Major funding changes could be hitting Australian universities, with the biggest review of the sector in decades presented to the public on Sunday.
Everything from altering course fees, to the creation of a $10 billion higher education future fund, to better supporting students in paying off their HECs debt is on the table.
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The final report from the Universities Accord, a pre-election promise made by the Labor Party and started by education minister Jason Clare last year, was put forward on Sunday as a blueprint for an improved education sector in Australia. Over 400 pages, the report has 47 recommendations and involved 820 public submissions and 180 meetings with key stakeholders.
The focus, from both the Universities Accord team and the government, is to implement ideas that can last decades.
Changes from the Australian Universities Accord:
- Increasing the amount of university-educated Australians aged 25-34 to 55% by 2050
- More international students studying in regional campuses.
- Have at least 80% of the workforce attain higher qualifications like TAFE or vocational training
- More than double the amount of Commonwealth-supported students to 1.8 million
- Link indexation to the wage price index instead of the consumer price index
- A change of fee structures and payment agreements made for students who need additional support, which would involve an overhaul of both the HECs and Help systems.Minister Clare said on Sunday that these repayment structures could be changed to involved a tiered repayment structure based on income, where those on lower income would pay back less.
What happens next with Australia’s education sector?
The focus, explicitly, is on allowing people to complete degrees in fairer conditions, regardless of their background.
On Sunday, Clare appeared on the ABC’s Insiders and said: “I spent a fair amount of time while I was at university cooking cheese toast at Sizzler rather than working in the area I was studying, which was a law degree.”
“Students often have to move to do paid practice, often having to give up a part-time job. I’ve spoken to nursing students and teaching students who drop out because they can’t afford the practice.”
Previous Morrison-government changes to fee structures that ultimately increased the price of humanities and arts degrees while lowering the cost of things such as teaching and nursing could also be scrapped.
The report found this “Job-Ready Graduates Program”, implemented in 2021 to steer students towards areas where there is a skills shortage, had failed.
These changes are, currently, just recommendations though.
Next, politicians, student groups, and universities will consider the report. Clare said on Sunday that going through with any of the initiatives will mean substantial funding from the government.
Any large spending will probably not be announced until the next federal budget in May.
Andrew Norton, a professor in the practice of higher education policy at Australian National University, wrote in The Australian that increasing targets of student numbers could mean an increase in the number of students with ATARs below 50, with a higher risk of dropping out, and that they shouldn’t be encouraged to take on education that “probably won’t leave them better off.”
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