The federal government has released the final report on a Universities Accord. Taking more than a year to prepare, it is billed as a “blueprint” for reform for the next decade and beyond. It contains 47 recommendations across student fees, wellbeing, funding, teaching, research and university governance. You can find the rest of our accord coverage <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/universities-accord-121839">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>The Universities Accord final report makes recommendations that could significantly change what many Australian students pay for their higher education. </p>
<p>Course fees have increased dramatically in recent years for many domestic university students, burdening graduates with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-15/hecs-help-debt-financial-advice-indexation-student-loan/102218826">high debts</a>. It is not unheard of for graduates to have debts over A$100,000.</p>
<p>The report is damning of the former Morrison government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-should-scrap-job-ready-graduates-and-create-a-new-multi-rate-system-for-student-fees-203910">Job-ready Graduates</a> scheme, introduced in 2021. This fuelled debts when it increased fees to some courses, such as humanities, communications and human movement.</p>
<p>But what should replace it?</p>
<p>The report says student fees should be based on lifetime earnings. But it also leaves a lot unsaid about what students will actually pay or when change might come.</p>
<h2>What will Australian students pay?</h2>
<p>By world standards, Australians already contribute a huge amount to the cost of their education. </p>
<p>Data from the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/">OECD</a> shows there are only a few other countries where students and their families contribute more to the total cost of tertiary education.</p>
<p>To make the system “fairer and better reflective of the lifetime benefits that students”, the report recommends a reversal of some or all of the fee increases introduced under Job-ready Graduates. </p>
<p>This would mean significant reductions for many students. For example, the cost of many subjects in an arts degree rose by 113% under the scheme. Reversing the Job-ready Graduates increases could cost the federal budget a billion dollars or more, depending on the final details. </p>
<p>The report recommends “Commonwealth Supported” students (most undergraduates in Australia) should still pay different amounts for different areas of study. But it says fees should reflect “projected potential lifetime earnings” for graduates. </p>
<p>This would return to a logic that helped set fee levels before Job-ready Graduates. In the past, lawyers have earned more on average over a lifetime than nurses, so students studying law are asked to contribute more than those studying nursing. </p>
<p>To simplify the system, the report suggests fees would also be divided into three tiers instead of the current four.</p>
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<h2>Better ‘HELP’</h2>
<p>Australia’s HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP schemes for undergraduate and graduate students are the envy of many other countries. They mean students contribute to the cost of their education but remove barriers for those who cannot afford the fees upfront.</p>
<p>This is because students only begin to pay back their loans once they earn a certain level of income, and repayments change yearly if earnings change. There is no “real” interest on the loans, but they are pegged to inflation. This was less of an issue while inflation was low, but has recently seen student debts climb <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/ng-interactive/2023/may/03/millions-of-australians-face-higher-help-and-hecs-debts-see-how-inflation-will-change-your-repayments">by more than 7%</a>.</p>
<p>So the report recommends debts are increased each year based on whatever is lower, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or Wage Price Index (WPI): in other words, inflation or how much wages are growing. This will cost the federal budget more but would mean the growth of an individual’s debt is more closely tied to wage growth. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">The Job-ready Graduates scheme for uni fees is on the chopping block – but what will replace it?</a>
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<h2>Making sure student debts are fair</h2>
<p>The report also asks Australian banks to view HELP loans differently from other debt, such as credit card debt, when assessing whether or not to approve a bank loan. This follows <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/wealth/increased-hecs-debts-to-impact-home-loan-borrowing-power/news-story/cbfe93045f77aa6c38149143eae90f9d">concerns</a> graduates are not able to secure home loans due to their HELP debts. </p>
<p>As the review panel explain, a key feature of a HELP scheme loan is the repayments change with income and only needs to be repaid above an minimum earning threshold, so it has much better terms than other loans.</p>
<p>The report also recommends other ways the HELP system can improve, especially for some groups of low-income earners. At the moment, repayments are based on a debtor’s entire income, rather than income above the repayment threshold. </p>
<p>This means repayments can increase as incomes rise above each threshold but by more than the total increase in income. As the report notes, in 2022-23, when a person’s income was $48,360 they repay nothing of their student debt, but a $1 increase in their earnings and they had to repay $483.61.</p>
<p>So the report recommends we move to a marginal repayment rates approach (like in some tax systems, which applies a tax rate to each extra dollar over a threshold), to minimise the chance that some HELP debtors are actually <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/4509852/Gender-equity-and-policy-neglect-in-student-financing.pdf">worse off</a> for earning more. </p>
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<h2>Further help for students</h2>
<p>The report wants to see the government subsidise new fee-free “preparation” courses (an expanded range of what has been termed <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-enabling-programs-how-do-they-help-australians-get-to-uni-210269">enabling courses</a>). These are designed to prepare students to succeed in their studies and would be offered to anyone who had been accepted into government supported courses, with a <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/understanding-fees/commonwealth-supported-places.html">Commonwealth Supported Place</a>.</p>
<p>The review also wants to see financial support for students who have to do work placements to complete their degrees, such as nursing, allied health and teaching. These compulsory placements can be very costly for students. For example, recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-no-longer-justify-unpaid-labour-why-uni-students-need-to-be-paid-for-work-placements-203421">research on social work students</a> has found the financial burden of doing these placements can be crippling, with students having to give up paid work, travel long distances and pay for clothing.</p>
<h2>Student income support</h2>
<p>The report recognises one of the biggest challenges for many students, especially many underrepresented groups, is the cost of living while studying.</p>
<p>The current <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-much-youth-allowance-for-students-and-apprentices-you-can-get?context=43916">$639-a-fortnight</a> from Youth Allowance is hardly enough for even the most meagre lifestyle. This means university can be almost impossible for many people unless they have family support or additional paid work, which can often put pressure on their studies. </p>
<p>The report makes specific recommendations about extending eligibility criteria for student income support payments for some part-time students as well as increasing the threshold for the parental income test for eligibility for some students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hecs-help-loans-have-become-unfair-for-women-but-there-is-a-way-to-fix-this-200546">HECS-HELP loans have become unfair for women but there is a way to fix this</a>
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<h2>A long way off?</h2>
<p>While the final accord report proposes some major changes, much of the detail, such as fee levels, is not included. </p>
<p>In fact, it suggests it should be up to a new Australian Tertiary Education Commission to sort out.</p>
<p>The details, not least who pays, what, when and how, are critical to the success or otherwise of the accord. They will likely shape its impact (positive or negative) for a generation to come. </p>
<p>Ahead of the next federal election (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/election-in-2024-unlikely-cost-of-living-help-on-the-way-albanese-20240103-p5euwx.html">either this year or early next</a>), any major new policy with a high price tag like reducing students fees could be a big ask for the government.</p>
<p>Establishing a complex body such as a Tertiary Education Commission will also take time. And this runs the risk that political will could falter and priorities will shift, especially if there is a change of government. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, this much anticipated final report has good news for many universities students who are struggling with the costs of study, even if it does not offer any immediate relief.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwilym Croucher is an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne</span></em></p>The Universities Accord final report makes recommendations that could significantly change what many Australian students pay for their higher education.Gwilym Croucher, Associate Professor, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2155392023-11-07T19:35:00Z2023-11-07T19:35:00ZOnly 1.5% of students swapped fields due to the ‘Job-ready Graduates’ fee changes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557220/original/file-20231102-29-2xp60q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C30%2C5044%2C3317&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-white-board-3781338/">Jeswin Thomas/ Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January 2021, the Morrison government changed the way university fees are set with the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/job-ready">Job-ready Graduates scheme</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/job-ready/announcements/job-ready-graduates-package">idea</a> was to steer students into courses that would lead to “the jobs of the future”. So the scheme made some fields (such as history and journalism) more expensive and some (such as nursing, teaching, computer programming and engineering) less expensive. </p>
<p>Fees rose by as much as 117% for some fields and dropped by as much as 59% for others. The government believed this would affect student choices. </p>
<p>Education experts have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">very critical</a> of scheme. They argue it is not only unfair, it would not work. But to date there have been few studies looking at the evidence. </p>
<p><a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/publications/working-papers/search/result?paper=4751741">Our research</a> with our former student Maxwell Yong shows the impact of the Job-ready Graduates scheme was modest at best. </p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>Our study looked at student’s preferences when applying for degrees and final enrolments (what they ended up studying). </p>
<p>We used data from the Universities Admissions Centre, which handles applications for degrees in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. </p>
<p>We looked at more than 725,000 undergraduates applying between 2014 and 2022. This means we had seven years of data before the Job-ready Graduates scheme was introduced, and two years afterwards.</p>
<p>Using various statistical models, we analysed whether students increased their preferences for fields that became cheaper and reduced preferences for fields that became more expensive. </p>
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<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>Overall we found the Job-ready Graduates scheme only had a minor impact on course choices. </p>
<p>Just 1.52% of university applicants in our study chose fields they would have not chosen had it not been for the scheme, moving from humanities, arts, law and business to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and teaching.</p>
<p>Maths and statistics had the largest drop of student fees (59%) of any field. But only one out of every 2,000 students responded by changing their preference to maths.</p>
<p>Communications, journalism and media studies had the largest increase in fees (117%). But only one out of every 350 students chose not to preference these fields in response.</p>
<p>This is perhaps not surprising. Under <a href="https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/hecs-help">HECS-HELP</a>, students do not have to pay university fees up-front. Many students also choose courses <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513540210415523/full/html">based on their passions</a> and interests rather than the amount of the deferred fees.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-research-shows-how-students-can-miss-out-on-their-preferred-uni-degree-but-theres-a-simple-fix-207415">Our research shows how students can miss out on their preferred uni degree – but there's a simple fix</a>
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<h2>Big repercussions</h2>
<p>While we found only modest responses to these large fee changes, this does not mean students are not affected. Because of the reforms, many will accumulate much larger HECS-HELP debts. </p>
<p>For a three-year bachelors degree in journalism, the debt grows from around A$20,000 to A$43,500. For a mathematics degree, the debt falls from around $28,600 to $11,850. The new difference in debts ($31,650) is more than triple the old difference ($8,600). </p>
<p>Higher debts mean more years of making repayments. Longer repayment times may mean delayed home purchases and starting families. </p>
<p>These reforms overturned 25 years of university fees <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-fees-are-poised-to-change-a-new-system-needs-to-consider-how-much-courses-cost-and-what-graduates-can-earn-192023">reflecting the earning prospects of graduates</a>. Those likely to earn more post-graduation (lawyers, doctors, financiers) paid a bit more. Those likely to earn less (arts, nursing, teaching) paid a bit less. </p>
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<h2>The Universities Accord</h2>
<p>The Albanese government is in the middle of a <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord">broad review</a> of the higher education system, including university fees. The Universities Accord review panel is due to hand in a final report in December. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">interim report</a> was highly critical of the Job-ready Graduates scheme, saying it risks “causing long-term and entrenched damage to Australian higher education”.</p>
<p>As a new model is considered, it is important policymakers understand increasing HECS-HELP debts for some and reducing them for others is not going to prompt students into areas the government deems a “priority”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-should-scrap-job-ready-graduates-and-create-a-new-multi-rate-system-for-student-fees-203910">The Universities Accord should scrap Job-ready Graduates and create a new multi-rate system for student fees</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan Kabatek receives funding from Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Coelli has received funding in the past from the Australian Research Council and from the Department of Education. He has also completed some analysis work for the AI Group.</span></em></p>Australian university applicants are sticking to their preferred fields of study, despite dramatic changes to student fees in 2021.Jan Kabatek, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of MelbourneMichael Coelli, Associate professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2135442023-10-11T19:05:14Z2023-10-11T19:05:14ZOur research shows the number of history academics in Australia has dropped by at least 31% since 1989<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550541/original/file-20230927-25-wsebsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7951%2C5285&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-brown-wooden-book-shelf-2952871/">Engin Akyurt/Pexels </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Catholic University has recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/14/australian-catholic-university-condemned-over-totally-indefensible-cuts-to-humanities-programs">announced</a> it will abolish academic positions in history as part of broader cuts in the humanities. Staff are understandably <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/religion/miles-pattenden-acu-lament-catholic-university/102856898">shocked and dismayed</a> by the news. </p>
<p>Regrettably, the plight of these academics is part of a broader decline in the study of history in Australian universities over the past few decades. </p>
<p>As our yet-to-be-published research shows, the ACU cuts are dramatic and extreme, but not inconsistent with the way Australian universities have treated one of their foundational disciplines for some time. </p>
<h2>What is happening to academic historians?</h2>
<p>In 1989, there were about 450 full-time equivalent paid positions in history disciplines in Australian universities.
In 2016, we did a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1031461X.2019.1601750">detailed survey</a> showing they had fallen to 347 – a 23% drop. This is despite a huge increase in size of the <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/4735688/CSHE-WorkingPaper_University_Workforce_Croucher_2023.pdf">overall university sector</a> during the same period. </p>
<p>At the time of our study, we attributed this drop to the effects of the commercialisation of Australian higher education, through the increasing reliance on industry funding, overseas students and fee-based courses.</p>
<p>There was also a misguided belief on the part of some potential students - and parents and others advising them - that humanities degrees do not lead to meaningful jobs. Political hostility from conservative governments and some sections of the media would not have helped.</p>
<p>We repeated the survey in 2022 to gauge the impact of COVID cost-cutting by universities and the Morrison government’s <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/job-ready">Job-ready Graduates</a> program. </p>
<p>This program was introduced in 2021 and made humanities subjects, including history, 113% more expensive in a bid to steer students towards other fields such as nursing and teaching. </p>
<p>We asked all heads of history programs to provide us with student and staff data. We also collected the same figures from New Zealand universities for comparison.</p>
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<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>The results were alarming and point to a crisis in the study of history in Australian universities. </p>
<p>We found student enrolments (anyone studying a history course) had declined by roughly 23% since 2016.</p>
<p>Teaching and research staff numbers had also continued to slide, down another 8% to 319 full-time equivalent positions. This takes the overall drop in staff numbers to 31% since 1989. </p>
<p>However, it does not factor in the staff who are set to lose their jobs at ACU. A draft document circulated by ACU in September suggested up to ten positions in history could go. On Tuesday, ACU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Abid Khan told The Conversation the university’s plans had not been been finalised, “therefore proposed or perceived numbers about roles are not accurate”.</p>
<p>There are also fewer staff and students in history in New Zealand than there were in 2016. But the decline there has been half that in Australia – a 4.6% decline in staff and 10.1% reduction in student numbers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">The Job-ready Graduates scheme for uni fees is on the chopping block – but what will replace it?</a>
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<h2>Why are we seeing this decline?</h2>
<p>The recent decline may owe something to the Job-ready Graduates package discouraging humanities study.</p>
<p>But other factors are also likely to be at play here. The massive size of the international student market in Australia – and its role in <a href="https://theconversation.com/international-students-are-returning-to-australia-but-they-are-mostly-going-to-more-prestigious-universities-193391">cross-subsidising research</a> – distorts university decision-making about investment and resources even in good times. </p>
<p>This means resources are diverted away from disciplines such as history and into areas such as management, information technology and engineering (where there are <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/220207-HE-Facts-and-Figures-2022_2.0.pdf">far more international student enrolments</a>). </p>
<p>On top of the political and commercial hostility towards the humanities, there is also a belief arts degrees do not lead to meaningful jobs. This is misguided. </p>
<p>A 2021 <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/resources/publications/higher-education-enrolments-and-graduate-labour-market-statistics">Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a> study revealed earnings of those with undergraduate humanities degrees are comparable to positions in the science and maths sector. </p>
<p>In the tougher COVID era, when combined with explicit messages from the government that students should stay away from the humanities if they want well-paid and rewarding work, the effects are predictably pernicious.</p>
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<h2>Why is this a problem?</h2>
<p>Historical perspectives are key to understanding the present. So if people are not studying, teaching and researching history, this is an enormous problem for Australia. </p>
<p>Consider any major issue affecting Australian society, from <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/forty-millennia-of-indigenous-history-at-the-british-museum/">Indigenous affairs</a>, to <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/expert-insights/the-housing-debate-goes-full-circle-rae-dufty-jones">housing policy</a>, <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/we-have-still-not-lived-long-enough/">bushfire readiness</a> and <a href="https://16daysblogathon.blog/2021/12/06/day-twelve-a-national-disgrace-notes-from-a-history-of-domestic-violence-in-australia">domestic violence</a>. Historians have produced research, informed public policy, and educated students. </p>
<p>Jobs today and in the future will not just need technical skills but skills taught by the humanities, including
<a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/">critical thinking, creativity and expression</a>. The rise of artificial intelligence and robotics only serves to underline this reality. The very skills taught in humanities and social sciences, including history, will be needed to discern what can and cannot be automated with advantage to society.</p>
<p>There is also a civic dimension. A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/half-worlds-democracies-decline-intergovernmental-watchdog-2022-11-30/">healthy democracy</a> relies on a large population of citizens who can discern the difference between evidence-based knowledge and wild conspiracy theories. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-a-knowledge-economy-fuelled-by-scientists-and-arts-graduates-heres-why-212366">Australia needs a 'knowledge economy' fuelled by scientists and arts graduates: here's why</a>
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<h2>What can we do about this?</h2>
<p>If we want to protect and promote history (and other humanities disciplines), we need the support of governments and university managers. The fixes themselves are not difficult.</p>
<p>One immediate fix is to reverse the fee changes introduced by the Morrison government in 2021. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">Universities Accord interim report</a> has all but confirmed Job-ready Graduates will be scrapped, but we don’t yet know what will replace it. </p>
<p>Governments could also fund and insist universities fund foundational disciplines such as history, science and maths properly. </p>
<p>Another possibility might be to provide stronger incentives for study across different realms of knowledge. Why shouldn’t architects understand something of Ancient Rome, or medical students learn more about the minorities they will be working with? By the same token why shouldn’t arts students be required to grapple with commerce and science, or the latest digital technologies that might extend their reach? </p>
<p>If we don’t find solutions soon, we will, as the aphorism has it, not know ourselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213544/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Crotty has in the past received funding from the Australian Research Council and is an historian at the University of Queensland. He has friends and former colleagues at ACU who may lose their jobs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Bongiorno is President of the Australian Historical Association</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Sendziuk receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>A new study tracks the number of history academics and history students in Australia. The results are alarming.Martin Crotty, Associate Professor in Australian History, The University of QueenslandFrank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National UniversityPaul Sendziuk, Associate Professor in History, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133612023-09-13T04:06:08Z2023-09-13T04:06:08ZWill free teaching degrees fix the teacher shortage? It’s more complicated than that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547936/original/file-20230913-19-qwbuzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C27%2C6016%2C3971&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/1_CMoFsPfso">Joanna Kosinska/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has opened a new front in the national campaign to <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/nsw-teachers-to-receive-largest-pay-rise-in-decades">attract and retain</a> teachers. Amid ongoing <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Teacher%20Workforce%20Shortages%20-%20Issues%20paper.pdf">teacher shortages</a>, Victoria <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-12/victoria-free-secondary-teaching-degrees/102844100">will offer fee-free education</a> for high school teaching degrees from next year. </p>
<p>This is similar to the <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/making-it-free-study-nursing-and-midwifery">free nursing degrees</a> Victoria announced in 2022 to create an “army of home-grown health workers”.</p>
<p>But is it going to fix the problem? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-are-making-nursing-degrees-cheaper-or-free-these-plans-are-not-going-to-help-attract-more-students-189547">Governments are making nursing degrees cheaper or 'free' – these plans are not going to help attract more students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What was announced?</h2>
<p>On Tuesday, the Victorian government announced a <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/making-teaching-free-back-our-school-workforce">A$230 million teaching package</a>. </p>
<p>This includes scholarships to cover the costs of a high school teaching degree. Students will be required to work in Victorian government schools for two years after they graduate. This is expected to support about 8,000 “future teachers”. </p>
<p>There is a further $27 million to provide up to $50,000 in incentives for graduates to work in hard-to-staff schools, both in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. There is also $95.7 million to support and mentor first year teachers. </p>
<p>It’s an attractive package. But it’s very unlikely to address the core of the problem. That’s because access to tertiary study and incentives to relocate are not the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-great-education-ministers-agree-the-teacher-shortage-is-a-problem-but-their-new-plan-ignores-the-root-causes-188660">root causes</a> of teachers shortages, particularly <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00049441211066357">in rural and remote areas</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A student carries a stack of books." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547938/original/file-20230913-17-c5c0ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Victorian government hopes to encourage an extra 8,000 students into the teaching profession.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/jCIMcOpFHig">Element5 Digital/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>History tells us to be cautious</h2>
<p>History suggests free degrees will not see a surge of students applying to study teaching. </p>
<p>There was free university education in Australia between 1974 and 1989. Yet 1996 analysis showed the reintroduction of fees under the Hawke government was accompanied by <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ527928.pdf">an increase in university access</a>, rather than a reduction in student numbers.</p>
<p>Greater access to tertiary education also didn’t make it easier to find teachers for hard-to-staff schools. A 2019 <a href="https://researchsystem.canberra.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/52676956/Researching_the_schoolhouse.pdf">University of Canberra review</a> looked at 20 years of evidence around attracting and retaining teachers in rural and remote communities, including financial incentives. It found “we are no closer to solving this perennial issue”.</p>
<p>International evidence <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2020.1775566">is mixed</a>. It shows financial incentives can lead to an immediate increase in enrolments for teaching courses, but this tapers off quickly once the incentive is removed (as appears to be the case here at the end of 2025). </p>
<p>Research also suggests cash incentives can convince some students who are open to the idea of teaching, yet undecided, to enrol. But there is <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/11/767">little chance</a> it will bring people into the profession who don’t already value teaching. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three people sit around a table with laptops, smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547961/original/file-20230913-17-gqnccm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People with no interest in teaching are unlikely to be convinced by a free degree.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g1Kr4Ozfoac">Brooke Cagle/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s a question of motivation</h2>
<p>Like nursing, the motivation for pursuing a teaching career is driven by a <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203119273-1/people-choose-teaching-career-paul-richardson-helen-watt">range of factors</a> largely unrelated to pure financial incentives. </p>
<p>Those who choose, and remain in, teaching beyond their first few years are <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3887">typically attracted</a> by the intellectual stimulation, social benefits of teaching and opportunity to have a positive impact on people’s lives.</p>
<p>Students motivated predominantly by financial incentives may well get a reality check when they encounter their first practical experience in a classroom, particularly in a hard-to-staff school. </p>
<p>Schools also need to be positive and safe places to work if we want to attract and keep teachers. In a December 2022 review, the Productivity Commission noted “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/school-agreement/report/school-agreement-overview.pdf">low value</a>” administrative tasks meant teachers were not spending enough time teaching. </p>
<p>There have also been repeated reports about <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teacher-made-to-apologise-for-giving-child-improvement-strategies-20230815-p5dwqa.html">unreasonable expectations</a> and even abuse from parents, as well as student behavioural issues. </p>
<p>Unfortunately many teachers report their work is leaving them <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-principals-are-reaching-crisis-point-pushed-to-the-edge-by-mounting-workloads-teacher-shortages-and-abuse-201777">stressed and burned out</a> – and wanting to leave the profession. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-phone-you-up-during-lunch-and-yell-at-you-why-teachers-say-dealing-with-parents-is-the-worst-part-of-their-job-191256">'They phone you up during lunch and yell at you' – why teachers say dealing with parents is the worst part of their job</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We need to look beyond teaching degrees</h2>
<p>It’s good to see almost $96 million in the package to support first year teachers’ transition into the profession through “extra preparation time, mentoring and other professional support”. </p>
<p>This is consistent with the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/teaching-and-school-leadership/resources/national-teacher-workforce-action-plan">national plan</a> to address teacher shortages, released by federal and state education ministers in late 2022.</p>
<p>But we also need <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00049441211066357">ongoing measures</a>. This includes professional and practical supports. </p>
<p>Adequate housing for teachers amid a housing affordability crisis <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-023-00621-z">remains a challenge</a>. The impracticality of being posted to a regional school without housing is self-evident.</p>
<p>Community and social connections <a href="https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol45/iss5/2/">are also vital</a> for new teachers who move to non-metropolitan areas for work.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wont-solve-the-teacher-shortage-until-we-answer-these-4-questions-203843">We won't solve the teacher shortage until we answer these 4 questions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>More questions</h2>
<p>This package is an important and welcome response to teacher shortages. But it is unlikely to fix the problem and leaves us with some questions.</p>
<p>The funding is only for high school teachers. Could this attract students potentially interested in primary teaching and make primary school supply issues a greater problem? </p>
<p>The funding is only for enrolments in 2024 and 2025 and only for government schools. What happens in two years’ time? Could the package be extended to private and Catholic schools?</p>
<p>A two-year package with free degrees may seem like good politics (and it makes a good headline). But we need to look at the bigger picture and examine issues such as working conditions, professional development, and the way our society supports teachers so they can keep doing the essential work they do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Kidson works in the National School of Education at the Australian Catholic University. ACU provides initial teacher education in Victoria.</span></em></p>The Victorian government has announced a $230 million package to encourage an extra 8,000 ‘future teachers’ into the profession.Paul Kidson, Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100732023-07-26T10:57:52Z2023-07-26T10:57:52ZFoundation year courses are about to become cheaper – but this could make it harder for disadvantaged students to go to university<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539284/original/file-20230725-19-vq90xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C5104%2C2866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/classroom-multi-ethnic-students-listening-lecturer-1077839501">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170673/Higher_education_policy_statement_and_reform_-_government_consultation_response.pdf">has announced</a> that the maximum tuition fee for foundation years in English universities will be cut from £9,250 to £5,760. The reduction will apply to all classroom-based courses, such as business and social sciences, and will be likely to come into effect for the 2025-26 academic year. </p>
<p>Foundation years are offered by universities as a preparatory year of study for students who may not have the necessary qualifications, skills, and subject-specific knowledge to go straight into an undergraduate degree course. </p>
<p>Enter requirements vary, and previous work experience and academic background will often be considered. After finishing the foundation year, students are expected to progress into the university’s degree course for the same subject.</p>
<p>The government’s decision to cut fees <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/805127/Review_of_post_18_education_and_funding.pdf">stems from concerns</a> that foundation years are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/crackdown-on-rip-off-university-degrees">poor value for money</a> for taxpayers and students and may not be necessary for some students. </p>
<p>Reducing the fees will likely lead to universities offering fewer of these courses – a change that will disproportionately affect students from underrepresented backgrounds. </p>
<h2>A pathway in</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2021/05/20/the-case-for-putting-foundation-years-on-more-stable-ground/#:%7E:text=Across%20our%20ten%20institutions%2C%20students,likely%20to%20have%20a%20disability">Evidence</a> gathered from ten universities shows that foundation year students are more likely to be both male and from an underrepresented background. They are more likely to be from an ethnic minority, to be from a poorer background or to have a disability than the general student population. </p>
<p>Foundation years also provide an access route to university for many <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/f3450e04-2d2b-4b33-932f-41140d57c41e/ofs2019_20.pdf">mature students</a> from poorer backgrounds.</p>
<p>Between 2012-13 and 2017-18, foundation year entrants <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/f3450e04-2d2b-4b33-932f-41140d57c41e/ofs2019_20.pdf">tripled</a>. Meanwhile, the number of students taking alternative, cheaper Access to Higher Education Diplomas declined by 18%. These access diplomas are taught at further education colleges. </p>
<p>Foundation years do not result in a qualification or certificate. However, they allow a student to start at university. The course fees are higher but students also have access to maintenance loans and university bursaries for underrepresented groups, which may not be possible for those taking access diplomas.</p>
<p>I carried out <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1762171">research</a> with colleagues to investigate students’ experience of their foundation year. We asked students to create digital stories – short videos which included text, images and animation – about their experience. </p>
<p>We found that the students saw the foundation year as a key part of their personal journey. “I’ve understood how to be myself,” one narrated. </p>
<p>Some students saw the year as a step backwards, a requirement they had to fulfil after not meeting the entrance requirements for an undergraduate course. Others saw it as a way to test out university life. </p>
<p>Being on campus and accessing the facilities it had to offer was important to the students, as was the style of teaching. “It’s a lot different to college, in a good way,” one student said. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black female student choosing a book in university library." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539286/original/file-20230725-21-dio99v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Foundation year students value experiencing university life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/waist-portrait-female-africaamerican-student-choosing-2026190900">SeventyFour/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I have been exploring the value students place on their foundation year study further in <a href="https://shura.shu.ac.uk/30966/">ongoing research</a>. In interviews with undergraduates who took a foundation year, I have seen that students find it valuable to be able to go straight from a foundation year to a degree course at the same university. And again, experiencing university life – rather than delaying it by going to college – was also important to them.</p>
<p>What’s more, the cost of the foundation year did not discourage the students I spoke to. One said that the fee should be lower than the yearly cost of a degree course, not because the experience was poor value but because it did not contribute to their degree qualification. </p>
<h2>The debt premium</h2>
<p>Students from poorer backgrounds face a “debt premium” – they <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/909623/Impact_of_the_student_finance_system_on_disadvantaged_young_people.pdf">borrow more money</a> to afford to study. </p>
<p>The foundation year adds to this premium, even though this route allows students to overcome structural barriers or poor educational experiences. But government actions that may limit the availability of these courses do not reflect the value of foundation year students and their unique contribution to the higher education sector.</p>
<p>In order to be able to to charge the maximum fee for courses, universities have to <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/access-and-participation-plans/">demonstrate</a> how they increase access opportunities for underrepresented groups. Foundation years are crucial to many university’s plans for doing this. </p>
<p>But given the <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-call-for-a-tuition-fee-rise-heres-what-that-would-mean-for-students-and-taxpayers-189423">financial challenges</a> facing higher education, universities will have difficult decisions about the financial viability of delivering foundation years. </p>
<p>It is worth bearing in mind that while delivering a foundation year <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170788/Understanding_the_costs_of_foundation_years_study_research_report.pdf">costs a university</a> around the same as the first year of an undergraduate course, a foundation year requires more pastoral support and contact time with staff, because of the tailored approach needed for a more diverse student body.</p>
<p>Many universities will continue to provide classroom-based foundation years. But some will not, cutting off opportunities for many.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210073/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathaniel Pickering does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Foundation year students are more likely to be from an underrepresented background.Nathaniel Pickering, Lecturer in Research Evaluation and Student Engagement, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099742023-07-19T08:29:42Z2023-07-19T08:29:42ZThe Job-ready Graduates scheme for uni fees is on the chopping block – but what will replace it?<p>On Wednesday, Education Minister Jason Clare released a much-anticipated report on universities. This is the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/resources/accord-interim-report">interim report</a> of the Universities Accord review.</p>
<p>The review, commissioned in November 2022 and led by Professor Mary O'Kane, has been tasked with creating a “<a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord">visionary plan</a>” for Australian higher education. It is examining everything from university governance, to research, teaching, international students and student wellbeing. </p>
<p>But one area of great interest is what will happen to the fees students pay to attend university. For domestic government-supported students, these are called “student contributions”. </p>
<p>The government and the review panel are also emphasising equity of access to higher education and the report suggests major changes to how university funding works. These changes would be invisible to students, but the goal is more people from disadvantaged backgrounds enrol in university and complete their degrees. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-could-see-the-most-significant-changes-to-australian-unis-in-a-generation-194738">The universities accord could see the most significant changes to Australian unis in a generation</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Student fees are set to change (again)</h2>
<p>The interim report confirms the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/job-ready">Job-ready Graduates</a> scheme for student fees be scrapped. This was introduced in 2021 by the Morrison government. </p>
<p>It was intended to steer students to courses that matched labour market demand (such as teaching or nursing) or other national priority areas (such as mathematics and foreign languages). Student contributions for these courses were discounted. </p>
<p>Other courses, notably arts degrees, saw price increases. The cost of most subjects more than doubled. </p>
<p>But this does not work. Along with other higher education policy analysts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">I argue</a> student contributions only have small effects on student choices. The main practical consequence is some students will be burdened with HELP debts that take decades to repay, if they ever are repaid. </p>
<p>The accord review panel agrees, noting: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>the continuation of these current arrangements risk causing long-term and entrenched damage to Australian higher education.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Narrowing the list of alternative systems</h2>
<p>The review panel has delayed any firm recommendations on what will replace Job-ready Graduates until its December 2023 final report, but some version of a multi-rate system looks set to return. </p>
<p>So what happens now? One option is to reverse the worst of Job-ready Graduates, and take arts students and others affected by high student contributions back to their old rates. But this would be a disappointing response for a review supposed to come up with “big ideas”. As the interim report observes, a simple reversal would “cost in the order of A$1 billion a year”. </p>
<p>Some university interest groups suggest <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-should-scrap-job-ready-graduates-and-create-a-new-multi-rate-system-for-student-fees-203910">going back to a flat student contribution rate</a>, where every student pays the same fee. This was the system between 1989 and 1996. Students in longer degrees would still pay more, but the annual fee would be the same regardless of course. </p>
<p>Without fully ruling it out, the accord panel says this “risks unfair trade-offs”. Indigenous, regional, low socioeconomic status and female students would all pay more on average than they do now. This is because they are more likely to take courses that are currently discounted under Job-ready Graduates including nursing, teaching and agriculture. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-should-scrap-job-ready-graduates-and-create-a-new-multi-rate-system-for-student-fees-203910">The Universities Accord should scrap Job-ready Graduates and create a new multi-rate system for student fees</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>My proposal</h2>
<p>Other interest groups favour a system where student contributions are linked to expected future income. The interim report mentions this in a neutral way.</p>
<p>The interim report does not directly mention <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/consultations/consultation-accord-terms-reference/submission/15035">my variant</a> of this, which is also based on expected future incomes and aims to narrow differences in HELP repayment times between courses. </p>
<p>This would require a greater focus on the total average debt a student accumulates before starting full-time work – recognising some courses take longer or are more likely to involve additional study.</p>
<p>My proposal would also take into account varying patterns of post-study income. Graduates of some courses can walk straight into well-paid jobs, while others take longer to find work and have lower initial salaries. These factors can have significant effects on repayment times.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1676003261034254338"}"></div></p>
<h2>More higher education opportunities</h2>
<p>Two key goals for the accord are to expand the higher education system to meet labour market skill needs and to provide more opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The interim report suggests a target of parity in participation rates between the general population and people classified as low socioeconomic status, living in a regional area or with disability by 2035. </p>
<p>This is very unlikely. As Clare pointed out in his <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/speech-national-press-club">National Press Club speech</a> on Wednesday, school results for some disadvantaged groups have been going backwards in recent years. He has other <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-school-reform-agreement-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-school-funding-202847">school-focused reviews</a> to address this, but the interim report cites no evidence such rapid change could be achieved in just over a decade. </p>
<p>They do, however, have many ideas for expanding opportunity. While short on detail, they propose a “universal learning entitlement” for tertiary education, including vocational and higher education. Currently anyone who meets university entry criteria is eligible for a government subsidised place and <a href="https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans">a HELP loan</a>, but whether they receive it depends on whether a university will accept them. </p>
<p>As an interim measure, the government is <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/australian-universities-accord-interim-report-and-immediate-actions">lifting funding caps for all Indigenous students</a>, not just those in rural and remote areas. </p>
<p>The accord panel also suggest the funding rate a university receives per student might be linked to student as well as course characteristics. This already happens in the school system. Existing <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/heppp">higher education programs</a> distribute fixed amounts of money between universities based on their share of enrolments of disadvantaged groups. But this funding is not linked to additional teaching and support costs. </p>
<p>These costs are potentially very large. They would also require substantial revision of current definitions of disadvantage. Two equity groups – low socioeconomic status and regional – are based purely on geographic measures. </p>
<p>They are OK as rough indicators of broad trends in the sector, but they are <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/explainer-measuring-disadvantage-at-a-household-level/">well-known to misclassify</a> the disadvantage level of individual students. To reach the people who need help, we will need more precise indicators. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1659373420981764096"}"></div></p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>There is a huge amount of work and debate to happen between now and the end of the year. The interim report calls for advice on more than 70 policy ideas over 150 pages. The accord panel and Clare say they are are keeping their minds open. In his National Press Club address Clare specifically invited critique and alternatives. </p>
<p>Submissions containing these – or offering support – are <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/consultations/consultation-interim-report">due by September 1</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Norton works for the Australian National University, which like all universities will be affected by policy change following Universities Accord recommendations.
He is also on a the Universities Accord ministerial reference group. This is an unpaid position. He was not involved in writing the Universities Accord interim report. </span></em></p>On Wednesday, Education Minister Jason Clare released a much-anticipated report on universities.Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055642023-05-28T20:05:10Z2023-05-28T20:05:10ZDIY degree? Why universities should make online educational materials free for all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528465/original/file-20230526-7773-ctwlgg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C26%2C5982%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Lion/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of our series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/universities-accord-big-ideas-137143">big ideas for the Universities Accord</a>. The federal government is calling for ideas to “reshape and reimagine higher education, and set it up for the next decade and beyond”. A review team is due to finish a draft report in June and a final report in December 2023.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>As part of the federal government’s bid to overhaul higher education, the Universities Accord <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/resources/australian-universities-accord-panel-discussion-paper">discussion paper</a> is seeking to “widen” opportunities for people to access university. It also wants to “grow a culture” of lifelong learning in Australia. As the review team note, most people in Australia who study at university are under 35. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Lifelong learning can help to ensure that workforce skills are up to date and that jobs in high demand can be filled, as well as enabling people to create new job opportunities through innovation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These issues need to be approached in many ways. And will inevitably include proposals for shorter forms of learning as well as addressing the financial cost of attending university.</p>
<p>My proposal – also outlined in this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.607">journal article</a> – is that a proportion of educational resources generated by publicly funded universities should be made public and freely available. </p>
<p>This could radically expand opportunity and flexibility and potentially allow students to design their own degrees, by doing multiple different units from different universities.</p>
<h2>This idea is not completely new</h2>
<p>There is a precedence for this idea. The international <a href="https://www.coalition-s.org/addendum-to-the-coalition-s-guidance-on-the-implementation-of-plan-s/principles-and-implementation/">Plan S</a> initiative is led by a group of national research funding organisations. Since 2018, it has been pushing for publicly funded research to be published in open-access journals or platforms.</p>
<p>Australian chief scientist Cathy Foley similarly <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-united-nations-new-open-science-framework-could-speed-up-the-pace-of-discovery-173148">wants all Australian research</a> to be “open access, domestically and internationally, and for research conducted overseas to be freely available to read in Australia”.</p>
<p>When it comes to university learning, a <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-open-educational-resources-oer">2019 UNESCO report</a> encouraged member states to make higher education educational resources developed with public funds free and freely available. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/productivity/report">March 2023</a> report, the Productivity Commission recommended the federal government require “all universities to provide all lectures online and for free”. The commission said this would increase transparency in teaching performance and encourage online learning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/these-5-equity-ideas-should-be-at-the-heart-of-the-universities-accord-203418">These 5 equity ideas should be at the heart of the Universities Accord</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But this also has the ability to make to higher education <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6">more accessible</a>. </p>
<p>There is already plenty of international experience sharing educational materials online – including the global Open Educational Resources <a href="https://www.oercommons.org">public digital library</a>. This includes resources from early learning through to adult education. </p>
<p>The Productivity Commission says universities would not lose income by making educational resources open access. This is because universities “sell” credentials, not resources. It is also argued overworked academics can save time by using materials created by others.</p>
<p>But there is <a href="https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/7/recognizing-and-overcoming-obstacles-what-it-will-take-to-realize-the-potential-of-oer">resistance</a> from institutions and academics, including a perception free resources will be poor quality and take a lot of time to create. There is also a lack of technological tools to adapt resources. This may explain why open education has not yet taken off in Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother works on her computer next to her young son." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528468/original/file-20230526-19537-1ky3ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making resources free will increase access to higher education in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How would this work?</h2>
<p>My plan would require open online sites to host educational materials produced by academics. These would need to be moderated or curated and published under an <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">open access license</a>.</p>
<p>It would include a peer review system for educational materials like the one already used for research publications. Academics could get credit for publishing, updating or reviewing resources and the publication of education output would be included in the university metrics.</p>
<p>This could also help reverse the current downgrading of teaching in Australian universities in favour of research.</p>
<p>There could be three types of users: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>students who access materials through the university that produced them, as per current practice</p></li>
<li><p>individual students outside the university that created the materials who access materials for their own learning at whatever stage of life they are relevant to them</p></li>
<li><p>other organisations, including other universities, that then contextualise and deliver the materials to their students.</p></li>
</ol>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1653924999051321344"}"></div></p>
<h2>What kind of materials are we talking about?</h2>
<p>The Productivity Commission has talked about “lectures” being made available for free. But lectures are not a good way of transmitting information, especially online. For one thing, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2015.11.010">do not promote</a> critical thinking.</p>
<p>My plan proposes whole courses or at least sections of courses with assessments, would be provided. This includes text, videos and software and can include course planning materials and evaluation tools.</p>
<p>An indication of the academic level to which the course speaks, and the amount of possible credit, should also be provided.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-change-the-way-universities-assess-students-starting-with-these-3-things-203048">We need to change the way universities assess students, starting with these 3 things</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What about accreditation?</h2>
<p>Accreditation of learning should be considered as part of this.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://oeru.org/">OERu</a> is an international organisation where partner universities (including Penn State in the US and Curtin University in Australia) offer free access to online courses. Students pay reduced fees if they want to submit assignments, which can earn them microcredits towards a degree offered by one of the partners. </p>
<p>A more radical option would be to develop a system where students collect microcredits from whatever source they wish and present them to an accrediting body for an academic award rather than enrolling in a particular degree course.</p>
<h2>Suggested recommendations</h2>
<p>As it prepares its draft report, the accord review team should recommend:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>most university-generated educational material should be public and free</p></li>
<li><p>as an interim goal, within three years, 10% of all public university courses should be freely available online</p></li>
<li><p>an organisation should be created to develop the infrastructure needed to do this. This includes, open repositories, a peer review system for open educational materials, and systems for offering microcredits to students and academic credit to academics who take part.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a wheelchair work on a laptop in a cafe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528475/original/file-20230526-19-2uhqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students could pay a fee if they want accreditation for their work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marcus Aurelius/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why is this a good idea?</h2>
<p>The Productivity Commission says making this material public will encourage higher quality teaching, empower students and assist in lifelong learning. On top of this, there is the potential for true reform of the educational landscape. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-education-must-reinvent-itself-to-meet-the-needs-of-the-world-today-enter-the-distributed-university-175927">Higher education must reinvent itself to meet the needs of the world today. Enter the distributed university</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It provides opportunities for collaboration between universities, rather than a competitive business model. And it would make teaching more important, rather than an “inconvenient task” by those seeking academic advancement through research. </p>
<p>Finally, it would genuinely make learning more accessible and more affordable, no matter who you are or where you live.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard F. Heller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Making study materials free could potentially allow students to take multiple units from different universities. It would also make higher education much more accessible.Richard F. Heller, Emeritus Professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1920232022-10-17T19:04:48Z2022-10-17T19:04:48ZUniversity fees are poised to change – a new system needs to consider how much courses cost and what graduates can earn<p>One key change to universities under the Morrison government was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">Job-ready Graduates program</a>. Starting in 2021, this <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/everybody-is-confused-humanities-students-hit-with-surprise-fee-hikes-20220621-p5avbh.html">significantly increased</a> student fees for humanities degrees, slashed them for nursing and teaching, and moved many other courses up and down. </p>
<p>University <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/science-teaching-and-health-enrolments-drop-despite-uni-fee-overhaul-20220705-p5az3o.html">enrolment figures</a> suggest it has not achieved its goal: to steer students into certain fields of study and away from others. </p>
<p>So, a new system of student fees is likely to be part of Labor’s <a href="https://www.jasonclare.com.au/media/speeches/5137-universities-australia-2022-gala-dinner">promised Universities Accord</a>, which aims to reset the relationship between the federal government and university sector. </p>
<p>Its terms of reference will be <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/speech-12th-national-conference-university-governance">announced next month</a>. </p>
<h2>Ideas about setting student fees</h2>
<p>Australia has had several student fee systems before. In a <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4320401/From-public-to-private-benefits.pdf">new paper</a>, I look at the five different rationales used for setting HECS, later called student contributions, since 1989. These include: public benefits, increasing resources per student place, incentivising course choices, private benefits and course costs. </p>
<p>In the past month, two new reports have also looked at possible student contribution systems, adding to or varying those used previously. </p>
<p>In its October <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/productivity/interim5-learning">report on improving education outcomes</a>, the Productivity Commission set out two main options. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Student with backpack." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489952/original/file-20221017-11-7k16yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The way university fees are set up is expected to change under the Albanese government.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Webb/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the first, courses with <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-choice-of-university-has-no-effect-on-new-graduate-pay-and-a-small-impact-later-on-what-they-study-matters-more-171491">greater expected private financial benefits</a> (or future income) would get lower public subsidies and require higher student contributions. Courses with the potential to earn low, medium and high incomes would have correspondingly low, medium and high student contributions. </p>
<p>In a second option, government subsidies would be a flat dollar amount or percentage of course teaching costs. Either way, students in courses <a href="https://www.qilt.edu.au/general/article/2020/11/04/third-news">with high teaching costs</a> would pay the most, as student contributions make up the difference between the public subsidy and the course cost. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://iru.edu.au/news/job-ready-graduates-principles-and-options-for-reform/">new report</a> from the Innovative Research Universities lobby group also suggests different options. Under one, most students would pay a flat student contribution rate, with public subsidies making up the difference between the flat rate and course costs. </p>
<p>For a <a href="https://bizfluent.com/info-7882139-budget-neutral.html">budget-neutral</a> transition from Job-ready Graduates, the flat rate would be about A$10,000 a year. The report says that this would offer “simplicity and predictability”. </p>
<h2>These ideas have a history</h2>
<p>It is important to remember these ideas have histories, with lessons today’s policymakers should not forget. </p>
<p>In 1997 the Howard government replaced the original flat HECS rate (where all students paid the same fee, regardless of their course) with three different HECS rates. Cabinet documents from the time show support for a “course costs” approach, so students in more expensive courses paid more. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-are-making-nursing-degrees-cheaper-or-free-these-plans-are-not-going-to-help-attract-more-students-189547">Governments are making nursing degrees cheaper or 'free' – these plans are not going to help attract more students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, the Howard government also recognised what <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4320401/From-public-to-private-benefits.pdf">my paper</a> calls the “nurses and lawyers problem”. Nursing costs more to teach than law, so under a course costs student contribution policy, nursing students would pay more than law students. That is a hard idea to sell. </p>
<p>Introducing a “private benefits” rationale solved this problem. On average lawyers earn more than nurses, and since 1997 law students have always paid higher student contributions than nursing students. </p>
<p>Despite the nurses and lawyers problem, the idea that course costs could be used to set student contributions has persisted. It led to two detailed <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2022/10/06/the-public-private-balance-a-failed-rationale-for-setting-student-contributions/">government-commissioned reports in the 2010s</a>, and is being suggested again now by the Productivity Commission. </p>
<h2>Politics, income and policy</h2>
<p>The education ministers who received those 2010s reports - Chris Evans from Labor and Simon Birmingham from the Liberals - did not implement their cost-sharing ideas. Student contribution levels are political as well as policy decisions, which need to be explained to the parliament, voters and students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inequity-of-job-ready-graduates-for-students-must-be-brought-to-a-quick-end-heres-how-183808">The inequity of Job-ready Graduates for students must be brought to a quick end. Here's how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Any rigid course cost model that ignores the politics of student contributions for areas like nursing and teaching isn’t politically viable. Public opinion will not support students training for these careers paying more for their education than law and business students.</p>
<p>The private financial benefits approach fits with Australia’s tax and social support system, under which we increase charges and reduce benefits with income.
But we also have to be careful about just relying on potential earnings to set course fees. On average, law graduates earn a lot, but a top commercial law barrister and a legal aid lawyer have very different incomes.</p>
<p>A flat-price student contribution would avoid some anomalies of the course cost and private benefit systems. But the transition back would be politically difficult – nursing and teaching student contributions would increase significantly unless overall public funding increased. </p>
<h2>Real-life consequences</h2>
<p>Although student contributions have little effect on course choices, <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4320401/From-public-to-private-benefits.pdf">my paper</a> argues they do have practical consequences policymakers should take into account. </p>
<p>The doubling of humanities student contributions under the Job-ready Graduates scheme, combined with the relatively low incomes of humanities graduates, means their <a href="https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans">HELP student loan</a> repayment times will be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8500.12472">longer</a>, with an increased proportion never fully repaying their debt. </p>
<p>While the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Rates/HELP,-TSL-and-SFSS-repayment-thresholds-and-rates/">HELP repayment system</a> lets graduates repay over decades if necessary, this is to assist people with low or irregular incomes, not to penalise people for their course choices. Under the current student contribution system, two graduates on the same income could have significantly different repayment times. </p>
<p>Repayment delays are bad for the government too. Repaying the <a href="https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-ce4c58ec-c930-4a05-8a37-f244d960e5f8/details?q=higher%20education%20loan">$74 billion in outstanding HELP</a> more quickly would reduce the <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/10/07/cost-of-government-debt-to-rise/">government’s interest bill</a> and the risk of debt never being repaid.</p>
<p>To combat these issues, we need to consider how much graduates can potentially earn when setting university fees. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for universities?</h2>
<p>Student contributions affect universities as well as students. As the Productivity Commission points out, universities need to pay their bills now and must pay attention to revenue per student. </p>
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<p>For universities, the key financial figure is the total funding rate. This is the public subsidy plus the student contribution. But each university has a cap on public funding. Once they reach it, additional students are funded on student contributions only. </p>
<p>For classroom-based courses such as arts or business, adding more students to subjects already being taught usually does not cost much. A low student contribution could cover it. But for courses with clinical components such as nursing, which requires expensive equipment and close supervision, the costs of more students are higher. </p>
<p>We know clinical training costs, combined with very low student contributions for nursing, are an obstacle to increasing enrolments despite <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2022/08/29/bonded-scholarships-for-nursing-students-in-victoria/">high demand</a>.</p>
<p>So, for universities’ purposes, we cannot forget what courses actually cost to run when setting student contributions.</p>
<h2>Pragmatic student fees</h2>
<p>Some student contribution systems, such as incentives to steer students into particular courses, should be ruled out. But when looking at university fees, the new federal government can adopt more than one rationale, pragmatically reflecting a mix of policy and political goals. </p>
<p>An enduring student contribution system will ensure that most graduates can repay their HELP debt in a reasonable amount of time, that students in nursing and teaching courses don’t pay more than other students, and that universities have the right incentives to meet student demand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192023/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Norton was on an expert panel advising then education minister Simon Birmingham on higher education funding in 2016 and 2017. </span></em></p>A new student contribution system is likely to be part of Labor’s promised Universities Accord.Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732192021-12-06T03:00:41Z2021-12-06T03:00:41ZLabor offers extra university places, but more radical change is needed<p>The Coalition and Labor took very different higher education policies to the 2019 federal election. The contest was between tightly capped total spending under the Coalition and a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190519114156/https://www.tanyaplibersek.com/speech_address_to_the_universities_australia_conference_canberra_thursday_28_february_2019">restored demand-driven system under Labor</a>, letting universities enrol unlimited numbers of students for bachelor degrees.</p>
<p>Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-for-better-future-speech">announcement yesterday</a> of extra university places if Labor wins the 2022 federal election offers more money and slightly changed criteria for distributing it among universities. Unlike in 2019, it is not a radically different alternative to the government’s policies. But there are ways of better achieving its goals. </p>
<h2>Up to 20,000 more places</h2>
<p>Labor promises to deliver up to 20,000 extra student places over two years. Enrolment data for 2020 and 2021 are not yet available, but <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data">on 2019 figures</a> Labor is offering, in theory, about a 3% increase in total places.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-offers-more-university-places-and-free-tafe-spots-173215">Albanese offers more university places and free TAFE spots</a>
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<p>The expected cost is A$481.7 million over the new few years. To put this in context, the <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/about-us/resources/portfolio-budget-statements-2021-22">federal budget</a> forecasts tuition subsidies of just over $7 billion a year. </p>
<p>Under the Coalition’s <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready">Job-Ready Graduates</a> policy, which began in 2021, the link between funding and student places is not straightforward, which explains Labor’s “up to” caveat. </p>
<p>In earlier funding systems, the idea of a student place was central. A student place was the equivalent of one year’s study for a full-time student. Each university had a minimum number of places it had to deliver for its funding. New places were often allocated in specific numbers by discipline or course. </p>
<p>Under the current system, universities are funded without setting minimum numbers of student places. Universities decide how to distribute that money between student places, which under Job-ready Graduates have a <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program/resources/2022-allocation-units-study-funding-clusters">wide range of dollar values</a>. </p>
<p>In 2021, law, business and most arts student places have an annual public subsidy of $1,100. An extra $1 million in public funding would finance 909 of those places. But nursing, engineering and science have a public subsidy of $16,250, so $1 million would cover only 62 places. </p>
<p>The Job-ready Graduates framework creates a tension between maximising opportunities to study, which is done most effectively in courses with low subsidies, and promoting courses with in-demand skills, which consume more of each university’s available funding. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-analysis-shows-morrison-government-funding-wont-cover-any-extra-uni-student-places-for-years-167542">New analysis shows Morrison government funding won't cover any extra uni student places for years</a>
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<h2>Labor’s criteria for distributing new funding</h2>
<p>Labor sets out <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-offers-more-university-places-and-free-tafe-spots-173215?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%206%202021%20-%202138321168&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%206%202021%20-%202138321168+CID_cd10577ddcf8d4d4a670440a5175d7d1&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Albanese%20offers%20more%20university%20places%20and%20free%20TAFE%20spots">three broad criteria</a> for allocating its new money to universities: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>ability to offer extra places in areas of national priority and skills shortage, including clean energy, advanced manufacturing, health and education</p></li>
<li><p>efforts to target under-represented groups such as the first in their family to go to university, people in regional, remote and outer-suburban areas, and First Nations people</p></li>
<li><p>student demand.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Labor’s priority fields are high-subsidy courses, so will generate fewer student places per million dollars spent. This creates a tension with equity goals. </p>
<p>The most successful policy to date for increasing representation was demand-driven funding. After lifting funding caps, growth in enrolments of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds <a href="https://andrewnorton573582329.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/low-ses-enrolment-index-2.jpg">outpaced</a> the rate for other socioeconomic groups.</p>
<p>Enrolments in lower-subsidy courses would help meet access goals, even if these course choices do not match Labor or Liberal views of what students should be studying. </p>
<p><a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2021/10/25/the-first-job-ready-graduates-university-applications-data/">Student applications data</a> reflect student demand, Labor’s third criterion for allocating funding. The data show increased student interest in the “society and culture” cluster of courses. This includes arts and law with the $1,100 public funding rate, despite their high <a href="https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans-commonwealth-supported-places-csps/student-contribution-amounts">student contribution of $14,500 a year</a>. </p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">3 flaws in Job-Ready Graduates package will add to the turmoil in Australian higher education</a>
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<h2>Parallels with Coalition policy</h2>
<p>Labor’s interest in using higher education policy to meet national priorities and skills shortages is conceptually similar to the Coalition’s “job-ready graduates” approach, although with slightly different lists of preferred courses.</p>
<p>Labor’s equity criteria for allocating funding to universities also have parallels with the Coalition. The current policy is to <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready/more-regional-opportunities#toc-commonwealth-grant-scheme-growth-for-regional-campuses">focus funding growth on regional universities</a> and campuses in areas with relatively high population growth. </p>
<p>The main novelty in Labor’s list is that “first in family” has not explicitly been used in policy before. But new students have been asked about their <a href="https://www.tcsisupport.gov.au/element/573">parents’ education</a> since 2010. The Coalition’s policy on regional and high population growth areas is likely to catch areas with relatively high proportions of first-in-family students. </p>
<p>The Coalition reintroduced demand-driven funding for <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready/more-regional-opportunities#toc-a-guaranteed-place-for-indigenous-students-from-regional-australia">Indigenous students from regional areas</a> this year. They also have high rates of first-in-family enrolment. </p>
<p>The key difference between the parties is the amount of extra funding for the chosen universities rather than the underlying criteria for how it is distributed. But more funding converted into more places undoubtedly matters for under-represented groups. </p>
<h2>A more ambitious agenda?</h2>
<p>Demand-driven funding, as Labor promised in 2019, is the most effective funding policy response to the problems it sees. It best matches the supply of places with student demand, by giving the funding system the capacity to create enrolments in the courses students want to take. </p>
<p>Furthermore, applications <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/06/28/financial-influences-on-job-seeking-university-applicants/">tend to follow the labour market</a> without any special policy incentives. With demand-driven funding there is no trade-off between access goals and priority shortages to overcome skills shortages. </p>
<p>Labor’s decision to abandon demand-driven funding is probably due to the Commonwealth budget being more stretched now, as a result of COVID-19, than it was in 2019. </p>
<p>Labor knows the so-called “Costello baby boom” students will <a href="https://andrewnorton573582329.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/2020s-population.jpg">reach university age in the mid-2020s</a>. They create a real need for more student places, but also mean demand-driven funding could drive a big increase in higher education spending. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-driven-funding-for-universities-is-frozen-what-does-this-mean-and-should-the-policy-be-restored-116060">Demand-driven funding for universities is frozen. What does this mean and should the policy be restored?</a>
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<h2>Modest changes at no cost to government</h2>
<p>While demand-driven funding is probably not going to return in the next few years, Labor could make other changes that will ease current policy tensions and be fairer for students.</p>
<p>There is a direct relationship between student contributions and the subsidy rate. A modified funding system could narrow the range of contributions, which this year stretch from $3,950 to $14,500 a year. </p>
<p>Discipline-based subsidies that are less varied than the 2021 range of $1,100 to $27,000 would ease, although not eliminate, the tensions between promoting courses in areas of skill shortage and increasing student places. </p>
<p>Such a system could deliver more student places per $1 million of public funding in skill priority courses than under current policies. </p>
<h2>Fundamental flaws remain in place</h2>
<p>For universities and prospective students there is no obvious downside to Labor’s proposal. On the announcements to date it would not fix the structural problems created by Job-ready Graduates, but I doubt such a <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">flawed policy</a> will last long-term, regardless of who wins the next election.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Norton works in the higher education sector and has previously advised Coalition higher education ministers on policy issues. </span></em></p>At the last election, Labor and the Coalition offered very different policies on university funding. Not so this time round, but the current flawed funding system could be improved further.Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1540792021-02-03T19:01:26Z2021-02-03T19:01:26ZWhich universities are best placed financially to weather COVID?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381544/original/file-20210201-19963-1nfkytc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=513%2C369%2C5475%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Potter/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>2021 is when the impacts of COVID-19 really start to take their toll on universities, as more than <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-19/covid-international-students-anxious-return-australia/13069472">140,000</a> international students seek to return to study in Australia. My new analysis, presented in this article, reveals that if one in five international students don’t re-enrol, the loss of revenue would plunge half of all Australian universities into financial turmoil or budget deficit. While the impacts of COVID are unprecedented, modelling universities’ financial resilience shows which institutions fare better and why.</p>
<p>International students generated <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/resources/2019-higher-education-providers-finance-tables">A$10 billion in fee revenue</a> for universities in 2019. This in turn drives <a href="https://theconversation.com/interactive-international-students-make-up-more-than-30-of-population-in-some-australian-suburbs-140626">jobs, local industry</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">research</a> and Australia’s reputation as a destination for quality higher education.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/2021-is-the-year-australias-international-student-crisis-really-bites-153180">2021 is the year Australia's international student crisis really bites</a>
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<p>Recent <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/international-student-update-2020-mitchell-institute.pdf">modelling</a> by the Mitchell Institute estimated more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-to-halve-international-student-numbers-in-australia-by-mid-2021-its-not-just-unis-that-will-feel-their-loss-148997">300,000 fewer international students</a> would be studying inside Australia by mid-year, if travel restrictions continued.</p>
<p>Universities employ <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/2020-staff-numbers">more than 130,000 staff</a> at <a href="https://universityreviews.com.au/map-of-australian-universities/">200 campus locations</a> across Australia. Many of these <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-10-000-job-losses-billions-in-lost-revenue-coronavirus-will-hit-australias-research-capacity-harder-than-the-gfc-138210">jobs could be at risk</a>. Universities Australia figures <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/17000-uni-jobs-lost-to-covid-19/">show</a> at least 17,300 have already been lost.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-to-halve-international-student-numbers-in-australia-by-mid-2021-its-not-just-unis-that-will-feel-their-loss-148997">COVID to halve international student numbers in Australia by mid-2021 – it's not just unis that will feel their loss</a>
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<h2>Revenue and reputation: a self-reinforcing cycle</h2>
<p>In total, <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/2019-section-2-all-students">32% of all full-time-equivalent enrolments</a> at Australian universities are international students. About a quarter (<a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/resources/2019-higher-education-providers-finance-tables">24%</a>) of all university revenue comes from these students. Universities’ operating revenue <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/17000-uni-jobs-lost-to-covid-19/">fell 4.9%</a> in 2020, with an estimated <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/17000-uni-jobs-lost-to-covid-19/">5.5%</a> fall to come in 2021.</p>
<p>International student fees are correlated with university rankings but are also a self-reinforcing cycle: more international students generate more revenue to fund more research, which in turn leads to better rankings and more demand.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing links between student fee revenue, university resources and reputation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381236/original/file-20210128-21-o7t9u8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">International student revenue increases university resources, which enhances reputation, which in turn attracts more international students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-global-ranking-system-shows-australian-universities-are-ahead-of-the-pack-152313">New global ranking system shows Australian universities are ahead of the pack</a>
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<p>Another risk factor for universities is the concentration of enrolments from just a few source countries. They are also concentrated in the largest institutions. One in four international students (<a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data">25%</a>) study at one of these five universities: Monash, RMIT, Melbourne, Sydney or UNSW. </p>
<p>The leading source of international students in Australia is China, with 36% of these students. It’s followed by India (14%), Malaysia (7%), Singapore (5%) and Nepal (4%). Just one or two geographic markets dominate international enrolments at most universities.</p>
<iframe title="Enrolments from top 5 source countries by university" aria-label="Stacked Bars" id="datawrapper-chart-fYfB7" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/fYfB7/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="1063"></iframe>
<h2>International students aren’t the only risk factor</h2>
<p>The worst-hit universities may be those with small pre-COVID operating margins and high reliance on concentrated international student revenue.</p>
<p>My analysis shows a 20% fall in international student fee revenues would leave 22 universities in deficit or on the brink with a net operating result (revenue minus expenses) of 1% or less.</p>
<p>Those with a higher reliance on international students, less diverse revenue streams or a lower return on equity fare worse in the post-COVID modelling. The chart below shows the impact on university net operating results of five scenarios involving decreases in international students by 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. </p>
<iframe title="Reduction in operating results scenarios" aria-label="Dot Plot" id="datawrapper-chart-R9sZY" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/R9sZY/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="863"></iframe>
<p>The net result decreases more dramatically for those with both a high reliance on international students and a limited operating buffer. In other words, the risks already existed – COVID amplified them.</p>
<h2>Universities need a buffer to absorb shocks</h2>
<p>Many Australian universities rely heavily on revenue from international students as part of their business model and global profile. Twelve rely on international student fees for more than 30% of their total income.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Table of universities that receive more than 30% of their total revenue from international student fees" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382097/original/file-20210202-13-b4fs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/finance-publication">Data source: Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Finance Tables</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While all the universities in the above table are registered not-for-profits, they need to remain financially sustainable. Any organisation involved in high-stakes global markets should have a buffer against rare and unexpected shocks such as the COVID pandemic. A requirement for financial buffers was legislated in the US following the global financial crisis but still remains a <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-liquidity-coverage-ratio-and-corporate-liquidity-management-20200226.htm">vexed issue</a>.</p>
<p>The average net <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/finance-publication">pre-COVID operating result</a> for Australian universities was a healthy 5.6%. However, several started the year with a result of less than 1%. These universities included Charles Darwin (-3.1%), Notre Dame (-2.6%), New England (-1.4%), Macquarie (0.14%), Central Queensland (0.71%) and Charles Sturt (0.77%).</p>
<p>These results raise important questions for university boards. What is a responsible operating result considering the risks of the business and the markets in which it operates? Was “pandemic” already identified in risk registers? And what was done about it?</p>
<p>Significant revenue write-downs leave institutions with only a few levers to buffer the COVID shock while minimising risks to quality.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">$7.6 billion and 11% of researchers: our estimate of how much Australian university research stands to lose by 2024</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing top 10 operating results for universities assuming a 20% fall in international student fee revenue" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381287/original/file-20210129-23-6cw49p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/finance-publication">Author analysis of modelling using data from Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Finance tables</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On average, the above top ten universities generate 20% of their revenue from international student fees. The sector average is 24%.</p>
<p>The University of Melbourne gets 31% of its revenue from international student fees. That’s higher than the average, but its very healthy pre-COVID operating result of 13.9% provides breathing space.</p>
<p>Newcastle, QUT, Edith Cowan and the Sunshine Coast are in the top ten universities, but under this model have a potential post-COVID result of less than the sector average of 5.6%. Their risk exposure to international student fee revenue is still average or lower.</p>
<h2>How should universities respond?</h2>
<p>Three main conclusions can be drawn.</p>
<p>First, to underpin their financial sustainability and avoid risks to quality, universities must consider not only their reliance on international student fee revenue and market concentration, but also strategies to understand and define their appetite for risk.</p>
<p>Second, the model for online education when travel across borders is limited could be a long-lasting effect of COVID. Long-term strategies and regulatory practices to deal with this “new normal” of global higher education will be needed, beyond temporary regulatory flexibility.</p>
<p>Third, disruption to higher education is here to stay. Waiting for a time when the view on the horizon is clear for all to see may be too late. </p>
<p>Global higher education requires a new organisational ambidexterity. That means universities must revisit core operating models, re-imagine future potential and succeed on the <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation">disruptive edge</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Note: Department of Education, Skills and Employment <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/higher-education-publications/resources/2019-higher-education-providers-finance-tables">finance tables</a> used for this analysis may differ from institutional reports due to various accounting methods.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omer Yezdani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If one in five international students don’t re-enrol, the loss of revenue would plunge half of all Australian universities into budget deficit or financial turmoil.Omer Yezdani, Director, Office of Planning and Strategic Management, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1477402020-10-09T03:17:36Z2020-10-09T03:17:36Z3 flaws in Job-Ready Graduates package will add to the turmoil in Australian higher education<p>The Morrison government’s <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready">Job-ready Graduates</a> legislation has <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6584">passed the Senate</a>. This higher education policy has two major aims:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>to steer enrolments towards courses with good employment prospects</p></li>
<li><p>to ready the higher education system for the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/five-anus-two-unsws-unis-not-ready-for-looming-costello-baby-boom-20200227-p544yq.html">“Costello baby boom” students</a>, the big birth cohort who will reach university age in the mid-2020s. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Unfortunately, achieving these goals is a much less certain outcome of this package than years of disruption for universities and decades of debt for some students. Three design flaws in Job-ready Graduates put it at high risk of not achieving its own objectives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-can-help-australias-economic-recovery-but-thats-all-at-risk-if-the-job-ready-graduates-bill-passes-146582">Universities can help Australia's economic recovery, but that's all at risk if the 'job-ready graduates' bill passes</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Students aim to be ‘job-ready’ without fee incentives</h2>
<p>To influence student course choices, Job-ready Graduates radically changes how student contributions are priced. </p>
<p>Current student contributions are roughly based on earnings prospects. Law and medical graduates on average earn high incomes, placing them in the <a href="https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans-commonwealth-supported-places-csps/student-contribution-amounts">highest student contribution band</a>. They pay A$11,115 a year. Arts graduates tend to earn less, putting them in the cheapest band of A$6,684 a year. </p>
<p>Job-ready Graduates discards the link between student contribution and earnings prospects. Instead, its student contributions aim to encourage or discourage enrolments, to improve graduate job prospects or to meet other “national priorities”. </p>
<p>Arts courses are not a government national priority, so the student contribution for arts will more than double to A$14,500 a year. An eccentric exception is made for English and foreign languages, which will have student contributions of A$3,950, despite <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewjnorton/status/1298216511027388416/photo/1">worse employment outcomes</a> than other humanities fields. Law and business courses are not government priorities either and so go up from A$11,115 a year to A$14,500.</p>
<p>Revenue from the extra student contribution for non-priority courses will be spent cutting student charges in other courses. Student contributions for teaching and nursing courses will drop from A$6,684 in 2020 to A$3,950 in 2021. In science, engineering and IT, the amount students pay will be cut from A$9,527 a year to A$7,950.</p>
<p>Yet, despite shuffling billions of dollars in charges between students in the next few years, Job-ready Graduates will probably not significantly alter student course choices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-would-save-1-billion-a-year-with-proposed-university-reforms-but-thats-not-what-its-telling-us-142256">The government would save $1 billion a year with proposed university reforms — but that's not what it's telling us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The main <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/06/21/jobs-interests-and-student-course-choices/">drivers of course choices</a> are student interests and job prospects. Prospective students can have more than one interest, and several courses may match their interests. But few students – less than 5% according to <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/1513123/FYE-2014-FULL-report-FINAL-web.pdf">a first-year student survey</a> – enrol in courses without interest in the field being a major factor. Fewer years spent repaying HELP debt cannot compensate for years of boredom in an uninteresting course and career. </p>
<p>Generally, university applications <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/06/28/financial-influences-on-job-seeking-university-applicants/">move with labour market trends</a> without any policy intervention from government. Employment and salary prospects after graduation already provide a financial incentive for students to prioritise their interests in a “job-ready” way. </p>
<p>If university applicants are missing opportunities that might suit them, careers advice is a much cheaper way of pointing these out than reducing student contributions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cheaper-courses-wont-help-graduates-get-jobs-they-need-good-careers-advice-and-links-with-employers-141270">Cheaper courses won't help graduates get jobs – they need good careers advice and links with employers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>University and student incentives are not aligned</h2>
<p>Job-ready Graduates assumes universities will respond to changed patterns of student demand by providing extra student places. University enrolments typically move in the same direction as student applications. But in key disciplines Job-ready Graduates reduces the financial incentive universities have to meet student demand.</p>
<p>Courses with likely employment growth in coming years, including teaching, nursing, allied health and engineering, will have less total funding per student under Job-ready Graduates than the current system.</p>
<p>The cut in funding for key disciplines derives from a redesign of overall funding rates in line with a consulting firm’s analysis of <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/2019-transparency-higher-education-expenditure-publication-0">teaching and scholarship costs by field of education</a>. </p>
<p>Yet universities are more likely to respond to financial incentives than students. Students can defer paying their student contributions through the HELP loan scheme, which reduces their price sensitivity. Universities have to meet all their costs each year. In the midst of <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-universities-could-lose-19-billion-in-the-next-3-years-our-economy-will-suffer-with-them-136251">a financial crisis</a>, universities will examine their revenues and expenditures more closely than ever.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/07/12/funding-incentives-for-students-and-universities-in-the-tehan-reforms-some-are-aligned-others-contradict-each-other/">contradiction between student and university incentives</a> is poor policy design.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-universities-face-losing-1-in-10-staff-covid-driven-cuts-create-4-key-risks-147007">As universities face losing 1 in 10 staff, COVID-driven cuts create 4 key risks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Student places are more likely to grow in non-priority fields</h2>
<p>The Job-ready Graduates strategy for increasing student places also suffers from mismatches between policy intent and likely outcomes.</p>
<p>Job-ready Graduates cuts the average student subsidy, called a Commonwealth contribution. This means that, on average, universities need to deliver more student places for each A$1 million they receive from the government. </p>
<p>If this cut was consistent across all disciplines it would probably achieve its objective. But the government has increased rather than decreased Commonwealth contributions in several priority fields, to compensate universities for lower student contributions. </p>
<p>As a result, in these priority fields universities need to deliver fewer places per A$1 million in government subsidy. For example, under current Commonwealth contributions universities need to deliver 91 IT places to earn A$1 million. Under Job-ready Graduates, they only need deliver 75 IT places.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="students in computer lab" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362582/original/file-20201009-22-1hn42mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If universities need to deliver fewer places in priority fields per A$1 million in government subsidy that’s not a great incentive to increase places.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">goodluz/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By contrast, arts, law and business courses get lower Commonwealth contributions under Job-ready Graduates than the current system. As a consequence, universities can deliver many more student places per A$1 million in government subsidy. In law and business, student places per A$1 million will grow from 447 to 990.</p>
<p>The policy goal of increasing student places will succeed to the extent that the policy goal of moving enrolments to priority fields fails.</p>
<h2>Collateral damage is near certain</h2>
<p>These three design flaws — changes to student contributions that won’t change student preferences, overall funding rates that weaken university incentives, and Commonwealth contributions that limit enrolment growth in some courses — create serious doubt about whether Job-ready Graduates will achieve its stated goals. We can, however, be near certain of serious collateral damage. </p>
<p>Arts, law and business graduates will leave university with student debts of A$40,000 to A$50,000. Many arts graduates have relatively low incomes and will take decades to repay their HELP loans. </p>
<p>The cuts to overall funding rates will reduce university capacity to combine teaching and research, especially in science and engineering. It will add to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-university-reforms-put-at-risk-australias-research-gains-of-the-last-15-years-141452">already significant fall in university research expenditure</a> caused by a decline in international students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-university-reforms-put-at-risk-australias-research-gains-of-the-last-15-years-141452">Coronavirus and university reforms put at risk Australia's research gains of the last 15 years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A future education minister is going to have to fix these problems. But before that happens, Job-ready Graduates, coming in on top of the international student crisis, guarantees several turbulent years for Australian universities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Norton works for the Australian National University, which will be affected by the Job-ready Graduates policy. </span></em></p>Three key policy errors in the legislation mean the Morrison government is unlikely to achieve the stated goals of its package.Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443062020-08-11T12:08:33Z2020-08-11T12:08:33ZNationals revolt over the government’s proposed university fee changes<p>The Nationals are demanding major changes to the government’s controversial new higher education fee plan, declaring it would disadvantage regional communities and students as it stands.</p>
<p>The Nationals party room on Monday discussed the JobReady Graduates Package draft legislation – <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/b20rv123.v51.pdf">which has now been released</a> - and agreed to press for it to be altered.</p>
<p>The party wants social work, behavioural science and mental health disciplines taken out of the humanities funding category and realigned with allied health studies.</p>
<p>The Nationals Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education, Andrew Gee, who has driven the push, said given what country Australia had been through with bushfires, floods, drought and the pandemic “it is critical that regional communities have easy access to mental health services and support”, and the proposed classification would work against this.</p>
<p>The Nationals revolt, an embarrassment for Education Minister Dan Tehan, is another example of the minor Coalition partner asserting itself, and follows its recent win when it prevented a government appeal against a court judgement relating to the Gillard government’s suspension of live cattle exports.</p>
<p>Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek told the ABC: “I’m gobsmacked by the fact that two ministers who share a department can’t get the legislation right before they release an exposure draft. I mean, these are two parties that are in coalition.”</p>
<p>The government package reduces student fees for courses in areas the government identifies as potentially job-rich and increases them for the humanities and certain other courses. It has received wide criticism.</p>
<p>Gee outlined the Nationals demands in a statement, thus upping the ante for the government.</p>
<p>He said they followed roundtables he had initiated with country universities and other stakeholders.</p>
<p>The party wants the grandfathering for students enrolled before January 1 next year to be indefinite, rather than only until January 1 2024.</p>
<p>“The Nationals have agreed that this change will ensure that part-time and online students, many of whom take over three years to complete their studies due to balancing work and family commitments, will not be disadvantaged. Many of these students reside in country areas,” Gee said.</p>
<p>Arguing for the removal of key courses from the humanities list, Gee said the currently proposed listing would put a number of social work, behavioural science and mental health disciplines in the most expensive cluster for students.</p>
<p>“We believe this would only serve to further to increase the maldistribution of mental health workers in country Australia. It also has the potential to impact women and mature students looking to upskill and move into higher paid jobs,” he said.</p>
<p>Regional university roundtables “revealed this to be a glaring and potentially detrimental design flaw”.</p>
<p>“2019 Graduate Outcomes data shows that demand for mental health support, such as social work is 10% higher in regional and remote communities – we need more country graduates to meet this demand. Country people deserve the same access to mental health support as those in the cities.</p>
<p>"It’s a fundamental issue of equality. That is why The Nationals believe that social work, behavioural science and mental health disciplines should be removed from the humanities funding cluster and be realigned with allied health studies,” Gee said.</p>
<p>“The Nationals will be seeking a change to the current JobReady Graduates Package funding clusters. We intend to fix this design deficiency.”</p>
<p>The party also wants changes to the Tertiary Access Payment (TAP). This is a planned $5000 payment for regional students who relocate to study.</p>
<p>Gee said there was concern its current design “will encourage country kids to leave their communities and move to the cities to study. This could result in a loss of enrolments for country universities which are already operating in thin and lean markets.”</p>
<p>Gee said he looked forward to working with Coalition colleagues “to ensure that all of the measures agreed to by The Nationals are incorporated into the legislation”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Nationals are demanding major changes to the government’s controversial planned new regime of higher education fees, declaring they would disadvantage regional communities and students.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1416142020-08-06T19:59:59Z2020-08-06T19:59:59ZWhy degree cost increases will hit women hardest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349303/original/file-20200724-29-14m5dr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/graduated-students-graduation-hats-gowns-outdoors-311391842">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government’s proposed increase in the cost of <a href="https://theconversation.com/fee-cuts-for-nursing-and-teaching-but-big-hikes-for-law-and-humanities-in-package-expanding-university-places-141064">studying humanities and communications</a> degrees at Australian universities has stirred much debate. One aspect that should not be overlooked is that these changes will disproportionately affect women.</p>
<p>Under the proposed changes, student contributions for social science, communications and humanities (not including English and psychology) will increase by A$7,696 per year. That’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-20/study-arts-and-humanities-government-fees-tertiary-education/12374124">double their current cost</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-government-listened-to-business-leaders-they-would-encourage-humanities-education-not-pull-funds-from-it-141121">If the government listened to business leaders, they would encourage humanities education, not pull funds from it</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Pushing women into STEM?</h2>
<p>The government’s proposal has already been described as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-22/university-fee-changes-dan-tehan-capitalist-economics-analysis/12377498">social engineering</a>, given the government’s declared aim is to boost numbers of graduates in areas of expected employment growth, including teaching, nursing, agriculture, STEM and IT. The intention of lowering fees in these areas appears to be to attract more students to study these disciplines in preference to humanities. </p>
<p>If the idea is to encourage students to leave the humanities and study science instead, it’s a flawed approach. It would take a lot more than simply changing the cost of study to attract women to the field. </p>
<p>Women remain underrepresented at only <a href="http://www.professionalsaustralia.org.au/professional-women/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2018/08/2018-Women-in-STEM-Survey-Report_web.pdf">27% of the STEM workforce</a> across all sectors, despite a range of initiatives designed to improve the balance. </p>
<p>For women, the real deterrent to studying STEM-related disciplines is related to <a href="http://www.professionalsaustralia.org.au/professional-women/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2018/08/2018-Women-in-STEM-Survey-Report_web.pdf">employment outcomes and conditions</a>, and challenges in even <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/advancing-women-in-stem-strategy/snapshot-of-disparity-in-stem">entering a STEM-based workforce</a>. STEM women are likely to earn <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/advancing-women-in-stem.pdf">less than their male counterparts</a> and also face <a href="https://theconversation.com/humanities-graduates-earn-more-than-those-who-study-science-and-maths-141112">poorer pay prospects than those who study humanities</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, women in STEM have few examples of <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-stem-need-your-support-and-australia-needs-women-in-stem-113054">role models who clearly own the STEM space</a> – reinforcing a notion that STEM-based work is male-dominated.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-stem-need-your-support-and-australia-needs-women-in-stem-113054">Women in STEM need your support – and Australia needs women in STEM</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Pushing women away from humanities?</h2>
<p>Increasing the costs of the humanities, then, <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/university-tuition-hikes-won-t-change-behaviour-simon-marginson-20200705-p5593n">might not push people into STEM</a> or into areas such as nursing or education. But it might push them away from studying the humanities, and away from the vital work they do in a range of industries.</p>
<p>According to the federal government’s 2019 <a href="https://www.qilt.edu.au/qilt-surveys/graduate-employment">Graduate Outcomes Survey</a>, 64.2% of humanities graduates were in a full-time position six months out from graduation. Many were employed in positions in public administration, education, <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-government-listened-to-business-leaders-they-would-encourage-humanities-education-not-pull-funds-from-it-141121">business</a>, <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6807125/how-the-humanities-inform-the-sciences/">health</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/07/29/liberal-arts-degree-tech/#1c5028c8745d">science and technology</a> – the very industries the proposed changes target. In these roles, they draw on skill sets acquired in their humanities degrees; skills that are remarkably similar to those <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-humanities-can-equip-students-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-103925">Industry 4.0 capabilities</a> employers are crying out for.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-humanities-can-equip-students-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-103925">How the humanities can equip students for the fourth industrial revolution</a>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"732236898668666880"}"></div></p>
<h2>Women earn less, and will pay more</h2>
<p>Raising costs of studies in the humanities means these disciplines will shore up an <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/an-education-inuniversity-funding-reform/news-story/7680d20e07389476dc37c17f32271fcb">effective reduction in government funding</a>. In the longer term, women will bear the costs of this “saving”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-would-save-1-billion-a-year-with-proposed-university-reforms-but-thats-not-what-its-telling-us-142256">The government would save $1 billion a year with proposed university reforms — but that's not what it's telling us</a>
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<p>The reality is that humanities and social science disciplines attract more students than any other subject areas – the majority of whom are women. Women have consistently represented the bulk of enrolments in humanities and social science disciplines over the past ten years. In 2018, they accounted for <a href="http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/">two-thirds of enrolled students</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing numbers of men and women enrolled in humanities degree courses from 2010 to 2018" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351436/original/file-20200806-24-4jnj85.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Consequently, under the government’s proposal, many women will pay more for their tuition and yet they are <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/mapping-australian-higher-education-2018/">likely to earn less</a> than men. </p>
<p>Gender roles continue to have an impact on the career trajectories and earning potential of women in Australia. Even though this gender pay gap is narrowing, primary child-caring <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4125.0%7ESep%202018%7EMain%20Features%7EEconomic%20Security%7E4">roles and responsibilities</a> — including taking time away from work, working part-time or leaving the workforce completely — are mainly assumed by, and expected of, women. </p>
<p>As a result, female university graduates earn, on average, <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/mapping-australian-higher-education-2018/">27% less</a> than men over their careers. This means <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/809-doubtful-debt1.pdf">women take longer</a> to pay off their student debt.</p>
<p>The Australian university debt scheme is often praised because <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-response-from-spokesperson-for-the-department-of-education-and-training-52764">it doesn’t incur interest rates</a> or have a timeline for repayment. However, the tangible effects of a larger debt mean women humanities graduates will be in debt for longer. They will have less disposable income for longer. And they will have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/life/paying-back-your-help-hecs-student-debt-explainer/10982072">limited capacity to invest money, and so expand income</a>, for longer.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1273864083264155648"}"></div></p>
<p>The argument that programs that traditionally attract more women – such as nursing and education – will be made cheaper, and therefore more accessible, doesn’t stack up either. Because there are more women in humanities-based degrees than other programs, the proposed changes still mean women will bear the brunt of these increases. Or be forced out of higher education if their calling isn’t teaching or nursing. </p>
<p>Making higher education unaffordable for women just adds to a raft of conditions that already ensure inequalities.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-to-australias-education-minister-dan-tehan-signed-by-73-senior-professors-142989">An open letter to Australia's Education Minister Dan Tehan — signed by 73 senior professors</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deanne Gannaway has received funding from the organisation previously known as the Office for Teaching and Learning. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace Dunn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Doubling the cost of degrees in the humanities and social sciences has a disproportionate impact on women because they account for two-thirds of the students.Deanne Gannaway, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education, The University of QueenslandGrace Dunn, Research Assistant in the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1411852020-06-21T10:42:04Z2020-06-21T10:42:04ZView from The Hill: Tehan’s student fees are not just about jobs, but about funding and a dash of ideology too<p>The government’s higher education changes, announced last week, appear driven by three factors. How you judge the result will depend on where you sit.</p>
<p>In sum, the shake up will reduce student fees for courses in areas the government identifies as potentially job-rich and increase them for the humanities and certain other courses to produce a result that’s funding-neutral for the government.</p>
<p>The first driver of the policy is the surge in demand for places. This is coming both from what’s dubbed “the Costello baby boom” (“have one for mum, one for dad and one for the country,” Peter Costello said when treasurer) and from the COVID-flattened economy, which will stop many young people taking a gap year.</p>
<p>The government wants to manage this pressure without having to fork out more money.</p>
<p>Secondly, the changes reflect Scott Morrison’s overwhelming preoccupation with jobs. This is the main element in both his rhetoric and his policy across government. When he announced recently the national cabinet would be made permanent, he said its singular focus would be jobs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fee-cuts-for-nursing-and-teaching-but-big-hikes-for-law-and-humanities-in-package-expanding-university-places-141064">Fee cuts for nursing and teaching but big hikes for law and humanities in package expanding university places</a>
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<p>While it is understandable that at the moment most issues are being seen through the employment prism, in the longer term a government’s lens should be wider. Work (with the opportunity to obtain it) is critical to the well-being of the individual and the community. At the same time it is not everything, certainly not if people are to have rounded and fulfilling lives.</p>
<p>Finally, there does seem to be an ideological tinge to the policy, notably in the treatment of the humanities. The cost for these courses will rise by a massive 113%. This compares with hikes of 28% for law and commerce.</p>
<p>There is an anti-intellectual streak in this government, with ministers unsympathetic towards universities, which many of them see as breeding grounds for left-leaning activists. Education Minister Dan Tehan, for one, has been very critical of what he has identified as curbs on free speech in the universities.</p>
<p>This government and its prime minister are a very long way from Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies’s views. Menzies saw as one of his major achievements the expansion of Australia’s universities, and he had a broad view of higher education.</p>
<p>David Furse-Roberts wrote in a Quadrant article titled, <a href="https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2019/06/a-rugged-honesty-of-mind-menzies-and-education/">“A Rugged Honesty of Mind: Menzies and Education”</a>: “Far from functioning merely as utilitarian "degree factories” to churn out the greatest volume of graduates, Menzies esteemed universities as the great nurseries of civilisation. In addition to equipping undergraduates with essential training and vocational skills, the university would serve to cultivate the character of students and encourage them to seek truth and beauty in their chosen discipline.“</p>
<p>Menzies strongly defended the humanities (although it has been noted the "humanities” as taught in universities of his day looked rather different from much of today’s content). And, it should be added, universities then did not teach the wide range of vocational courses they do today.</p>
<p>The Morrison government takes a basically “utilitarian” view of universities. Indeed, universities have made themselves very utilitarian, as they have transformed into giant businesses - substantially in response to governments of both persuasions pushing them on the revenue front.</p>
<p>This strengthened the Australian economy, as higher education ballooned into a massive export sector.</p>
<p>But COVID has brought home the over-dependence of our universities on foreign students, for many thousands of whom they are now desperately trying to find a passage back.</p>
<p>It is not just the financial position of institutions that has been compromised by excessive reliance on overseas students, who pay so much more than the domestic cohort.</p>
<p>So have some academic standards, although this is not often publicly admitted. One hears frequent complaints, for example, from domestic students who find themselves working (and assessed) in groups with overseas students who have limited English language skills. And some staff feel under the pump to pass foreign students.</p>
<p>The COVID crisis should mark a point where universities take stock of how they are managing the trade offs between foreign income on the one hand and educational standards and the needs of domestic students on the other.</p>
<p>Coming back to the Tehan package for domestic students, the reaction has been predictably diverse, according to how various stakeholders see it affecting them. The winners are applauding; the losers cross. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humanities-graduates-earn-more-than-those-who-study-science-and-maths-141112">Humanities graduates earn more than those who study science and maths</a>
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<p>In terms of its broad effects Andrew Norton, professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at the Australian National University, believes it will not alter students’ choices substantially.</p>
<p>He tells The Conversation that student course choices are primarily driven by their interests. For most of them, that includes the career they hope for after finishing their degree. Students with firm goals would not change a fundamental life choice due to a change in fees, he says. Students who are less clear about exactly what kind of job they want after finishing their career will only choose within their range of interests.</p>
<p>Norton argues that if some students are not aware of courses that might interest them, then improved careers advice and course marketing would be a better solution than shuffling hundreds of millions of dollars in student payments between courses.</p>
<p>He says the changes raise questions of fairness. While those benefitting from lower fees, such as students undertaking teaching and nursing, will pay off their student debts more quickly than under the current system, those graduating from the humanities could be saddled with debt for decades. “This mix of windfall gains and heavy new debt burdens seems unnecessary to achieve the policy goal of improving graduate employment outcomes.”</p>
<p>The government will need to get its changes through the Senate. When it launched a sweeping plan to deregulate fees some years ago, it could not obtain parliamentary approval. It stresses this is not deregulation, but whether it will be more successful with this proposal remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government’s higher education changes appear driven by three factors.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1387962020-05-22T05:49:04Z2020-05-22T05:49:04ZHow universities came to rely on international students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336922/original/file-20200522-57684-1tf6xgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-university-students-on-campus-152940941">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This essay is based on an episode of the University of Technology Sydney podcast series “<a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/impact-studios/projects/new-social-contract-podcast">The New Social Contract</a>”. The audio series examines how the relationship between universities, the state and the public might be reshaped as we live through this global pandemic.</em></p>
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<p>It’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-australian-government-letting-universities-suffer-138514">sad times for public universities</a> as they fight for their survival. Most are reeling from a severe financial hit due to the loss of international students.</p>
<p>Universities are <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/investment-in-university-research-an-investment-in-covid-19-recovery">estimated to lose</a> around A$3-4.6 billion in revenue from international student fees in 2020 alone, and more in 2021.</p>
<p>The government has locked universities out of JobKeeper – its COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme – despite the fact the sector is <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/investment-in-university-research-an-investment-in-covid-19-recovery">projected to lose around 21,000 jobs</a>, of which 7,000 are estimated to be research-related. </p>
<p>International onshore <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/53363">student revenue</a> was, as a share of all universities’ revenue, 26.2% on average in 2018, just shy of A$9 billion. For some universities, the dependency on international students is even greater, at around 30-40%.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-australian-government-letting-universities-suffer-138514">Why is the Australian government letting universities suffer?</a>
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<p>Many in the government criticise universities for relying so heavily on international students for revenue. For instance, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansards/e82a8a20-f72d-41d5-90fb-806930fffbba/&sid=0178">Senator James Paterson recently</a> told the Senate:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Over the last few decades our universities have bet big on the international-student dollar. Their institutions have boomed from what has been a very lucrative business, but they have become badly overexposed […] Universities argue they have pursued this market by necessity. They argue insufficient government funding pushed them down this path. It’s a convenient story that attempts to absolve universities of responsibility for the decisions they have made, and it is a false one.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But such views are false. And they ignore the history of international students from Asia studying in our universities.</p>
<h2>A history of international education</h2>
<p>In 1923, Sydney University accepted its first Chinese overseas student, N.Y. Shah from Wuhan, who was studying to become a teacher back in China.</p>
<p>From the 1950s, children of Chinese diaspora parents from countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong began to arrive in Australia to study. </p>
<p>This rarely mentioned cohort of private overseas students studied alongside students supported by the well-known Colombo Plan – an intergovernmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific region.</p>
<p>In fact, so prominent was the Colombo Plan’s efforts in bringing students to study in Australia, it is still incorrectly believed to be the first major source of overseas students.</p>
<p>Historian <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10314610708601233">Lyndon Megarrity estimates</a> the Colombo Plan brought less than one-fifth of overseas students to Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. The vast majority came as private overseas students. </p>
<p>They went to Australian schools, sat for university matriculation and for those who passed, proceeded to university either funded by the generous Commonwealth scholarship scheme or by paying substantially subsidised university fees, just like Australian citizens. </p>
<p>By 1966, archival research shows private overseas students constituted 8.9% of full-time university enrolments and their numbers were growing. Immigration restrictions were also loosened to mean citizenship was available to private overseas students who had lived in Australia for at least five years. </p>
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<iframe src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/649529?theme=light&enable-volume=true" height="190" width="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
<p><em>Subscribe to the New Social Contract podcast on your favourite podcast app: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-new-social-contract/id1510173684">Apple Podcast</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2ltBYx6bVMrpqGAWlSpMV5">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-new-social-contract?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a></em></p>
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<p>Most met the conditions after attending two years of high school and the three year minimum for a degree. </p>
<p>While some stayed, of those I interviewed for a UNSW survey of overseas students who studied at the university in the 1950s and 1960s, it seems most returned to their home countries where an Australian university degree promised excellent career prospects. </p>
<p>There was obviously something about Australian education and society that appealed to our Asian neighbours, and pulled them to Australia where they lived for five years and more.</p>
<h2>An unofficial government policy</h2>
<p>In 1990 the Australian government introduced full fees for all international students. John Dawkins, the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, saw an opportunity to establish university education as an export industry. </p>
<p>The year 1990 is significant because the Australian government was in the process of implementing the Dawkins reforms which reorganised the once diversified public higher education sector into a single national system. </p>
<p>The aim of the Dawkins reforms was to encourage more Australian school leavers to attend university and, on graduation, become part of a highly-skilled and educated national workforce.</p>
<p>To help fund this vastly expanded system and rein in costs, the government introduced HECS. Students could postpone subsidised and interest-free fees until their salary reached a certain level when they would repay the loan through the taxation system. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-have-gone-from-being-a-place-of-privilege-to-a-competitive-market-what-will-they-be-after-coronavirus-137877">Universities have gone from being a place of privilege to a competitive market. What will they be after coronavirus?</a>
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<p>International student fees at this stage were not a significant source of university income. But they became so from the early 2000s after a decade of reduced government funding and a significant expansion of local student numbers. </p>
<p>Since government funding no longer covered the full costs of expensive research or the strong growth in domestic students, universities had to find funds from elsewhere. </p>
<p>It can be said that international student fees have become an unofficial part of the funding policy of consecutive federal governments. </p>
<p>Government actions and inactions that led to such a reliance on international fee income have created a system that challenges a belief many of us hold dear – <em>public</em> universities should be able to draw on <em>public</em> funds for their operations. </p>
<p>Where in 1989 universities derived more than 80% of their operating costs from the public purse, now it is estimated to be less than 40% – a figure well below the OECD average for public investment in tertiary education. </p>
<h2>Where to from here</h2>
<p>Since the 2000s, the shortfall has been largely made up by international student fees which have enabled universities to punch above their weight. On a population parity basis we have <a href="https://www.dreducation.com/top-500-world-class-universities-rankings">more universities </a> in the world’s top 500 (by some metrics) than Canada, the United Kingdom and United States. </p>
<p>And 2018 figures show we have some of the highest participation rates of school leavers in the world, at least 30% higher than is the case in the United Kingdom. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336943/original/file-20200522-57665-12avea7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">International student revenue funds a large proportion of university research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/team-medical-research-scientists-collectively-working-691541095">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Our universities also contribute enormously to national research and development – international student fees help sustain this. The <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8111.0">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a> confirmed this week more than half of the A$12 billion universities invest in research each year comes from a pool of funds that relies on international student fees. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-10-000-job-losses-billions-in-lost-revenue-coronavirus-will-hit-australias-research-capacity-harder-than-the-gfc-138210">More than 10,000 job losses, billions in lost revenue: coronavirus will hit Australia's research capacity harder than the GFC</a>
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<p>International students, however, should not simply be measured by the fees they pay. Evidence shows while here, students contribute to the well-being of Australians by fuelling economic growth and prosperity that provides jobs for Australians. </p>
<p>University doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows are a large component of Australia’s research and development workforce. International students make up <a href="https://www.science.org.au/covid19/research-workforce">37% of this vital group</a>, working on important projects like breeding drought resilient crops, developing cures for diseases like COVID-19, and world-leading efficient solar and plastic recycling technology. </p>
<p>Some international students remain in Australia as our largest single source of skilled migrants. Others return to their home country to become leaders in business, politics and cultural industries with a respect and appreciation of Australian culture. We should nurture this good will, not trash it.</p>
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<p><em>The next article linked to the podcast will look at universities and the climate.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=649529">Context of the Crisis</a> was made by <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/impact-studios/about-us">Impact Studios</a> at the University of Technology, Sydney - an audio production house combining academic research and audio storytelling.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Horne is University Historian at the University of Sydney. She has received funding from the Australia Research Council for various research projects on the history of higher education. In the 1990s she conducted an extensive historical survey for the UNSW Archives of overseas students who studied at UNSW in the 1950s and 1960s. </span></em></p>Australia has a long history of international student education, spurred on by government policy.Julia Horne, University Historian and Principal Research Fellow, History, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362512020-04-16T19:36:58Z2020-04-16T19:36:58ZAustralian universities could lose $19 billion in the next 3 years. Our economy will suffer with them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327914/original/file-20200415-153357-yzeqgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/empty-wallet-bankrupt-concept-505706947">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The university sector faces cumulative losses of up to A$19 billion over the next three years due to lost international student revenue. </p>
<p>Modelling from the <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Australian-Investment-in-Education-Higher-Education.pdf">Mitchell Institute</a> shows the next big hit will come mid-year when $2 billion in annual tuition fees is wiped from the sector as international students are unable to travel to Australia to start their courses for second semester.</p>
<p>Such losses are not just a university problem. <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/5368.0.55.0032017-18?OpenDocument">ABS data show</a> for every $1 lost in university tuition fees, there is another $1.15 lost in the broader economy due to international student spending.</p>
<p>This means the Australian economy could lose more than $40 billion by 2023 because of reduced numbers of higher education international students.</p>
<p>We estimate each six-monthly intake missed due to closed borders will deliver an annual economic blow comparable to when Australia’s <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/automotive/report">auto manufacturing industry shut down</a> (worth around $5 billion), or the loss of Australia’s $4.1 billion <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/7503.0">annual vegetable crop</a>.</p>
<p>Our modelling shows there will be no quick return to pre-coronavirus normality either, or “<a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/why-morrison-dropped-the-snap-back-strategy-20200408-p54i3t">snapback</a>” as Prime Minister Scott Morrison described it. </p>
<p>Missed intakes disrupt the pipeline of international students – who usually study for two to three years – so lost revenue continues to impact budgets for several years.</p>
<h2>Forecasts tell a disturbing story</h2>
<p>We looked at <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/finance-publication">university finance data</a> and <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Pages/default_annual.aspx">enrolment trends</a>. We modelled two scenarios: one with a relatively quick recovery of international student enrolments beginning in 2021, and the other with an extended travel ban that meant no new international students until 2022. </p>
<p>Both scenarios were disastrous for the higher education sector.</p>
<p>The first showed the university sector losing about $10 billion, though international student revenue would largely return to normal by 2023. </p>
<p>But the second scenario, incorporating extended travel bans, had a longer-lasting effect. With the government announcing the borders are likely to remain closed for “<a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/health-safety/australians-may-not-be-able-to-travel-overseas-until-2021-due-to-coronavirus/news-story/5b29c380cef922d256fec79b85b261ab">quite some time to come</a>” the worst-case scenario seems more likely. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328319/original/file-20200416-192762-ts99nc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Over the Easter weekend, the government <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/covid-19/higher-education/higher-education-faq">announced a package</a> that guarantees funding for the estimated enrolments of domestic students in 2020, despite whether the actual enrolments are fewer than estimated. The package includes about <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-12/government-announces-coronavirus-higher-education-relief-package/12142752">$100 million</a> in waived regulatory fees and funding for an additional 20,000 short online courses in national priority areas such as nursing and IT.</p>
<p>This will fall well short of plugging the gap international students will leave behind.</p>
<p>Based on historical funding rates per student, the government would need to fund another 1.9 million short courses, and universities find the same number of students to enrol, to make up for the projected losses in international student revenue.</p>
<h2>Financial position of universities</h2>
<p>This modelling was part of the Mitchell Institute’s more in-depth <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/higher-education-funding-report-final-april-2020/">investigation into higher education funding</a>. Our analysis shows total university revenue from international students grew by 137% over the past decade. More than 40% of the sector’s annual student revenue now comes from international students. </p>
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<p>International students delivered almost $9 billion in annual revenue to universities in 2018, accounting for around 58% of student revenue at two of Australia’s most prestigious universities, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney.</p>
<p>Despite the revenue windfall, growth has been uneven. Group of Eight universities experienced the biggest growth in international students, tripling their international student revenue over the past decade. For other universities, particularly smaller and regional universities, revenue grew at a much slower rate.</p>
<p>Even though some balance sheets are healthy, there is limited ability to weather a protracted downturn. University surpluses were only A$1.5 billion across the whole sector in 2018. The sudden and steep decline in international student enrolments is a significant economic challenge for universities.</p>
<h2>The outlook for universities</h2>
<p>Australia’s universities have <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/essays/the-australian-idea-of-a-university">relied on international students</a> as a source of growth for a long time. While the amount the universities receive per domestic student has been virtually flat in real terms over the past decade, fees each international student pays have increased by over 50%.</p>
<p>With this revenue stream suddenly threatened, the education experience of domestic students will suffer. Universities will need to make <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/12/australian-universities-warn-covid-19-relief-package-not-enough-to-stop-21000-jobs-losses">deep cuts to staff</a> and courses without further assistance.</p>
<p>This will come at a time when Australia will need its higher education sector as part of any COVID-19 recovery. It is likely demand from domestic students for university places will rise because of workers looking to re-skill and up-skill. </p>
<p>University enrolments from domestic students have increased <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2020/03/25/predicting-student-numbers-during-the-covid-19-recession-2021-could-be-an-unexpected-peak-year/">during previous recessions</a> and the federal education minister has encouraged those who are out of work to undertake study.</p>
<p>Also, <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/file/0022/7276/lsay_briefingreport28_2496.pdf">one quarter of school leavers</a> usually take a gap year to work or travel. With those plans looking unlikely, there may be an increase in school leavers wanting to study.</p>
<p>But despite the extra funding for 20,000 short courses, universities are unable to respond fully to <a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-driven-funding-for-universities-is-frozen-what-does-this-mean-and-should-the-policy-be-restored-116060">any changes in demand</a>. Caps introduced in 2017 still remain that effectively limit the number of places universities can offer.</p>
<p>Increasing capacity in the tertiary sector by removing the caps on university places would assist universities to deal with the coronavirus crisis.</p>
<p>Universities play an important role in our society, and they will bring future revenue into the economy when international student numbers eventually recover. Australia will need to make further decisions about how much we want to support our universities during this crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hurley works for the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University.</span></em></p>For every $1 lost in university tuition fees, there is another $1.15 lost in the broader economy. This means loss of university revenue can cost the Australian economy more than $40 billion by 2023.Peter Hurley, Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1328692020-04-08T06:28:20Z2020-04-08T06:28:20ZWithout international students, Australia’s universities will downsize – and some might collapse altogether<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326395/original/file-20200408-193267-1uxmf93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/graduates-university-holding-hats-handed-sky-547602508">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The loss of international students due to COVID-19 restrictions, and predicted second semester declines, will see <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/uni-viability-crucial-to-national-recovery/">universities lose</a> between A$3 and 4.5 billion, according to Universities Australia. </p>
<p>The higher education sector was dealt another blow this week when the <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/coronavirus-universities-furious-over-missing-rescue/news-story/8c9eb5d29d9b4b9b68db722ec2d64cab">government said</a> universities wouldn’t get the increased access to the A$130bn JobKeeper fund for registered charities.</p>
<p>Universities <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/uni-viability-crucial-to-national-recovery/">estimate more than 21,000 jobs</a> are at risk in the next six months, and more after that.</p>
<p>On April 3, <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-australian-parliament-house-act-030420">Prime Minister Scott Morrison</a> said about international students:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If they’re not in a position to support themselves, then there is the alternative for them to return to their home countries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This was chilling in its indifference. The Commonwealth has good reason to support universities hit by falling international student revenues as part of its pandemic stimulus measures. </p>
<p>Current university jobs depend on this revenue. According to a Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by Universities Australia, <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/uni-viability-crucial-to-national-recovery/">universities contributed A$41 billion</a> to the Australian economy and supported a total of 259,100 full-time jobs in 2018.</p>
<p>The government also has good reasons to support international students who have lost jobs and are not eligible for JobKeeper or JobSeeker payments. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobkeeper-payment-how-will-it-work-who-will-miss-out-and-how-to-get-it-135189">JobKeeper payment: how will it work, who will miss out and how to get it?</a>
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<p>International students in Australia contribute more than just the fees they pay. They also spend money while they are here, generating jobs and income in the broader economy. </p>
<p>In fact, the international education sector has become so economically significant that to burn it now will dampen Australia’s post-pandemic recovery.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320030/original/file-20200312-116261-a6ugi0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2" alt="Sign up to The Conversation" width="100%"></a></p>
<h2>Just how significant?</h2>
<p>Since 1985, when the <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9710863?selectedversion=NBD10101022">Commonwealth allowed Australian</a> universities and colleges to charge full rather than subsidised fees, revenue from international students has grown exponentially in real terms, flattened only briefly by the GFC.</p>
<p>Exponential is a familiar term in these pandemic days. It’s another way of talking about compounding – growth on growth. The blue line in the below chart on Australia’s education exports is exponential.</p>
<p>Total education exports – as Australia’s national accounts categorise them – comprise both the fees international students pay and the amount they spend on goods and services while in Australia.</p>
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<p><strong>Chart one</strong></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/PrimaryMainFeatures/5368.0.55.003?OpenDocument">Education exports</a> as we know them today had grown from near zero in the 1970s to about A$37 billion last financial year (2018-19). In 2018-19, they comprised almost 40% of Australia’s exports of services and 9% of exports of all goods and services.</p>
<p>By comparison, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5302.0">Australia’s total rural exports</a> to the world were about $44 billion last financial year.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coronavirus-outbreak-is-the-biggest-crisis-ever-to-hit-international-education-131138">The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest crisis ever to hit international education</a>
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<p>Universities are scrambling to determine the size of the inevitable international student decline they will experience. For instance, on March 1, 2020 56% of international student <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/News/Latest-News/Pages/Novel-coronavirus-update-for-international-students.aspx">visa holders from China</a> were outside Australia, and Chinese students account for one-third of total education exports.</p>
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<p><strong>Chart two</strong></p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326322/original/file-20200408-108576-1prqw3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>From 2003 to 2018, <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/2008-2017-finance-publications-and-tables">international onshore student revenue rose</a>, on average as a share of all universities’ revenue, from 14% to 26%. For some universities, the dependency is even greater, well exceeding 30%.</p>
<p>Overall student <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/2008-2017-finance-publications-and-tables">revenue also grew</a>, both as a share of, and by a larger proportion than, total revenue. Neither the Commonwealth’s funding share nor spending by universities on academic teaching have kept up. The latter has fallen as a share of student revenue from 37% in 2003 to 30% in 2018.</p>
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<p><strong>Chart three</strong></p>
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<h2>What the government should do</h2>
<p>Education minister Dan Tehan’s <a href="https://ministers.dese.gov.au/tehan/message-international-students">message to international students</a> will win few friends. On the one hand it says “you are our friends, our classmates, our colleagues and members of our community” and allows those who have been in Australia for longer than 12 months access to their superannuation. </p>
<p>Cynically it adds that where we need you (such as in nursing and aged care), we will let you work more than your allowed 40 hours per fortnight.</p>
<p>And no JobSeeker payments, even for those here for more than a year, but merely access to what must be piddling superannuation accounts, is a shocking way to treat “our friends” and “members of our community”.</p>
<p>Considering the amount of money these students have brought in to our economy, giving them access to JobSeeker payments would benefit us all.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-ways-the-coronavirus-outbreak-will-affect-international-students-and-how-unis-can-help-131195">3 ways the coronavirus outbreak will affect international students and how unis can help</a>
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<p>Higher education also requires a nationally coordinated policy response of its own – not just one that ties it in with other measures. </p>
<p>The government should consider reintroducing <a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-driven-funding-for-universities-is-frozen-what-does-this-mean-and-should-the-policy-be-restored-116060">demand-driven funding</a>, which operated between 2012 and 2017. Under this system, universities could enrol unlimited numbers of bachelor-degree students into any discipline other than medicine and be paid for every one of them. </p>
<p>Restoring this policy is especially important in the light of an inevitable increase in domestic students that will follow this pandemic, and rising unemployment. Dan Tehan has <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australia-flags-support-more-university-places">signalled more support</a> is in store for domestic students, but it’s not clear whether demand-driven funding will be restored.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-driven-funding-for-universities-is-frozen-what-does-this-mean-and-should-the-policy-be-restored-116060">Demand-driven funding for universities is frozen. What does this mean and should the policy be restored?</a>
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<p>Giving universities access to the same JobKeeper status as charities, who are eligible if they have experienced a 15% revenue reduction, makes sense. It would mean universities would be better placed to support their most vulnerable employees, namely the huge proportion of casual teaching, research and administrative staff on which they rely.</p>
<h2>Universities will downsize</h2>
<p>Without adequate government support, universities will be forced to shrink, with job losses likely occurring in proportion to the decline in revenue. Universities’ expenses have grown <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/2008-2017-finance-publications-and-tables">broadly in proportion</a> to their total revenue.</p>
<p>It hasn’t been as if the growth in international student revenue was quarantined and devoted to particular purposes. These were just bundled up with domestic student revenues and funded growth.</p>
<p>In the absence of a nationally coordinated response for the sector, reduced revenues will also have disproportionate effects. Some universities have the cash reserves to absorb losses, shrink and, as it were, ride out the storm.</p>
<p>Poorer universities are not in such a position. Some might not have the cash reserves to permit an easy reduction in size. If forced by insufficient support to contemplate redundancies, their liabilities will increase and some might fail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Doughney is a member of the National Tertiary Education Union and on the editorial board of Australian Universities Review. He is an Emeritus Professor at Victoria University and performs consulting work for it.</span></em></p>Helping international students is in Australia’s best interest. Universities rely on them to stay afloat, and in 2018, Australian universities contributed $41 billion to the economy.James Doughney, Emeritus professor, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1151492019-04-17T13:59:59Z2019-04-17T13:59:59ZKenya’s universities need deep reform – not just a hike in fees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268984/original/file-20190412-76856-1jqtmwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Th University of Nairobi. Universities in Kenya are struggling to keep afloat.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Nzomo Victor</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Vice-chancellors of Kenya’s 33 public universities are demanding a three-fold <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190304130216137">tuition fee increase</a>. They <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190304130216137">point out</a> that the proposed fee increase will merely meet the actual cost of providing university education. </p>
<p>Set 30 years ago, the current fee structure applies to all degree programmes irrespective of actual instructional cost. Over <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001231157/report-quality-of-kenyan-graduates-from-public-universities-wanting">49,000 students graduate</a> from public universities annually.</p>
<p>The proposed increase is a reflection of the changing landscape in financing university education in Kenya. The once financially healthy universities are in financial straits, putting in doubt their long-term sustainability.</p>
<p>Most public universities are unable to meet basic operating expenses such as salaries, pensions, health care, and maintenance of plant and equipment. The flagship University of Nairobi, for instance, has a debt of 1.6 billion Kenya shillings (US$16 million) in <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190213104207905">unpaid pensions and other statutory contributions</a>. The total <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2019.97.10789">debt</a> of the 33 public institutions is around 110 billion Kenya shillings (US$1.10 billion). That’s equivalent to the state’s budgetary allocation over one year. The <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20181129132142395">government spends</a> around 27% of its budget on education. Universities get around 100.3 billion (US$1.03 billion) compared to 200 billion (US$ 2 billion) for basic education. </p>
<p>To manage the debt burden, universities have <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Amina-asks-varsities-to-lay-off-staff-in-cost-cutting-bid/2643604-4736934-78f8gwz/index.html">come under pressure to downsize</a> their bloated non-essential staff. They have also introduced a range of <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20180824074737190">austerity measures</a>. The effect has been a decline in morale.</p>
<p>A tuition increase will provide much needed revenue to stabilise university finances. Universities are likely to use the extra funds in a number of ways. These could include improving the morale of both academic and administrative staff, improving the quality of instruction and better maintenance of plant and equipment.</p>
<p>But the proposed tuition increase comes with risks. A one-size-fits all raise fails to take into account the cost differential of various degree programmes. Medical, engineering and construction programmes, for instance, cost more than humanities and social sciences. Tuition fees should reflect these differences. If they don’t, under-investment in costly programmes will continue. </p>
<p>In addition, the tuition increase shouldn’t happen in isolation. It should be matched with a commitment by the government to restore university funding to previous levels. This will ensure that a bigger burden of financing universities doesn’t fall on students. </p>
<h2>Diminishing revenue</h2>
<p>The gloomy financial picture contrasts sharply with the healthy financial position that public universities enjoyed a decade ago. Then, universities had balanced budgets and even surpluses. </p>
<p>In 2011, for instance, total revenues earned by universities through tuition fees, programme fees and other income generating activities slightly exceeded government funding. </p>
<p>From 2010 to 2011 <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/Public-universities-revenues-hit-record-level/539550-1190922-nvump5/index.html">revenue growth</a> in the five top public universities ranged from 2% – 21%. </p>
<p>There were a number of reasons <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2019.97.10789">for the financial crisis</a>. These included diminishing revenue from privately-sponsored students who were a source much needed tuition revenues. Privately-sponsored students who did not attain the required high school graduation points to be awarded government scholarships. So they pay the full tuition in public universities. </p>
<p>The other reasons included declining government funding, closure of satellite campuses, and more stringent supervision of high school examinations that has reduced the number of university applicants and, therefore, fewer university enrolments. </p>
<p>In addition, poor financial management, and universities inability to develop robust income generating activities, and overall growth of the university institutions relative to demand have compromised university finances. </p>
<p>The fee increase <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/VCs-want-student-fees-increased-/2643604-4995414-10xygjp/index.html">proposal</a> doesn’t come close to covering the actual cost of a basic non-science degree. And universities argue that the fees aren’t enough meet the increasing costs of providing quality education and running the institutions.</p>
<h2>Opportunity for reform</h2>
<p>I believe that by simply introducing a blanket tuition increase without addressing the problems ailing the public university sector, the government is missing a golden opportunity for much deeper reform.</p>
<p>Increasing tuition fees without consolidation of the public university sector is throwing good money after bad. The government should face the fact that a good number of public universities were established to give the government political legitimacy because they were <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057%2Fhep.2012.18">established for political expediency</a> in 2012-2013. Quite a few operate under capacity.</p>
<p>In addition, the proposed tuition rate increase was arrived at without broad consultations with key stakeholders. The whole process has been administrator-driven. As a result, students have <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/University-students-threaten-to-hold-demos-over-fees-/2643604-4998644-lq4i2gz/index.html">threatened</a> to go on strike while academics have <a href="http://dailyactive.info/index.php/2019/03/05/lecturers-reject-vice-chancellors-plea-to-increase-university-fee/">called for a review</a>. </p>
<p>Another problem is that the vice-chancellors’ fee increase proposal comes with no safeguards to mitigate its effects on poor students. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds experience difficulties even with the current fee structure. Without a clear specification of financial aid programmes for vulnerable students, the fee proposal will only make a bad situation worse.</p>
<p>Any tuition fee increase needs to be undertaken in the wider context of reforming the financing of university education in Kenya. A knee jerk policy like the one proposed by the vice-chancellors leaves too many policy challenges unresolved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ishmael Munene does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kenya’s once financially healthy universities are in financial straits.Ishmael Munene, Professor of Research, Foundations & Higher Education, Northern Arizona UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1099642019-02-08T10:00:58Z2019-02-08T10:00:58ZSouth African students are protesting – again. Why it needn’t be this way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257923/original/file-20190208-174851-11vccf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students shut the University of the Witwatersrand down during protest action. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bhekikhaya Mabaso/African News Agency (ANA) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s the beginning of South Africa’s academic year and once again, campuses have been brought to a standstill by <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/protests/2078996/refrain-from-excessive-force-during-student-protests-amnesty-international-sa/">students protesting</a> against a host of issues that have plagued the country’s universities. These include registration fees, student accommodation, food and other issues, compounded by the inefficiency of the country’s student financial aid scheme. </p>
<p>The protests and the employment of private security on campuses has appallingly led to the <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/dut-student-shot-dead-by-campus-security-in-durban-20190205">death of a student</a>, and have once again brought the problems besetting higher education to the fore. But the current situation was entirely predictable.</p>
<p>In the wake of nationwide campus protests from 2015 to 2017, former president Jacob Zuma’s administration <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/zuma-announces-free-higher-education-for-poor-and-working-class-students-20171216">opportunistically extended funding</a> for tertiary education to a broader cohort of students. This didn’t resolve the government’s flawed approach to the students’ demand for free higher education. </p>
<p>It was inevitable that the promise of “free education” would come back to haunt the government. That’s because leaders fail to understand what’s really at stake in the demands for genuinely free quality education for all. University administrations expected the government’s student funding agency – the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> – to solve the problem of affordability. </p>
<p>But the scheme has experienced a succession of bureaucratic problems. This has again led to <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/protest-threat-as-nsfas-rejects-poor-students-18630832">the rejection</a> of tens of thousands of financial aid student applicants. This, in turn, sparked widespread protests and campus shut-downs. </p>
<p>Government could have taken another route by adopting the carefully researched and argued suggestions that some academics, civil society and others made to entrench the right to education as a public good. </p>
<p>As one <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/the-nsfas-is-not-out-of-the-woods-higher-education-dept-20180816">news report</a> said, the aid scheme has simply failed to “pay the right amount of money to the right students at the right time”. A senior department official was also quoted as saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Despite the daily support of departmental officials and support teams, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme was not able to put in place adequate solutions to address the problems coherently and quickly. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It needn’t be this way. We’ve always <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/facultyofeducation/cert/Documents/CERT%20FEES%20COMMISSION%20SUBMISSION%20Hlatshwayo_Maharajh_Marawu_Motala_Naidoo_Vally.pdf">argued</a> that free higher education for all is not only desirable, but entirely possible. In <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/facultyofeducation/cert/Documents/CERT%20FEES%20COMMISSION%20SUBMISSION%20Hlatshwayo_Maharajh_Marawu_Motala_Naidoo_Vally.pdf">our submission</a> to the <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-making-high-education-and-training">Heher Commission</a> – a commission instituted by government to advise it on the question of tertiary student funding – we set out a number of recommendations. But these have been ignored.</p>
<h2>The search for a solution</h2>
<p>In our arguments we focused on a range of issues related to the role of higher education as a public good and for supporting the objectives of social transformation. </p>
<p>Our view is that public universities are society’s key institutions for developing knowledge through their role in research and teaching. By fulfilling these functions, institutions contribute to social, economic, cultural and intellectual development. </p>
<p>But for this to happen there needs to be an enabling environment. This includes decent accommodation and food for students as well as financial, infrastructural and intellectual resources. </p>
<p>We argue that free higher education is not an end in itself. Rather, it’s essential for the achievement of the social, political, cultural and transformative goals of a society characterised by the legacies of racist oppression and exploitative social relations. </p>
<p>Policies that are designed to provide for the full cost of study are essential to an overarching social objective of developing a democratic and socially just society. </p>
<p>We argue that with careful and systematic planning, this social vision is entirely achievable. </p>
<h2>Solutions</h2>
<p>We didn’t argue for the increase of value added tax as this hits the poor the hardest. We suggested taxing the super rich, where some <a href="http://www.africanmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IFF-Report-1.pdf">don’t pay</a> the taxes due by them. </p>
<ul>
<li>Similar ideas of taxing the super rich are set out in detail by French economist <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Piketty-suggests-wealth-tax-for-SA-20151003">Thomas Piketty</a>, US senator <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/sanders-proposes-wealth-tax-piketty-reich-applaud">Bernie Sanders</a>, and UK Labour Party leader <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/12/corbyn-government-new-labour-tax-rich-tories">Jeremy Corbyn</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p>In addition we argue for: </p>
<ul>
<li>Stopping the outflow of capital. In the past 18 months alone <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/capital-outflow-r350billion-has-left-south-africa-10264790">R350 billion</a> has left South Africa. In the period from 2002 to 2011, illicit outflows have been estimated at approximately R1,4 trillion ($100.7 billion) by the organisation <a href="http://www.africanmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IFF-Report-1.pdf">Global Financial Integrity</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>We argue that the state has the potential – if it has the will – to stop the extraordinary levels of capital outflow. This would provide it with sufficient funds to support free higher education for all and the chronically underfunded universities. </p>
<p>Although individuals will not be equal when education is made free, our approach is dedicated to ending the culture of corporatism and business models that still dominate the university system. </p>
<h2>Untenable situation</h2>
<p>The present situation – where thousands of students are turned away while others are drowning in debt – is simply untenable. It deepens the crisis faced by students. University managements should make common cause with students and pressurise the state instead of relying on charity, band-aid solutions or even worse, the violence of private security. All of these are unsustainable.</p>
<p>The state’s continued indecisiveness and unwillingness to engage with carefully researched and argued proposals from those within the higher education sector does not bode well for change. Using the bureaucratic devices of National Student Financial Aid Scheme to mediate this crisis will fail and only deepen social conflict.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Salim Vally receives funding from the DHET-NRF for the SARChI Chair in Community, Adult and Worker Education which he currently holds. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mondli Hlatshwayo receives funding from the National Research Foundation.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siphelo Ngcwangu receives funding from the National Research Foundation Centres of Excellence (COE) for Human Development. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enver Motala does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa students are protesting and have brought university campuses to a stand still. This could have been avoided.Salim Vally, Director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation and Associate Professor of Education, University of JohannesburgEnver Motala, Researcher, Social Sciences, University of Fort HareMondli Hlatshwayo, Senior Researcher in Labour Studies and Education, University of JohannesburgSiphelo Ngcwangu, Senior lecturer, sociology, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1026342018-09-05T07:48:19Z2018-09-05T07:48:19ZTo fix higher education funding, we also need to fix vocational education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234961/original/file-20180905-45169-e6f9ex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need a tertiary education funding system that will help get students into courses with employment opportunities at the end of them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Yesterday the shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, <a href="http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media_release_labor_to_help_all_australians_get_the_chance_to_study_at_uni">announced</a> Labor plans to invest an additional A$174 million in the higher education sector if there’s a change of government at the next election. This extra funding would be to give first in family students, students from outer suburbs and the country, Indigenous students, and students with a disability a better chance to study at university. </p>
<p>This is on top of a <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labor-reaffirms-backing-uncapped-numbers-australia">promise to uncap student places</a> at university. Labor estimates this will see the number of Australians getting a university education rise by 200,000 over 12 years.</p>
<p>But university may not be the best option for everyone. Concern about a glut of students graduating from degrees such as <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/too-many-lawyers-futureproof-your-degree-20150730-ginpjh.html">law</a> or <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/three-quarters-of-journalism-grads-fail-to-land-a-job-in-the-industry-535780">journalism</a> and not getting jobs have ignited discussion about whether we should control the number of students entering university or particular courses.</p>
<p>But if universities are to enrol fewer people, we should offer attractive alternatives to university education. To fix higher education, we also need to fix vocational education to help get students into courses with employment opportunities.</p>
<h2>Balancing graduates and the labour market</h2>
<p>From 2009 until last December, universities could enrol unlimited numbers of bachelor degree students and be paid for each one. This is a system called demand driven funding. It ended when the Commonwealth government announced it would only pay universities a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/bold-and-successful-experiment-comes-to-premature-end-with-22-billion-university-funding-cut-20171220-h07tfa.html">fixed sum of money</a> from 2018 onwards, capping this sum for two years at the amount paid out in 2017. </p>
<p>A major criticism of the demand driven system was that it flooded the labour market with graduates who couldn’t find jobs in their field. In 2014, short-term graduate employment outcomes were the <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2018/01/15/is-the-graduate-labour-market-recovering/">worst on record</a>. Nearly a third of graduates who were looking for full-time work couldn’t find it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-isnt-unskilled-graduates-its-a-lack-of-full-time-job-opportunities-90104">The problem isn't unskilled graduates, it's a lack of full-time job opportunities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The recent poor employment results for new graduates were partly due to bad timing. Most graduates aim for the professional jobs most likely to use their skills. But growth in the number of professional jobs nearly stalled in 2013 as the mining boom ended and <a href="http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/">graduations started increasing</a> due to the introduction of the demand driven system. When the economy is weak, new job seekers suffer the most.</p>
<p>But over the longer run, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/5F60A449AE6DE5F6CA258090000ED52A?opendocument">ABS data</a> shows the number of people in their early career securing professional jobs is increasing significantly. The end of the mining boom paused growth, but it didn’t reverse the long-term upward trend. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234739/original/file-20180904-41708-1fummv9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Occupational trends, 1987-2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No higher education system can produce a perfect balance between graduates and the labour market. Education and the economy will always work on different timelines. But we need a tertiary education funding system that will help get students into courses with employment opportunities. </p>
<h2>Fixed funding</h2>
<p>Before demand driven funding, with universities getting fixed annual grants as they do again now, the system did not respond well to the labour market. In 2008, 40 professional occupations were in <a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/documents/historical-list-skill-shortages-australia-0">skills shortage</a>, with health-related fields such as aged care particularly badly affected. If Australia hadn’t been able to import large numbers of health professionals from overseas, this would have been a public health disaster. </p>
<p>Capped funding for universities makes it hard for them to respond to workforce issues as they emerge. Universities aren’t funded to accommodate the number of students who want to study or the number of skilled graduates needed in key areas, such as health care.</p>
<h2>The demand driven system mostly responded to labour market signals…</h2>
<p>Under demand driven funding, the higher education system adjusted to demand for graduates in certain fields and oversupply in others without government intervention. Demand driven funding does not mean endless, rapid growth in the numbers of students studying at university.</p>
<p>We can see how labour market information flowed through to student behaviour. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/work-and-pay-prospects-for-graduates-deteriorated-in-2014-a-survey-shows-20141230-12fl2u.html">Media reports</a> highlighting poor graduate outcomes likely played a role in communicating market signals to students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/deregulating-tafe-is-a-big-risk-to-the-labour-market-54171">Deregulating TAFE is a big risk to the labour market</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/no-school-jobs-available-for-thousands-of-trained-teachers-throughout-nsw-schools/news-story/e060deceae07330197c18cd659eccd3d">reports in NSW spread</a> of teaching graduates not finding work, the number of students commencing teaching degrees in NSW <a href="http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/">fell by nearly 2,000</a>. The number of people <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/47771">accepting an offer</a> for an engineering course also fell as the mining boom ended. A shortage of skilled health workers was the biggest problem under the previous system, and health-related enrolments <a href="http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/">grew by the most</a> under demand-driven funding. </p>
<p>By 2015 <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/demand_driven_facts_figures_SLNSW_13Feb.pdf">the enrolment boom</a> that began in 2009 was over. Only five professional occupations <a href="https://www.jobs.gov.au/national-state-and-territory-skill-shortage-information">remain in skills shortage</a>, including surveyors and vets. </p>
<h2>But not always</h2>
<p>Students don’t always react to bad labour market news. Science added <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/demand_driven_facts_figures_SLNSW_13Feb.pdf">more than 12,000</a> commencing students between 2008 and 2016, as employment outcomes went <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/panic-over-science-education-is-overdone-says-andrew-norton-20160406-go043o">from mediocre to terrible</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2013/05/the-future-of-science-in-australia/">Chief Scientist</a> and politicians promoted science, which may have misled students. The science experience is a reminder to policymakers they need to be careful about the signals they send to students. </p>
<h2>Offer attractive alternatives to university</h2>
<p>Although well-motivated by concerns about who has access to a university education, <a href="http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media_release_labor_to_help_all_australians_get_the_chance_to_study_at_uni">Labor’s current talking up</a> of higher education may not be good advice to students in every case. The demand driven system has often responded to labour market signals, but some further moderation in the numbers of students attending university would make it easier for graduates to find professional jobs. </p>
<p>But if universities are to enrol fewer people, we should offer attractive alternatives to university education, rather than simply restricting university student numbers. Vocational education is one of those potential alternatives. Technical and trade employment is also growing, as the chart above shows. Thirty technical and trade occupations were <a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/documents/historical-list-skill-shortages-australia-0">in skills shortage in 2017</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vocational-education-and-training-sector-is-still-missing-out-on-government-funding-report-88863">Vocational education and training sector is still missing out on government funding: report</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Unfortunately, university demand driven funding coincided with chaos in vocational education, thanks to <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-australia-2017/">state governments cutting funding</a> for vocational education and the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-australia-s-education-debacle-is-still-creating-victims-20180419-p4zal3.html">VET FEE-HELP fiasco</a>. </p>
<p>It’s hard for vocational education to compete with universities when students sometimes need to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for their course, while higher education undergraduates can <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program-help">defer all their tuition costs via HELP</a>. The student income support system is also biased against vocational education, with <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/youth-allowance-students-and-australian-apprentices/who-can-get-it/approved-courses-and-institutions#a2">restricted eligibility</a> and <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/student-start-loan/eligibility/approved-courses">lower payments</a>. </p>
<p>The policy status quo of capped higher education funding and a funding bias against vocational education will not serve us well. With restored demand driven funding and changes to vocational education, the tertiary education system would do a better job of matching students with the courses that maximise their long-term employment outcomes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Norton was a government-appointed co-reviewer of the demand driven system in 2014, and served on an expert panel advising the minister for higher education in 2016 and 2017. The demand driven system was one of the issues under consideration by the panel. </span></em></p>If Labor is to once again uncap university funding, vocational education reform is a vital.Andrew Norton, Higher Education Program Director, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/876882017-11-19T09:17:35Z2017-11-19T09:17:35ZOptions on the table as South Africa wrestles with funding higher education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195208/original/file-20171117-7559-1sfexx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The storm clouds above South Africa's universities could be dissipated with careful fiscal planning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.presidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-making-high-education-and-training">A report</a> into the feasibility of offering free higher education at South Africa’s universities has finally been released. It has been nearly two years in the making, developed by a commission of inquiry that President Jacob Zuma set up in response to nationwide fee protests.</p>
<p>The lengthy report provides an accurate diagnosis of the state of higher education funding, as well as the problems it faces. But its proposed solutions are problematic. Many of its limitations arise from a failure to properly integrate an understanding of public finance and public economics into the analysis and recommendations.</p>
<p>The Commission’s report gets two critical things right – even though neither will please student activists. The first is that planned student numbers are simply too high and should be revised downwards. The second is that the country simply can’t afford free higher education for all students given its other priorities and weak economy.</p>
<p>But its recommendations are poor. Models are proposed that represent, I would argue, a significant step backwards from scenarios developed by the Department of Higher Education and Training two years ago. The department’s scenarios are indirectly supported in another report that’s just been released, by the <a href="http://www.taxcom.org.za/docs/20171113%20DTC%20report%20on%20funding%20of%20tertiary%20education%20-%20on%20website.pdf">Davis Tax Committee</a>. </p>
<p>The tax committee endorses a hybrid scheme for higher education funding. This would retain and increase grants for poor students’ university fees. It would use loans to fund the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-south-africa-university-is-open-to-rich-and-poor-but-what-about-the-missing-middle-36801">missing middle</a>” – students from households that earn too much to qualify for government funding but still can’t afford higher education. If South Africa’s concern is really about immediate improvements in equitable access to higher education for poor students, this is the option that should be receiving the most attention.</p>
<h2>The Fees Commission report</h2>
<p>I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-feesmustfall-protests-some-inconvenient-truths-67516">argued previously</a> that one reason for the current state of affairs has been excessive student enrolment, relative to appropriate standards and adequate resources. Yet various <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Latest%20News/White%20paper%20for%20post-school%20education%20and%20training.pdf">policy documents</a> <a href="https://www.gov.za/issues/national-development-plan-2030">propose</a> rapid increases to enrolment in the coming decades.</p>
<p>The fees commission correctly argues in its report that these projected enrolment numbers are unrealistic. It points out that such high student numbers threaten quality and make adequate funding even more unlikely. It recommends that the numbers be revised downwards.</p>
<p>The commission also does well in recognising that – <a href="https://theconversation.com/latest-budget-underscores-desperate-state-of-south-africas-finances-86362">given</a> the state of South Africa’s economy, public finances and other important government priorities – free higher education for all – or even most students – is simply not feasible or desirable. It rejects both the possibility of fully funded higher education and the demand for university fees to be abolished. But it endorses the abolition of application and registration fees, along with regulation of university fees.</p>
<p>There are three critical issues within the current student funding system.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What household income threshold should be used to determine student eligibility for support from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to ensure all students who need partial or full support are covered?</p></li>
<li><p>What resources are needed to ensure that all students below the threshold receive the adequate funding; up to full cost where necessary?</p></li>
<li><p>How should the support provided be structured in terms of grants versus loans, or combinations of these?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The commission errs in trying to address these questions.</p>
<h2>A worsening of equity</h2>
<p>The fees commission’s fundamental proposal in response to the demand for free higher education is the adoption of an income-contingent loan (ICL) scheme. Under this all students regardless of family income who register for university are funded by loans up to the full cost of study.</p>
<p>These loans would be from private banks based on guarantees of repayment from government. In other words, after a specified number of years either the student or the government would have to start repaying the loan. There are numerous problems with this model.</p>
<p>The ICL would, in some ways, constitute a worsening of equity. Poor students who currently qualify for NSFAS grants would now only get loans. </p>
<p>In the ICL scheme, either students pay or the government does. The current state of the higher education system suggests a significant number of students will not be able to repay such loans. But nowhere does the commission calculate the implications for future government expenditure.</p>
<p>A number of other proposals are seriously problematic. One involves extending the loan scheme to students in private higher education institutions. This constitutes a dramatic change in post-apartheid policy, potentially leading to indirect privatisation of the higher education system without proper consultation or sound basis for doing so. </p>
<p>Another is the suggestion that higher education expenditure should be benchmarked as 1% of South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product. This is wrongheaded because it does not take into account the proportion of young people in the country or the state of the basic education system.</p>
<p>The Davis Tax Commission’s report is more narrowly focused but, perhaps as a result, endorses arguably the best and most feasible way forward for tertiary funding.</p>
<h2>Better scenarios</h2>
<p>The current NSFAS threshold is R122,000, which means that students whose households earn less than this in a year qualify for funding by the scheme. There are two problems: first, not even all students below this threshold are getting all the financial support <a href="http://www.presidency.gov.za/press-statements/release-report-commission-inquiry-feasibility-making-high-education-and-training">they need</a>. Second, there are students in the “missing middle” who are above the threshold. They cannot fully fund themselves but have no access to support.</p>
<p><a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/21700/">In 2015</a> the department of higher education and training provided rough estimates of the cost of raising the NSFAS threshold and fully funding students below the different, hypothetical thresholds.</p>
<p>It estimated that increasing the NSFAS threshold to R217,00 and covering full cost of study for all students below that would require an extra R12.3bil in 2016/17 for approximately 210,000 students.</p>
<p>The Davis Tax Commission effectively endorses this scenario, proposing a hybrid scheme that retains and increases grants for poor students and university fees, but uses income-contingent loans to fund the missing middle. It estimates that an additional R15 billion could be raised annually for higher education through a combination of increasing the rate of income tax for the highest earners by 1.5%; increasing capital gains tax for corporations; and, raising the <a href="http://www.sars.gov.za/TaxTypes/SDL/Pages/default.aspx">skills levy</a> by 0.5%. </p>
<p>In contrast, the commission’s proposals for raising funds for the loan scheme and other proposals – such as taking R50 billion from a surplus in the <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/legislation/acts/unemployment-insurance-fund/unemployment-insurance-fund">unemployment insurance fund</a> for infrastructure investment – arguably violate some fundamental public finance principles and may be illegal.</p>
<p>The tax committee’s report suggests that the department’s scenario is feasible from a public finance perspective. If the government is genuinely concerned with creating maximally equitable access to higher education for poor students, this is the immediate option that should be receiving the most attention. The design and cost of a more modest income-contingent loan scheme for those students who are not covered, even with expanded support, will require detailed technical analysis and further discussion. Some related work has been done under the umbrella of a separate income-contingent loan initiative, the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme, which could be useful. As the commission report notes in rejecting it, however, there are various concerns about the actual financial aid programme proposal that make it an unconvincing option at this stage. </p>
<p>The different all-or-nothing approaches being proposed by student activists and the fees commission risk the possibility of hundreds of thousands of poor and needy students not being assisted – even though the resources are available to do so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seán Mfundza Muller has received support from the Heinrich Boell Foundation to participate in parliamentary oversight processes relating to the 2017 medium-term budget policy statement, and is actively involved in providing technical support and advice to a number of civil society organisations on a range of public finance matters -- including education and higher education funding.</span></em></p>Alternative scenarios for tertiary funding in South Africa are set out in a completely separate report from the Davis Tax Committee drawing from work done by the higher education department.Seán Mfundza Muller, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Research Associate at the Public and Environmental Economics Research Centre (PEERC), University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/801932017-07-03T20:09:36Z2017-07-03T20:09:36ZHigher education fees are rising – so is it still worthwhile enrolling?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176547/original/file-20170703-8225-1p1zul4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even with higher fees, higher education will still be worthwhile for most young people.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The government has <a href="https://theconversation.com/2017-higher-education-reform-cuts-to-universities-higher-fees-for-students-63185">announced a plan</a> to increase university fees. Most bachelor degree students starting in 2018 would pay, depending on discipline, between A$700 to A$1,700 more than now. </p>
<p>The prospect of higher fees raises concerns about whether higher education is still worthwhile. With subdued job growth since the global financial crisis and many more students at university, educational choices are more complex now than a decade ago. </p>
<p>While some people principally choose higher education for non-financial reasons, many students attend primarily as a pathway to better employment prospects.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/submission-to-the-inquiry-into-the-higher-education-support-legislation-amendment/">Grattan Institute’s submission</a> to the Senate inquiry into the 2017 budget’s higher education package examined these concerns. </p>
<h2>Unemployment and full-time work</h2>
<p>Graduate employment has <a href="https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/gos-reports/2016/gos-national-report.pdf?sfvrsn=423de23c_12">deteriorated since 2008</a>. In 2016, 14% of graduates were unemployed four months after graduation. While unemployment falls as graduates spend more time in the workforce, it is still an issue three years after graduating. For 2013 graduates, about 8% were unemployed in 2016.</p>
<p>Over the longer run, however, graduates are less likely to be unemployed than people with lower levels of education attainment. This is especially the case for women. Bachelor degrees more than halve their risk of unemployment, as the table below shows.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/VPajC/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="350"></iframe>
<p>Full-time work has also become harder to find. In 2016, about 70% of graduates looking for a full-time job found one within four months of graduation. This was a little better than in the preceding years. But their rate is still well below the full-time employment rates of the pre-2008 cohorts. </p>
<p>As graduates stay in the workforce, full-time employment rates improve, but remain below those of earlier graduate cohorts, as the graph below shows.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/X5ff4/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<h2>Professional jobs</h2>
<p>Job quality is also an issue, with students who graduated after 2008 making slower transitions to full-time professional or managerial jobs, as shown in the graph above. Our most recent data from 2016 shows a mildly positive trend.</p>
<p>But as with the four-months-out figures, the overall trend for three years out is down over time. Despite this, graduates still have better access to professional jobs than people with other qualifications.</p>
<p>Among younger cohorts, three quarters of employed female graduates have a professional or managerial job – more than twice the proportion of their contemporaries with upper-level vocational qualifications or Year 12. </p>
<p>As the figure below shows, the professional and managerial share for male graduates is lower at 65%, partly due to more men than women working in technical occupations. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/IsjhX/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>Yet because graduate numbers have been growing faster than professional jobs, the share of graduates in these jobs is not as large as in the past, as shown below.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nL3e8/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<h2>Earnings</h2>
<p><a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/162_graduate_winners_report.pdf">Previous</a> <a href="http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A53097">research</a> <a href="http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2692313">finds</a> those with a bachelor degree earn more than those with Year 12 or vocational post-school qualifications.</p>
<p>Based on 2011 Census data, a male graduate was expected to earn 20% more than a diploma holder and 61% more than a school leaver. </p>
<p>The premium was higher for women. A median female graduate was expected to earn 31% and 70% more than a diploma holder or a school leaver respectively.</p>
<p>Given the changes to the economy and growth in graduate numbers, the premium is expected to be lower now than in 2011. While waiting for the 2016 Census income data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Characteristics of Employment survey gives us a guide to what is happening. </p>
<p>At ages 20 to 24, both male and female graduates earn more than their counterparts with only Year 12. Women earn $215 more a week and men earn $90 more, as shown below.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mHzTZ/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sOWiV/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>In this age group, men with upper-level vocational qualifications earn slightly more than male graduates. This is not the case for women, who gain little, if any, financial benefit from vocational qualifications compared to finishing their education at Year 12. </p>
<p>By age 25 to 34, bachelor degrees typically offer higher pay for both men and women. Women earn $350 a week more and men earn $410 more compared to Year 12, as shown in figure 4. </p>
<p>By this age bracket, men with bachelor degrees earn more than those with upper-level vocational qualifications. However, the benefit of having vocational qualifications over year 12 was apparent only for men. As with their younger cohort, women aged between 25 to 34 gain little from upper-level vocational qualifications compared to Year 12 only.</p>
<p>Overall, the earnings data suggest higher education remains financially attractive for most students, and the small proposed fee increases should not materially affect that. The extra fees are equivalent to about a week’s pay for most graduates. </p>
<p>Yet employment outcomes are not as good as in the past, which increases the risk that higher education will not pay off, at least in a financial sense. This will be true for the foreseeable future whether university fees increase or not. </p>
<p>Young people who are less academically inclined need carefully to consider which educational option is best for them. Especially for men, vocational qualifications may be lower-risk options than a bachelor degree.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ittima Cherastidtham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Earnings data suggest higher education remains financially attractive for most students, and the small proposed fee increases should not materially affect that.Ittima Cherastidtham, Fellow, Higher Education Program, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778512017-05-18T02:51:10Z2017-05-18T02:51:10ZPrograms that prepare students for university study may no longer be free<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169660/original/file-20170517-24333-10jzcka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not everyone is in a position to start university straight away.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the first time, students may have to pay up to A$3271 for “enabling” courses, designed to prepare students for university study.</p>
<p>The change was announced as part of the government’s recent <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ed17-0138_-_he_-_glossy_budget_report_acc.pdf">higher education reform package</a>.</p>
<p>Until now, university enabling programs have been subsidised by the government - and are therefore free for students. The new plan to shift the cost onto students will likely deter some students and affect who is able to access higher education. </p>
<h2>What do enabling programs do?</h2>
<p>Not everyone is in a position to start an undergraduate degree directly. Some people need more academic preparation or confidence, including those who may have been out of the education system for several years. Many of these people currently enrol in “enabling” courses.</p>
<p>These preparatory courses typically run for six to 12 months and focus on developing the discipline, knowledge and academic skills required for higher level learning. </p>
<p>The courses are run by universities and give students a sense of campus life and expectations before they commit to a full undergraduate degree with tuition fees. </p>
<p>Enabling courses are a low-cost government investment of $30 million per year, offering people from low socioeconomic and other disadvantaged backgrounds a viable opportunity to qualify and prepare for university.</p>
<p>Courses are not specifically targeted at equity groups, but around <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Final-Pathways-to-Higher-Education-The-Efficacy-of-Enabling-and-Sub-Bachelor-Pathways-for-Disadvantaged-Students.pdf">50% of students</a> enrolled in enabling courses are from equity groups, including Indigenous students. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Final-Pathways-to-Higher-Education-The-Efficacy-of-Enabling-and-Sub-Bachelor-Pathways-for-Disadvantaged-Students.pdf">A recent review</a> of enabling programs shows that students from low SES backgrounds have more than twice the rate of representation in enabling courses than they do at undergraduate level.</p>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Final-Pathways-to-Higher-Education-The-Efficacy-of-Enabling-and-Sub-Bachelor-Pathways-for-Disadvantaged-Students.pdf">national review</a> reports, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>enabling programs transition more equity-group students than the associate degree, advanced diploma, diploma and OUA pathways combined. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Students who transition via an enabling program are, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>more likely to be studying full-time in their subsequent undergraduate degree, compared to those transitioning via a VET program (85.4% compared to 76.3%). </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Once they are at university, students from low SES backgrounds can receive further support through a different government financial initiative – the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-programme-heppp">Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program</a> (HEPPP). This is welcome and signals a government commitment to equity. However, more is needed to support access and academic preparation.</p>
<h2>How will funding arrangements change?</h2>
<p>Since 2004, some preparatory enabling programs have been supported through a combination of Commonwealth funded places and a small additional loading. </p>
<p>The arrangement means that students do not pay fees (or incur debt) as long as no other fees are charged by universities themselves. But the proposed changes to enabling funding would change all that.</p>
<p>Under the new proposals, students will pay fees and funding will be insecure, with universities having to bid for their places every three years.</p>
<p>Universities may also need to compete for funding against private providers, some of whom offer similar courses. </p>
<p>Many private providers have no previous experience in teaching students who have faced prior educational challenges. And unlike universities, they have no specific equity mission or community obligations.</p>
<h2>Why will students now have to pay?</h2>
<p>Because enabling programs are free, they attract different student cohorts from diplomas and other (fee paying) sub-degree programs. </p>
<p>Indigenous, mature age, low SES, and students from refugee backgrounds are more likely to enrol in an enabling program than any other <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=206239542491623;res=IELHSS">sub-degree program</a> . </p>
<p>Apart from improving university access for thousands of under-represented students, enabling programs also deliver effective outcomes. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Final-Pathways-to-Higher-Education-The-Efficacy-of-Enabling-and-Sub-Bachelor-Pathways-for-Disadvantaged-Students.pdf">Research</a> shows that enabling students who transition to undergraduate degrees outperform other equity group students in those degrees, despite a higher average level of disadvantage. </p>
<p>So why cut an inexpensive program that opens doors for under-represented students and effectively prepares them for university success?</p>
<p>Two reasons are provided. The first reason for abolishing fee-free enabling places is to improve completion rates. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-reform-package-0">budget package</a> reports that fee-free Commonwealth funded university programs have completion rates of 52%, while fee-paying university programs, which do not draw on this Commonwealth funding (programs can only charge fees or claim the funding), have completion rates of 61%. </p>
<p>However, this gap is largely because fee-paying programs are typically much smaller and less flexible and accessible. The government data cited does not compare like with like. </p>
<p>The second reason provided for removing fee-free programs is to ensure a better return to students and taxpayers. Again, this is a questionable claim.</p>
<p>The proposed cuts will mean that many students from disadvantaged and low-SES backgrounds, who are <a href="http://www.olt.gov.au/project-enabling-retention-processes-and-strategies-improving-student-retention-university-based-ena">often unsure</a> of whether university study is for them, will likely not enrol in an enabling program. </p>
<p>Fees are often prohibitive for people who have the potential to succeed in higher education, but who suffer social and economic disadvantage. While the budget proposes a broader expansion of sub-degree places, diversity and full community engagement will suffer if fee-free places are abolished.</p>
<h2>Equity, quality and performance-based funding</h2>
<p>The government is also proposing <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-birminghams-performance-funding-plan-wont-improve-australian-universities-77389">performance-based funding measures</a> that may penalise institutions with relatively low retention and completion rates. </p>
<p>That move is understandable but considered <a href="https://theconversation.com/short-sighted-budget-means-universities-cant-deliver-their-full-economic-benefit-77474">problematic</a> and could threaten student equity <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-university-funding-be-tied-to-student-performance-75385">if not managed carefully</a>. </p>
<p>Performance-based funding is partly designed to deter universities from enrolling students at <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-atar-debate-students-need-to-be-able-to-finish-uni-not-just-start-it-36478">risk of non-completion</a>. </p>
<p>However, fee-free enabling programs already provide an excellent way to mitigate this risk, by enabling access and improving the preparation of students. These benefits are delivered relatively cheaply under the current enabling loading allocations to universities. </p>
<p>To support equity, quality and long-term budget repair, fee-free enabling places could be expanded rather than abolished.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Bennett works for the University of Newcastle. She receives funding from sources interested in equity in higher education, including from the Department of Education under the National Priorities Pool. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Harvey received funding from the Department of Education for research on enabling programs under the National Priorities Pool. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seamus Fagan receives funding from OLT for a grant</span></em></p>Students on ‘enabling’ courses may now have to pay substantial fees under higher education reforms.Associate Professor Anna Bennett, Senior Lecturer, University of NewcastleAndrew Harvey, Director, Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research, La Trobe UniversitySeamus Fagan, Associate Professor; Director of the Centre for English Language and Foundation Studies, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/631852017-05-01T09:26:10Z2017-05-01T09:26:10Z2017 higher education reform: cuts to universities, higher fees for students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167359/original/file-20170501-17319-1jct4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>The government have released their <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/news/consultation-future-higher-education-reform-cost-of-delivery-report">proposed higher education reform</a>. </p>
<p>There are some welcome initiatives, such as legislating ongoing support for the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) which supports access and equity in universities. This will be popular and is a good move for students.</p>
<p>But there are significant cuts, and students will pay more, a lot more. </p>
<p>They will phase in increased maximum student contributions by 1.8% each year between 2018 and 2021 for a total of a 7.5% increase. </p>
<p>Students will pay 46% instead of 42% of the cost of their degree on average. So for a four year course, this an increase in total student fees of between $2,000 and $3,600. The government claim the maximum any student will pay is $50,000 for a four year course, and $75,000 for a six year medical course.</p>
<p>They will also repay much faster and have their debts subject to different indexation. They will repay from $42,000 in 2018. This is a lot lower than the current threshold of $54,869. This lower threshold will mean many more students will need to pay.</p>
<p>The government claim that the cost for universities to deliver courses increased by only 9.5% between 2011 and 2015 according to independent analysis from Deloitte. </p>
<p>But Deloitte’s report specifically warns against using their comparison in this way, so we don’t know where the cost of teaching really increased by 9% over these years or not. </p>
<p>Universities will still be cut, suffering an efficiency dividend, where funding for teaching will be $380 million lower in 2019 than it would have been under the current formula. </p>
<p>Universities will also be more accountable by making 7.5% of each their Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding contingent on performance against benchmarks. This may result in a cut for some universities depending on the details of the benchmark. </p>
<p>From 2018, funding will be based on participation in admissions transparency reform and cost of education and research transparency initiatives.</p>
<p>From 2019, this funding will be dependent on performance metrics such as student outcomes and satisfaction, transparency and financial management with a formula to be developed in consultation with universities.</p>
<p>The government claim that there is a need to get the cost of higher education under control. We can only hope they have a vision for higher education to match.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwilym Croucher is Principal Policy Adviser, University of Melbourne Chancellery and Senior Lecturer in the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
</span></em></p>Higher education reform means more pain for students and universities with long lasting consequences.Gwilym Croucher, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/744482017-03-21T09:45:35Z2017-03-21T09:45:35ZSouth Africa’s student funding scheme should be strengthened<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161287/original/image-20170317-6100-vcjyiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's government is trying to approach student funding differently.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/NIC BOTHMA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In mid-December 2016, the South African Minister of Higher Education and Training released <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Gazettes/MTT_Report.pdf">the report</a> of a ministerial task team set up to investigate student funding for those who can’t afford higher education. </p>
<p>The timing of the report’s release coincided with the start of the annual holiday season which precluded public scrutiny and engagement. This was a missed opportunity. The report is a welcome contribution to the debate on student funding in South Africa. </p>
<p>Its main recommendations provide a realistic framework for rethinking approaches to student funding. These include grants for very poor students and a combination of grants (progressively reduced as household income increases) and loans for the poor and “<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-south-africa-university-is-open-to-rich-and-poor-but-what-about-the-missing-middle-36801">missing middle</a>” – students whose parental income is above the cut-off point to qualify for loans from the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> (NSFAS) but insufficient to meet the full costs of higher education. This approach reduces the repayment burden. </p>
<p>The report also recommends the mobilisation of private sector funds through various tax incentives. And it suggests that loan recovery mechanisms could be improved through direct deductions by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).</p>
<p>But there’s one key flaw in the report. It recommends that a new agency, the <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/rdm/news/2017-01-11-applications-open-for-new-student-funding-scheme/">Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme</a>, be established to replace the NSFAS. It was established in 1999 to ensure that funding is not a barrier to access to higher education for poor students. It has successfully discharged this mandate and supported just more than one million students in the past 18 years.</p>
<p>The report presents a jaundiced view of an important organisation that has opened the doors of higher education to many who would otherwise have been left out.</p>
<h2>Myths and realities</h2>
<p>One of the report’s recommendations is that Ikusasa should establish a special purpose vehicle run by the private sector to manage student funding on the government’s behalf. </p>
<p>It argues that this is necessary to counter the private sector’s apparent lack of confidence in the NSFAS, which is ascribed to the scheme having weak accountability structures and inefficient processes, especially its poor loan recovery record. The NSFAS has as a result apparently <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Gazettes/MTT_Report.pdf">lost</a> “most of the funding it used to receive from the private sector”.</p>
<p>There’s no evidence provided to support this assertion. This is because there has been no private sector funding of the NSFAS other than its administration of bursaries on behalf of one of the major banks. </p>
<p>The NSFAS was also remarkably successful in recovering loans between 1997 and 2008, increasing <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/CHE%20Presentation%20to%20Commission%20of%20Inquiry%20into%20Higher%20Education%20and%20Training%2017%20August%202016.pdf">from R30 million to R636m</a>. After that <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/CHE%20Presentation%20to%20Commission%20of%20Inquiry%20into%20Higher%20Education%20and%20Training%2017%20August%202016.pdf">the amount decreased</a>: only R248m was recovered in 2014, as against projections of R1 711m. This was because of the promulgation of the National Credit Act in 2005. </p>
<p>This legislation made it illegal to recover loans from debtors through automatic deductions by employers, which was provided for in the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/downloads/NSFAS%20Act.%20No%2056%20of%201999.pdf">NSFAS Act</a>. This has severely impacted on the funding available to the NSFAS.</p>
<h2>The role of funding agencies</h2>
<p>The report is also on weak ground in its attempt to deal with broader skills and educational issues. </p>
<p>It proposes that funding should prioritise professional and vocational programmes in scarce skills and high demand occupations to “grow the economy”. This refers to the need to grow enrolments in science, engineering and technology. </p>
<p>The scarce skills focus would adversely impact on poor students’ access to higher education. They are the main recipients of low quality schooling, especially in gateway subjects like maths and science which are essential for access to the programmes in question. </p>
<p>The report also proposes that Ikusasa should develop a “wrap-around” student support programme. Social, life skills and academic support to improve throughput and graduation rates would be provided using external service providers. This betrays a lack of understanding of the challenges of teaching and learning in higher education. The fact that such support has been successfully provided on a small scale by NGOs and private sector bursary programmes does not necessarily mean it can be taken to scale. </p>
<p>What is needed is systemic intervention to address the knowledge and skills gap between school and university. This requires restructuring the curriculum and qualifications structure in higher education, as has <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/4YD%20proposal%202013_CHE%20seminar_2013-00-17.pdf">been proposed</a> by the Council on Higher Education. This is the joint responsibility of government and higher education institutions – not funding agencies.</p>
<h2>A crucial body</h2>
<p>The report’s uncritical focus on enhancing the role of the private sector in student funding is cause for concern. It ignores the fact that the private sector is risk averse. In the absence of collateral in the form of government guarantees, it’s unlikely to come to the party. And at any rate, it projects that direct private sector investment will comprise of no more than one-fifth of the total funding required to implement the proposed model.</p>
<p>The private sector has a role to play in student funding. But this can best be done through an expanded NSFAS, with a separate and dedicated sub-structure established to deal with private sector contributions and investments.</p>
<p>There’s no denying that administrative and governance challenges have had an impact on the NSFAS’ efficiency and effectiveness. This is largely due to the rapid growth of the funds it administers without a concomitant development of administrative systems. There has been progress in addressing these challenges and no doubt more needs to be done. But its real challenge is too little funding to meet demand. The private sector can contribute to alleviating this. </p>
<p>However, ultimately it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that student funding is adequate to meet demand. </p>
<p>The NSFAS, despite its challenges, has played a critical role in opening the doors of higher education to the poor. It has been one of success stories of the post-1994 commitment to social justice and the redress of past inequalities. The NSFAS cannot be wished away by the whims of a task team which seems have little or no understanding of the social and political context that gave rise to it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74448/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ahmed Essop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ministerial task team’s report presents a jaundiced view of an important organisation that’s opened the doors of higher education to many who would otherwise have been closed out.Ahmed Essop, Research Associate in Higher Education Policy and Planning, Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.