Cairns university: Overhaul of university fees misses the mark for international students

An overhaul of university fees will bring some relief to those in the Far North planning on studying from 2021, but will do little to entice international students back to the region.

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AN OVERHAUL of university fees will bring some relief to those in the Far North planning on studying from 2021, but will do little to entice international students back to the region.

The Federal Government announced late last week that university students who study in areas of expected employment growth would pay less for their degrees. Reduced fees will apply to “job-relevant” undergraduate courses such as health, architecture, environmental science, IT, engineering, teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, languages, agriculture and maths.

Sajana Perera, studying a Masters of International Tourism at James Cook University has struggled with the effects of the coronavirus crisis. Picture: PETER CARRUTHERS

However, fees are tipped to more than double for humanities courses, putting them alongside law and commerce in the highest price band.

The new funding model will apply to students who commence their studies from 2021.

But while beneficial for some locals, Study Cairns president Janine Bowmaker said more needed to be done to entice international students back to the region post COVID-19.

Study Cairns president Janine Bowmaker said more needed to be done to entice international students back to the region. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

“The overhaul (of tertiary education fees) affects domestic students; internationals don’t receive fee subsidies,” she said. “I think there are some interesting initiatives … but once again, it is our regions that are forgotten. Our government claims to recognise the significance of regions, but it would be appreciated if they could support these claims with finance and collaborative action.”

Ms Bowmaker said the approval of Cairns’ Secure Corridor pilot program was vital to manage quarantine procedures for international students and enable them to get back to their studies. “Each (international) student brings tens of thousands of dollars to our region and the money remains in our region,” she said.

Originally published as Cairns university: Overhaul of university fees misses the mark for international students