Uni of Adelaide posts $41m surplus in 2020 despite Covid

The University of Adelaide posted a surplus of $41m in spite of the impact of COVID-19.

University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Peter Hoj said the $41m surplus in 2020 was due to more international students staying enrolled than expected. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt.

The University of Adelaide weathered the Covid-19 crisis with a $41 million surplus due to its success in keeping international students enrolled online, vice-chancellor Peter Hoj says.

However two NSW universities, Macquarie and UTS, reported deficits of more than $50 million in 2020, according to their annual reports tabled in the NSW parliament on Friday. UTS, with a deficit of $50.5 million, was hard hit by the closure of Australia’s borders, with internat­ional student fee revenue down by $65 million in 2020 compared to the previous year. Macquarie was one of the few universities already in deficit when the pandemic hit. Its 2020 deficit deepened to $51.3 million from $8.3 million the previous year.

The University of Adelaide’s 2020 surplus of $40.8 million is only a fraction lower than the $42.9 million surplus in 2019. “The 2020 result is a consequence of many more students staying with us online,” Professor Hoj said.

International student fee revenue in 2020 held steady at $254 million, the same figure as in 2019. Professor Hoj said the univer­sity’s success in preventing a drop in international student revenue was also due to the fact that international student numbers had been growing in 2020, which helped cushion the fall. However, he said that if students were not able to freely enter Australia next year then there would be a major financial impact. “If the borders don’t reopen for a good intake in semester one 2022 I predict we’ll see a lot of pain,” he said.

Professor Hoj said that international student numbers at his university were also supported last year by students who were ­already in Australia in school, ­English courses and pathway programs. But he warned this student pipeline was drying up, “with strong indications of significant further deterioration” for the whole sector.

“This will lead to sustained losses for Australian universities for at least three years,” he said.

This year universities will benefit from the $1 billion boost to government research grants announced in last year’s federal budget and Professor Hoj said universities were very appreciative of this assistance.

Other university annual reports tabled in the NSW parliament on Friday showed that Western Sydney University recorded a $22 million surplus last year, University of Newcastle a $7.5 million surplus, Southern Cross University a $2.6 million deficit and the University of New England a $16.3 million deficit.