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‘ Frightening’ figures
The cost of some degrees could more than double within ten years.
The cost of a university education is set to skyrocket in the next ten years.
Analysis by the Australian Scholarships Group estimated that yearly costs for courses such as accounting, law, veterinary science and medicine degrees would rise from $ 9792 this year to $ 15,545 in 2023.
Other popular courses, such as journalism, nursing, teaching and psychology degrees, are tipped to jump from $ 3447 to $ 9315 in 2023.
The ASG Cost of University study also predicted that living costs will increase by up to 46 per cent in the next decade for students who rent while at university, with a four-year degree estimated to cost $ 160,702 in living expenses alone in 2023. For example, when university course costs and living expenses are combined, over the next decade a four-year law degree will rise from $ 74,855 to $ 227,433. Students wanting to study medicine can expect costs to jump from $ 118,328 to $ 356,448 in 2023.
Regional students are expected to be hit the hardest by the rising costs, with many
Union
criticises reliance on philanthropy
Government funding, not donations, should be the main source of university income, said National Tertiary Education Union branch president Michael Thomson.
“ Government funding should be the primary source of university funds,” he said, following the University of Sydney’ s announcement of record-breaking fundraising results.
More than 10,400 individual donors gave about $ 80.3 million, making the philanthropic support for the university greater than any other Australian higher education institution in 2012.
This was the second consecutive year that the university attracted hefty donations, with 10 individual gifts alone reaching about $ 1 million.
Thomson said $ 80 million was“ quite a bit of money, but it’ s not a significant part of the university’ s finances” and that it was not substantial compared with the university’ s $ 1.6 billion business.
He said the university should be campaigning harder to get more federal funding instead of relying on private money.“ My concern is the whole privatisation of our
rural students facing more than double the living expenses compared to metropolitan students who are more likely to live at home during university.
Living expenses for a student living in shared rental accommodation with two other people in a capital city are $ 14,889 more than a student living in the family home in 2013.
ASG chief executive John Velegrinis said the predicted rise in education costs is“ frightening”.
“ Many parents plan for their children’ s primary and secondary education, only to be blind-sided by university course fees and living expenses,” Velegrinis said.
“ The cost of sending three children to university is the equivalent to a brand new family home.”
Velegrinis said that like any other significant life event, planning early is the key to be able to cover education costs.
“ Both parents and students need to plan early how they will help cover the costs of university education as the investment is crucial,” he said.
Fees for a Commonwealth-supported
university place, transport, computers, study placements and rent were used to estimate the cost of a university education for the survey.
The impact of inflation was considered when calculating the 2023 figures. Third-party sources used by ASG included the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Real Estate Institute of Australia and various universities across Australia. n
education,” Thomson said.“ The whole logic of what goes on at universities today is not judged on what’ s good for student education, what’ s good for research. It’ s all about money.”
Vice-chancellor Dr Michael Spence defended the fundraising.“ The ongoing support of our donors plays a critical role in ensuring we remain a world-class institution. Government funding and income from student fees are unlikely to grow significantly as revenue streams for universities nationally in the coming years.”
Spence said the growing number of donors endorsed the university’ s work.“ Donors recognise that our people have extraordinary potential and make significant contributions to understanding and solving some of the world’ s most critical issues.”
He said this high level of giving shows a growing trend of people who invest in higher education institutions. More and more people, he said, share the university’ s vision for the future and are confident with its potential to trigger change.
However, Thomson said donations might affect the direction of research and teaching, rather than just allowing people to research and teach without being concerned where the money is coming from.
More than 1400 donors chose to support many of the 500 undergraduate scholarships at the university. Major donations used in interdisciplinary research and education included $ 20 million from businessman John Grill and $ 2 million from David and Judith Coffey.
“ Regardless of the dollar value, every gift makes a real difference in the lives of students. The funds raised in 2012 are providing more than 100 bursaries to support students in need,” Spence said.
He said this year would be another big year for fundraising. n
www. campusreview. com. au March 2013 | 9