tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/voluntary-student-unionism-1636/articlesVoluntary Student Unionism – The Conversation2014-01-08T19:21:33Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/209702014-01-08T19:21:33Z2014-01-08T19:21:33ZIs student activism dying in Australia’s universities?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/36855/original/dpp5hj44-1386117125.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian student activism has changed and diminished over the years, but why?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Oakley</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With a Coalition government in power, the issue of student political activism is firmly back on the agenda. Education minister Christopher Pyne has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/plan-to-scrap-fee-will-cripple-student-services-say-leaders-20130925-2ueiz.html">stated</a> that he would like to make the current compulsory <a href="http://www.innovation.gov.au/HIGHEREDUCATION/STUDENTSUPPORT/Pages/StudentServicesAndAmenities.aspx">student services fees</a> voluntary once more, perhaps as early as this year. </p>
<p>This is an article of faith for many Liberal politicians, apparently motivated by the belief that the fee supports (mostly left-wing) student political activity. However, the government is yet to make the case that the current student services fee is being misappropriated for political purposes. Instead it appears to be a case of some politicians wanting to fight an ideological battle that is no longer relevant. </p>
<p>But it could just be the shift from an elite to mass model of higher education is indirectly killing student activism in our universities.</p>
<p>The heyday of student activism in Australia was the late 1960s and early 1970s, when students campaigned against the Vietnam War and apartheid. Student politics were radical, with groups from the left – such as <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/20638557">Marxist-Leninists, Maoists and Trotskyists</a> – dominating the scene.</p>
<p>Back then, university study was largely a full-time pursuit. It was also elite: less than 3% of Australians had university qualifications. But by 2005, when the Howard government <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/student-union-fees-bill-is-passed/2005/12/09/1134086800068.html">first</a> introduced voluntary student unionism, approximately one-third of Australians held a university degree. There were more than 700,000 students enrolled across 37 public universities. </p>
<p>By 2005, however, university was no longer free, meaning that two-thirds of undergraduate students were <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/6227.0Media%20Release1May%202005?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6227.0&issue=May%202005&num=&view">employed</a>. Almost 40% of students were employed full-time. This meant that for most students, the anti-establishment lifestyle, typified in movements like the <a href="http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/push">Sydney Push</a>, was not a reality. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6227.0May%202012?OpenDocument">most recent statistics</a> show that the number of employed undergraduates has dropped to 61%, while the number employed full-time has dropped to 15%. So perhaps Australian university students have more time today to be politically active than they did in 2005. But compared to the 1960s and 1970s, full-time study – in the purest sense – is the exception rather than the norm.</p>
<p>Another issue is whether today’s university campuses still act as focal points for student activism in the same way they used to. In 1971, more than 1400 students, or more than half the student population, <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/">reportedly</a> attended a meeting to discuss banning military recruiters from the La Trobe University campus. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37402/original/hqkztyrp-1386724924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The growing number and diversity of university students is changing the dynamics of higher education study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Today, 30% of Australian university students study part-time and 13% study in distance or online mode. Most universities also operate across multiple campuses. Students’ life choices and work commitments mean that they do not interact in the same ways anymore.</p>
<p>Increased access to higher education also means that student demographics are much more diverse than they have ever been. In 2005, 26,000 students were from non-English speaking backgrounds. In 2012, this number had risen to 33,000. Enrolments from students from low socio-economic backgrounds rose by almost 60% in the same period. A focus on the international student market has also seen these types of enrolments rise from 164,000 in 2005, to 320,000 in 2012.</p>
<p>Mature-age students are also changing the composition of the national student body. Between 2006 and 2011, the mature-age student population <a href="http://www.acer.edu.au/enews/2012/09/university-numbers-growing-fast-indigenous-even-faster">grew by 25%</a>. The 2011 census data also revealed that just over one-third of all university students in Australia were born overseas. The largest growth rates were for students born in Africa and the Middle East.</p>
<p>Rallying students to a common cause was difficult enough in 2005 when voluntary student unionism was first introduced. Today our university sector is even more diverse. This does not mean students today are any less politically engaged or savvy than those from earlier generations. However, diversity of opinion, experience and belief often makes unified action much more difficult.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is going too far to say that increased access to higher education is killing student activism in Australian universities, but it is certainly changing its function. Nowadays, student guilds concentrate much more on providing apolitical services. These include running discount food outlets, helping students find accommodation and providing information on a wide range of health, welfare and legal issues. The guidelines specifically forbid the fee being used to support political causes. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37064/original/bmjqt6gq-1386287887.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Student unions are now more interested in providing information and help to students than political causes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The University of Adelaide</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Social media, rather than public demonstration, now seems to be the preferred means of political expression. For example, last October only 100 or so students took part in the National Union of Students’ (NUS) <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/30/joe-hockey-caught-up-in-student-rally-against-university-funding-cuts">demonstration</a> outside Victorian Parliament House, protesting against federal government cuts to higher education. Instead, the NUS focused efforts to promote its position via social media; such as using the Twitter hashtag #standwithstudents.</p>
<p>Positive efforts to increase access and opportunity have already played a far greater role in determining the future of student activism in Australian universities than any punitive policy action on the federal government’s part. Any act to ban the Student Services and Amenities Fee would be an unnecessary and damaging distraction from the more pressing issues facing the sector.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Pitman 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>With a Coalition government in power, the issue of student political activism is firmly back on the agenda. Education minister Christopher Pyne has stated that he would like to make the current compulsory…Tim Pitman, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186192013-10-01T20:34:38Z2013-10-01T20:34:38ZFactCheck: will axing compulsory uni fees take $300 million away from services students need?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/31981/original/n4yyds2k-1380165414.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students services could be cut if the new education minister has his way. But what would this mean in practice?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">University students image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><strong>Scrapping student support fees will be “a $300 million hit on some of the most basic systems and amenities that make universities accessible and attractive to students.” - Kim Carr, former Labor higher education minister, press release, 25 September, 2013.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>New education minister Christopher Pyne signalled last week that he would scrap compulsory student support fees as part of a range of proposed changes to higher education. </p>
<p>Pyne <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/national/christopher_pyne_tips_budget_time_7jaKS41ei72xOyHJMs0BwI">told the Australian Financial Review</a> that the Liberal Party is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…100% in favour of voluntary student unionism and we will move to abolish the student services amenities fee when it’s appropriate to do so.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Prime minister Tony Abbott has since backed away from these comments, saying that there are <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/revoking-compulsory-uni-student-services-fees-not-a-priority-abbott/story-fn59niix-1226727553732">no immediate plans</a> to scrap the fee.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, is former Labor minister Kim Carr right in saying the fee covers A$300 million worth of basic services in universities? And what does the fee cover exactly?</p>
<p>Universities may choose to make the student services and amenities fee a compulsory payment of up to A$273 for each full-time domestic student and a lesser amount for part-time students. This will rise to <a href="http://www.innovation.gov.au/highereducation/StudentSupport/Pages/StudentServicesAndAmenities.aspx#char.">A$281 for full-time students by next year</a>. (International students often have the fee included in the cost of their course and not as a separate charge).</p>
<p>The Liberal Party has sought to make the fee voluntary since the 1970s because it believes it has funded left-wing student organisations and their causes. It finally succeeded in 2005 after the Howard government <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1528167.htm">secured passage</a> of its “voluntary student unionism” legislation. This legislation made the fee no longer compulsory and individual students could choose to pay for services. </p>
<p>The Gillard government then <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-win-right-to-collect-student-services-fee-3819">secured passage</a> of its own legislation in October 2011 allowing universities to reintroduce the compulsory fee. </p>
<p>The Higher Education Support Act (2003) specifically prohibits universities spending the fee to <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013C00472/Html/Text#_Toc365550968">support a political party or election campaign</a>. There are <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013C00472/Html/Text#_Toc365550976">separate requirements</a> for representing and advocating for the interests of students. </p>
<p>The act <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013C00472/Html/Text#_Toc365550968">specifies 19 purposes</a> which the fee may fund: providing food and drink, supporting sport and other recreations, clubs, child care, legal services, health and welfare, accommodation, employment services, financial services, insurance, debating, reading rooms, creative arts, media, study skills, advice and advocacy about internal rules, orientation, and meeting the special needs of international students.</p>
<p>These are the facilities and services which most students expect at a “full service” university campus.</p>
<p>Some student services such as the cafeteria and lounge are used by most students, but others such as counselling and welfare services are, by their nature, used by only a minority. Many students accept paying the fee as part of their membership of the campus community, but some are concerned about paying the fee because they don’t attend campus much or otherwise don’t use its facilities.</p>
<p>As for the revenue the fee brings in for universities, in 2008, consultations between universities and the government put the total revenue raised by the fee as <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/2010-09-29/0033/hansard_frag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">at around $170 million</a>.</p>
<p>But for a more current figure, we can make only a broad estimate using the data available.</p>
<p>So in 2012, public universities enrolled <a href="http://www.innovation.gov.au/highereducation/HigherEducationStatistics/StatisticsPublications/Pages/Students12FullYear.aspx">627,425 domestic equivalent full-time higher education students.</a> Approximately 345,000 of these students were part-time. </p>
<p>It’s important to note that part-time students can be charged more than their share. For example, a part-time student with 50% of the student course load could pay up to 75% of the fee, or $204 for this year and $210 by next year.</p>
<p>So calculating the revenue from this equivalent full time figure that combines part-time course loads, we get a figure of around $171 million based on the current fee, rising to $176 million on next year’s fee. But this figure is likely to be an underestimate because it undervalues the contribution of part-time students. Further, enrolments are likely to have increased in 2013 and to increase again by another few percent in 2014.</p>
<p>Another way to calculate would be to look at <a href="http://www.highereducationstatistics.deewr.gov.au/Default.aspx">the number</a> of full-time domestic bachelor students and part-time domestic bachelor students in 2012. Based on this calculation, we would see over $175 million in fee revenue on the 2014 rates. Add domestic post-graduates into the mix and your looking at more like $185 million. But this too would be an underestimate as it doesn’t include all domestic commonwealth supported students. As a ball park figure and as student numbers are likely to increase, $200 million in revenue is not inconceivable.</p>
<p>When <em>The Conversation</em> contacted Senator Carr’s office, they were unable to provide a specific source for the $300 million figure. Instead they referred us to a Financial Review article which <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/national/coalition_to_axe_uni_student_services_7jaKS41ei72xOyHJMs0BwI">claimed</a> that “the total collected [from compulsory fees] in 2013 was likely to be closer to $300 million”, however this was only attributed to “sources”.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>It is true that scrapping the compulsory fee would reduce student services and amenities on Australian university campuses. They are, by and large, basic services that make universities accessible and attractive. But without official figures, the claim that these services amount to $300 million is hard to substantiate and could be an exaggeration.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>Senator Kim Carr’s central point that the removal of the student services and amenities fee will be detrimental to student services, such as counselling and childcare, is certainly supported by experience. When the fees were last abolished it had a serious effect on services, particularly at some regional campuses.</p>
<p>As the author rightly concludes, without official data it is hard to substantiate the claim that $300 million will be lost. Nonetheless, the impact will likely be significant for students at Australian universities if the compulsory fee is scrapped. – <strong>Gwilym Croucher</strong></p>
<p><div class="callout"> Ever seen a “fact” that doesn’t look quite right? The Conversation’s FactCheck unit asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they really are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Moodie is employed by RMIT, a university that would be affected by the proposed changes.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwilym Croucher works for the University of Melbourne as a higher education policy analyst in the office of the Vice-Chancellor.</span></em></p>Scrapping student support fees will be “a $300 million hit on some of the most basic systems and amenities that make universities accessible and attractive to students.” - Kim Carr, former Labor higher…Gavin Moodie, Principal Policy Adviser, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.