Division over call for uni fee rethink

UNIVERSITY of NSW vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer has called on the review of the demand-driven supply of places to be wide ranging.

UNIVERSITY of NSW vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer has called on the Abbott government's review of the demand-driven supply of university places to be wide ranging and include consideration of limited fee deregulation.

But elsewhere yesterday there were fresh calls for policy stability and continued support for the university expansion agenda.

It follows a suggestion by University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis that the government consider capping university expenditure, rather than simply recapping places, as a possible way to provide it with budget certainty in the wake of blowouts in costs.

He said it would give universities more freedom to decide the mix of government-subsidised bachelor, postgraduate and pre-degree places they offer.

At present the demand-driven system is limited to bachelor degrees. The number of subsidised postgraduate and pre-degree places is capped, though universities can offer full-fee postgraduate places.

Professor Davis said the government could negotiate funding caps with different universities in line with their growth aspirations. It would also be free to raise funding at any time to meet demand, but it would retain control.

"It would allow every institution to work out how to calibrate best against its community," he said. "It introduces a level of flexibility, responsiveness and specialisation."

He said it would be a way of "optimising" a non-market system given that simply uncapping subsidised postgraduate and pre-degrees would be too costly, since the fees for subsidised places were regulated and therefore could not rise to moderate demand.

He said there was no indication the government was contemplating any fee deregulation and warned that Australians already pay a comparatively high proportion of the cost of going to university. Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said there are no plans to raise fees.

Professor Hilmer wants a more ambitious review. He suggested allowing universities to forgo the government subsidy in some high-earning disciplines, like law and business, in return for being able to charge higher fees.

"There is not much point in having a review where you have mandated an answer, so hopefully they will look widely at the options," Professor Hilmer said.

But Charles Darwin University vice-chancellor Barney Glover strongly backed the demand-driven system, saying it was key for boosting participation and skills in regional and outer suburban areas. "What the sector needs is a level of policy stability rather than a major review of the funding system," he said.

University of Western Sydney deputy vice-chancellor Rhonda Hawkins agreed with Professor Davis that there was scope to increase the supply of government supported pre-degree places such as diplomas and associate degrees.

But she said retaining the uncapped system was crucial in driving aspiration and participation in disadvantaged areas. "There are people in western Sydney who have a right to go to university and it will transform their lives," she said.

Preliminary data for this year suggests a 0.6 per cent rise in applications, down from a 2.2 per cent rise last year.