Plenty of industries have suffered as a result of the global pandemic, but one that has truly felt the wrath of COVID-19 is Universities Australia. Earlier this month, Australia’s university sector projected it would lose up to $16 billion by 2023 due to massive drops in international student numbers, thousands of job losses and failed government support deals.
In an effort to bolster Australia’s tertiary education industry, the Coalition has announced plans to increase fees on certain courses and offer cheaper degrees for more ‘in-demand’ subjects including teaching, nursing, maths, science and engineering.
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So, what does that mean for those looking at starting a new university degree?
The Guardian reports that education minister Dan Tehan will promise “an additional 39,000 university places by 2023 and 100,000 places by 2030.”
It’s good news for students skipping their gap year and transitioning straight into university, but what impact will these changes have on the cost of studying?
Apparently, the cost of a three-year arts and humanities degree will increase from $20,400 to $43,500 – “while law and commerce degrees could increase from $34,000 to $43,500” as per The Guardian.
However, it’s not all bad news. There will be major cost reductions for those studying agriculture, maths, teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages, science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering.
Tehan also said that 60% of students won’t be affected by these changes at all and “no current student will be worse off” with no fee increases for courses that are already being undertaken.
The education minister is clearly reducing the costs of courses in industries that are expected to grow exponentially in the next five years – but what about the arts and humanities students?
The ABC reports that the National Union of Students have slammed the government’s plan to increase fees for arts degrees. “We need funding, not attacks on students,” they said. “Being a student should not be a debt sentence, but the Government has decided to force tomorrow’s workers into a lifetime of further debt.”
It’s unclear whether the government’s plan to overhaul Universities Australia will prove beneficial for future students. But one thing is clear, picking a degree in one of the cost-reduced subjects will save you a fair amount of HECS debt.
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