Regional uni students and ag courses receive federal boost

Here’s how the Federal Government’s university reforms, announced today, will directly affect regional students and agriculture degrees.

Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced an overhaul of university funding and a package to support regional student attainment at the National Press Club in Canberra, Friday, June 19.

FEDERAL Education Minister Dan Tehan today announced a funding overhaul and package of reforms for universities, to incentivise courses in sectors of high employment growth.

Degrees that lead to in-demand jobs will be cheaper, while student contributions for degrees in law, commerce and humanities will be more expensive.

Some changes are also designed to help more regional students complete higher education.

“We want our students to receive an education that sets them up for future success – because if graduates succeed, they will power an economic recovery that benefits all Australians,” Mr Tehan said. “And, when the economy is facing its greatest economic shock since the Great Depression, success looks like a job.

“We must address the discrepancy where young Australians in regional areas are half as likely to obtain a university qualification as Australians who live in the city.”

In a speech delivered to the National Press Club today, Mr Tehan said students who studied teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages would pay 46 per cent less for their degree.

Students who study agriculture and maths will pay 62 per cent less, and those who study science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT, and engineering will pay 20 per cent less for their degree.

Law and commerce fees will increase by 28 per cent, while humanities degrees will increase by 113 per cent.

“We are putting more funding into the system in a way that encourages people to study in areas of expected employment growth. We know we are going to need more teachers, more nurses, more engineers, more clinical psychologists,” Mr Tehan said.

“Health care is projected to make the largest contribution to employment growth, followed by

science and technology, education, and construction.”

No current students will be worse off, he said. Existing students who could gain from the new pricing can take advantage of the fee decreases from next year.

To support more regional students attending university, changes included growing university places in regional Australia by 3.5 per cent a year, introducing a new Tertiary Access Payment of $5000 to support students from outer regional, remote and very remote areas, and a new $500 million fund to support university programs for indigenous, regional and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

“Regional universities train the next generation of professionals who work in regional Australia, including in health care, teaching and agriculture,” Mr Tehan said.

Also included in the announcement was the promise of a $48.8 million research grants program for regional universities and an additional $21 million to establish more Regional University Centres so people can get a tertiary education while living and working in regional Australia.

“We have already committed more than $53 million to establish 25 Regional University Centres across regional Australia, from the west coast of Tasmania, to Kadina in South Australia and Balonne in south west Queensland,” he said.

The Government plans to make an additional 39,000 university places available for Australian students by 2023.

“We will address the misalignment between the cost of teaching a degree and the revenue that a university receives to teach it,” he said. “We will reform the system so that the student contribution and the Commonwealth contribution actually equals the cost of teaching that degree.”

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