policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
However, not all the measures
were down-voted. UA applauded the
government’s decision to leave untouched
the HEPPP, the student equity program and
research funding.
Universities and their stakeholders may
also be pleased to hear there are no longer
plans for an efficiency dividend or student
fee increases.
Campus Review spoke to UA’s acting
chief executive, Catriona Jackson,
about the MYEFO and how it will affect
universities.
CR: What was your reaction to the MYEFO
measures as they relate to universities?
CJ: We were very disappointed that there
was a $2.2 billion cut to universities as a
freeze on funding. A freeze on funding is
a cut in anyone’s language. This means
there will be fewer places to go around
next year for students who genuinely need
those places.
I understand the freeze could produce a
shortage of graduates in regional areas and
in courses that have shortages like science,
for example.
The cuts could have some very perverse
results. If you freeze the number of people
going into universities – that is, the number
of places that universities can offer – that
means that universities who were going
to grow for very good reasons [will now
no longer be able to grow], say a regional
university in an area of genuinely unmet
need. Remember that regional Australians
have half the likelihood of having a degree
compared with city Australians.
A number of regional universities
were planning to grow next year, and
they will not be able to grow because of
these changes.
Part of the whole point of a demand‑
driven system was to try and make the gap
between university attainment in regional
and city areas smaller.
It would be a tragedy if these moves
made that go backwards. If there isn’t some
change, it will be inevitable there will be
fewer regional graduates.
Can you elaborate on how it will affect
high‑demand courses?
For a start, if there is a need for more
people, you need to offer more places.
This is a freeze on the number of places
that will be funded by the Commonwealth
government. Don’t listen to any talk
you hear saying it’s not stopping
universities taking on more people.
The Commonwealth funds universities
via student place. They have frozen
funding via student place, so there will be
fewer students.
That means that in areas of greater
demand, it is likely that there will be fewer
graduates in those areas.
It also means there is a set of perverse
incentives which will ma