May 14, 2014

UOW prepares for deregulated student fees in major sector shake-up

University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, believes fees in some courses could be set to rise from 2016 at UOW as a result of a reduction in Federal Government block grants to universities outlined in the Budget.

Professor Wellings said the Federal Government will cut its investment in courses by an average 20 per cent and student fees will have to make up the difference.

He said it was too early to predict what courses at UOW may be affected by higher fees at this stage.

“It’s a massive government change in a single step so universities across Australia will now have to bridge that gap,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

In the biggest shake-up of the higher education sector since the Dawkins reforms of the 1980s, universities will be free to set their own fees from 2016 but existing students will come under the current arrangements until 2020.

Professor Wellings said it was the first time that universities have had both unregulated student numbers and also deregulated student fees.

“I expect we will see fee rises across the country. This will drive the level of HECS debt and I’m sure that will be a concern for students and their families.”

Students will be asked to pay a higher interest on their debt and start repaying their debt at a lower income threshold — from the current $53,345 to $50,638 in 2016.

Professor Wellings said while students were being asked to shoulder more of the burden it was pleasing to see the government ensure that universities set aside $1 in every additional $5 in revenue to fund scholarship schemes for financially disadvantaged and regional students.

Professor Wellings said it was good to see the continuation of the Future Fellowships program for mid career researchers as this important program had been under a cloud.

He said restoring the Future Fellowships program and $150 million in 2015-16 for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) was also a good move.

Professor Wellings also welcomed the creation of a $20 million medical research fund but stressed the importance of building research funding across a broad range of discipline areas. He highlighted that the Australian Research Council (ARC) will have $74.9 million cut from its funding over three years through a one-off 3.25 per cent efficiency dividend.

“Overall, I believe that the sector now has been given greater flexibility and it will also mean greater competitiveness.”

Media contact: Professor Paul Wellings is available for interview. Please contact Elise Pitt, Media & PR Officer, University of Wollongong, +61 2 4221 3079, +61 422 959 953 or epitt@uow.edu.au.