policy & reform campusreview . com . au
We have seen no change . We are going to be completely full in arts , business , law , science and engineering .
Price no barrier
Arts and humanities preferences remain strong despite fee hike .
By Wade Zaglas
Demand for arts and humanities courses remains strong in Australia ’ s two most populous states , despite the fee hikes introduced last year to steer students towards more ‘ job-ready ’ degrees in nursing , education , science and maths .
Despite fee hikes of more than 113 per cent , in NSW there was a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who listed humanities courses as their first preference compared with last year ’ s figures , the state ’ s admission centre reported .
While first preference applications for arts and humanities courses in Victoria dropped roughly five per cent , in both states humanities courses accounted for more than a fifth of all applications , The Sydney Morning Herald reported .
While the latest figures suggest the Morrison Government ’ s Job Ready Graduates Package has done little to dampen students ’ choices , some universities state that it is too early to assess the legislation ’ s effect on student choices in the future , and that at least three years will be needed to evaluate the true impact .
University of NSW deputy vicechancellor Merlin Crossley told SMH the university had seen no discernable reduction in humanities enrolments , despite the fee increases that will make an average humanities degree cost nearly $ 50,000 .
“ We have seen no change . We are going to be completely full in arts , business , law , science and engineering ,” he said .
University admission centre figures show that the University of Sydney ’ s arts and arts / law degrees were ranked sixth and seventh in the state respectively in first preferences , which is largely unchanged from last year . Meanwhile , Monash University in Victoria told SMH there was a “ modest ” increase in enrolments for the government-discounted STEM disciplines , but still an eight per cent rise in arts degree enrolments .
Swinburne University of Technology similarly reported strong interest in STEMrelated courses , but also said student interest in its Bachelor of Arts program was “ comparable to other years ”.
“ Our Job Ready Graduates package changes the prices of many courses to encourage students into courses that are more likely to lead to a job . But ultimately it is still up to each student what they will study ,” Education Minister Alan Tudge said .
The Job Ready Graduates package has resulted in a whopping 113 per cent increase in communications and humanities course fees , with a year of full-time study more than doubling from $ 6804 to $ 14,500 per annum . Law and commerce fees have also risen a substantial 28 per cent .
However , despite these spikes in some areas of study , higher education experts believe there is scant evidence to suggest students will change their course choices . That ’ s an opinion shared by education researcher Peter Hurley from the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University .
“ The nature of deferred income contingent loans is that repayment occurs well into the student ’ s future . This means ‘ price signals ’ – changing the cost to students to affect the demand for courses – have limited impact ,” he told SMH .
Legislated by the Morrison government in October last year , the Job Ready Graduates Package aims to encourage more students to enter areas of high demand like nursing , education , maths and science by slashing course fees substantially . Conversely , the package seeks to discourage future students from entering fields where there is an oversupply of graduates or low job prospects by increasing course fees . ■
12