Reforms to cost Deakin

Students face higher fees

DEAKIN University is set to lose $50.3 million in funding if Federal Government higher education reforms pass the Senate, the industry’s peak body says.

Students will have to pay higher fees if the changes are passed with the Government to reduce funding between 2018 and 2021, according to Universities Australia.

Last year the government supported 26,878 full-time equivalent places across Deakin’s four campuses.

Commonwealth-supported courses include 635 in education and 522 in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and agriculture.

Deakin stands to lose the second most funding of any Victorian university behind Monash ($57.4 million).

If passed, the higher education reform package would increase student fees by 7.5 per cent and lower the repayment threshold for HECS loans from $55,874 to $42,000.

Universities Australia chairwoman Margaret Gardner said the higher education reforms would cut funding by 4.9 per cent per place before 2021.

“The Government’s own figures show no increase in public funding. Public funding for universities is already low in Australia compared to other countries. This package moves in the wrong direction,” Ms Gardner said.

She said by 2021 more than a third of supported students would be paying more than half of the cost of their courses, and almost a fifth would be paying more than 90 per cent.

Deakin University vicechancellor Jane den Hollander said the uncertainty of university funding was unhelpful.

“The Bill before the Senate is a double whammy for students, who will pay more for their degree while their university is forced to do less,” Professor den Hollander said.

“Deakin will be disproportionately affected by any cut.”

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said university funding had been a “river of gold” for almost a decade and was set to keep growing another 23 per cent over the next four years.

Senator Birmingham pointed to Education Department analysis showing perstudent funding would be higher in 2020 than in 2011, although the modelling also showed it would be lower than in 2010 or any year from 2012.

The fate of the reforms hangs in the balance as Parliament resumes this week and the Nick Xenophon Team is yet to outline its position.

The Senate committee is expected to table its report on the reforms today but debate has not been scheduled.