Environmental science hit with severe funding cuts in Coalition universities overhaul
Environmental science degrees have been hit with funding cuts of nearly 30%, as experts warn that it will affect Australia’s ability to cope with drought, bushfires, mass extinction, coral bleaching and the effects of global heating.
Prof Dianne Gleeson, the president of the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (Acedd), said the cut to environmental sciences was “one of the largest funding cuts to any university course”, and had flown under the radar.
Those studying environmental science will receive $9,944 less in funding per student per year under the government’s higher education changes, the equivalent of a 29% funding cut to the subject.
Under the changes, which passed the Senate last week with the backing of Centre Alliance and One Nation, the student contribution for environmental studies was cut from $9,698 to $7,700 a year –meaning students will pay less for their degrees.
However, the commonwealth contribution was also cut from $24,446 to $16,500 per year – meaning that the government will fund each degree less.
Acedd said this would “undoubtedly” lead to a lower quality of degree as staff, teaching resources and expensive technology were cut from courses.
Gleeson said this had created a “perverse” outcome where the Coalition’s job-ready graduate package would mean future students would actually be less prepared for jobs.
“Environmental studies is so broad, it isn’t just people going out into the field,” she told Guardian Australia. “It relies on a lot of cutting edge tech, from satellites to drones to analytical equipment from DNA sequencing through to analytical chemistry.
“Those are really expensive to buy and operate. The reduced funding limits the university’s ability to invest in equipment. When our graduates come to enter the workforce, they won’t be properly equipped.”
She said academics supported students paying lower fees, but the government funding should be raised to cover the shortfall.
“[The government] are on one hand encouraging students to study Stem by lowering the fees the students pay, but they are massively cutting funding to the universities to provide that education,” she said. “That flew under the radar initially.”
The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said that Australia’s environmental science courses were some of the best in the world, and the field had a “growing importance”.
“Australia’s universities have earned
an enviable global reputation for the quality of their research and teaching in environmental science,” she said.
“They remain committed to providing world-class degrees in all aspects of environmental studies, recognising the growing importance of this discipline.”
Gleeson said the events of the past year, with Australia suffering drought, record-breaking bushfires and coral bleaching all demonstrated the importance of environmental science.
Even the current Covid-19 pandemic, she said, was related to environmental science, and future research could prevent similar outbreaks.
“The pandemic has stemmed from the human-wildlife interface and the more we encroach on that natural environment,” she said. “The last few of these viruses that have come out have come out from that human-wildlife boundary.
“We are inextricably linked to the environment. I cannot fathom how we are not investing in something that is so critical to everyone’s life.”
The education minister, Dan Tehan, told Guardian Australia in a statement that the changes would make it cheaper for students to study “in areas of expected job growth” and would increase university places.
He also said that the budget delivered additional funding to other environmental research.
“The job-ready graduates package will provide extra university places for Australian students and make it cheaper for students to study in areas of expected job growth, including environmental studies,” he said.
“It also better aligns the funding taxpayers and students provide to universities with the cost to universities of teaching.”