Uni fees around Australia are predicted to get much, much higher in the wake of the federal government’s overhaul of higher education, with courses in engineering, medicine and law set to be some of the most greatly affected.
In the recent budget, the government announced that public funding of university courses will be reduced by 20%, and that fees will be deregulated as of 2016, meaning that unis will be able to charge what they like.
An analysis by Fairfax today tried to get to the bottom of just how much fees will rise following deregulation, and they came up with some pretty alarming numbers, especially in the area of the sciences.
Melbourne University vice-chancellor Glyn Davis has said that fees for engineering degrees are likely to rise by 60%, while science degrees will go up by around 54%.
They also estimated that a Bachelor of Environmental Systems at Sydney University, which is around $25,839 at current fee levels, would rise to at least $42,405, while a communications degree would go from $18,132 to around $37,000.
It is estimated that some more expensive degrees, in areas like medicine and law, will rise even higher in price, with Davis of Melbourne Uni warning that fees for these courses could potentially triple.
Graduates will also be expected to pay back their student debts sooner. Currently, they begin repaying loans upon reaching an income equal to average earnings, but as of 2016, the threshold will be lowered to 90%.
Fees will not rise until 2016, but under the current arrangement, students who were already enrolled in their degrees as of budget day on May 14 will have their fees capped until 2020. Anyone who enrolls from now on will face higher, deregulated fees as soon as the changes are applied.
