Reasearch Support Funding Explainer

Download: Research Support Funding Explainer

What is the Research Support program (RSP)?
The Research Support Program (RSP) provides block grants, on a calendar year basis, to higher education providers (HEPs) to support the systemic costs of research not supported directly through competitive and other grants, such as libraries, laboratories, consumables, computing centres and the salaries of support and technical staff.

Typically this RSP amount is $910,107,671 every year (not indexed) and this pooled amount is divided among universities and based on research income performance. This is measurement is by the amount of research income they receive from grants in a year (i.e. from ARC, NMHRC, State gov, industry partners, etc) compared to other universities. The more research income they report to have been awarded, the bigger portion of the RSP they receive.

This is an explainer for postgraduate/HDR representatives across the country to provide context on the outcome of the Federal Budget 2020-2021 announcement regarding HDR students. This will explain:

  • What happened
  • How the funding works and when it will be provided
  • How does it affect you on campus, and what you can do with this
  • What resources CAPA can provide you with to help support your campus campaigning



Download: 2020/21 Federal Budget Briefing

This budget focuses on employment support. However, young people and especially students have been left out of the 2020 federal budget. We see a lack of student support and employment programs that can easily exploit young people. Most of the budget focused on employment, getting people into employment, and businesses, while little was focused on supporting students already studying or about to study longer degrees.

CAPA welcomes $1 billion commitment in Budget support for Research

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations welcomes $1 billion in new funding to support research and development at Australian universities. We are pleased the government has listened to our concerns, making a financial commitment to support our best and brightest, before we lose them for good. 

Australia owes a lot to our primed and ready research workforce. They are not only helping us get through this pandemic but will be important in securing Australia’s future during the post-pandemic economic recovery. Today’s budget commitment provides a lifeline to researchers at a time of great uncertainty facing the sector. The increase in research funding also gets us closer to the OECD average as previously we were below it. 

“Covid-19 has exposed the cracks in the way research is funded and we welcome the government’s recognition of this, in the budget announcement, and hope this is the first step toward a new way of funding research and a new future for Australia”, said National President Romana Begicevic. 

Graduate researchers are  often the unseen backbone of the nation’s research output, contributing to over 50% of universities’ share of human resources dedicated to research. Without them Australian research would grind to a halt. 

Even though there are demonstrated economic benefits to investing in research, graduate research students don’t feel so lucky. Only 40% start their research with a stipend scholarship and even more have been financially and materially impacted by this pandemic.

“Graduate researchers are facing an existential crisis and CAPA expects that universities will use some of this money to support their graduate researcher students. Particularly those who are not currently stipend scholarship holders, have lost sessional teaching hours, and those who need extensions as a result of coronavirus disruptions”, said Ms Begicevic.

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404

Download: Independent Review of the Adoption of the Model Code on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom

CAPA carries out its mission through policy, research, and activism, communicating the interests and issues of postgraduate students to higher education stakeholders as well as Federal and State Governments, Opposition parties, and minor parties. We welcome the opportunity to provide our views on the adoption and implementation of the Model Code on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom as recommended by the Hon Robert French AC in his 2019 Review of Freedom of Speech in Australian Higher Education Providers. As with our previous submissions to the Review and subsequent legislation, we strongly urge the Government to make the following changes:

Recommendation one: That a sector-wide code of conduct, must be compliant with legislation including the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and must not contravene universities’ obligations to provide a safe working environment. We recommend that the entrenched obstacles actually impeding Academic Freedom be fully recognised and addressed. A major threat includes the defunding of higher education and research, leading to a managerial or corporate approach to university operations across Australia. This has shifted the priorities of higher education providers away from educating and developing knowledge and toward competition, self preservation, and casualisation. Based on this, we further recommend:
Recommendation two: That the government restores higher education and research funding that has been cut over the last several years.
Recommendation three: That universities must promote long term employment practices, providing job security for their researchers and supporting them to investigate new, controversial, or uncertain topics.
Recommendation four: That legislation should be enacted to prevent any government interference or politicisation of research, and mandate transparency in federal research funding allocations and awards.
Recommendation five: That policies should be in place to ensure all students (undergraduates and postgraduate, domestic and internationals) continue to pay SSAF and that a minimum of 50% SSAF goes to student associations/unions. The proportion should be allocated to independent student-led associations and should be based on the FTE proportion of students enrolled. Policies should also be implemented to ensure a national standard for annual SSAF reporting for all public Australian Universities.

CAPA urges the Government: To prevent the next ‘Brain Drain’ fund researchers now 

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) are urgently renewing our calls to the Government for adequate funding to support postgraduate students, before we lose the next generation of brilliant talent, ahead of this year’s Budget. Contributing to over 50% of universities’ share of human resources dedicated to research (ABS 2018), graduate researchers are the often unseen backbone of the national research output, without which Australian research would grind to a halt. 

They have not only been at the forefront of getting us through this pandemic, by doing coronavirus research, Graduate students develop and share important new knowledge, by publication, which contributes to the university’s world rankings, and boosts the Australian higher education sector’s global reputation. Universities use these measures to distinguish themselves from each other and to attract international students to their campuses, which is important to the post-pandemic economic recovery.

“2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and postgraduate students have been no exception. Post COVID we face the biggest economic challenge our generation has ever confronted. We have heard so much about how education and research will be integral to rebuilding the economy. However, among all of these debates around reform, postgraduates have fallen between the cracks and left behind”, said CAPA’s National President Romana Begicevic.

CAPA has been raising concerns about the precarious position facing postgraduate students’ for years. COVID-19 has further exposed these cracks within the system. If we fail to support postgraduate students properly now, we are at risk of losing the next generation of brilliant talent. 

“This will result in a ‘brain drain’ where many graduates will instead venture overseas to explore more competitive career opportunities, or worse yet dropping out, because continuing their research is not financially sustainable. More importantly, we will lose the ability to respond to future pandemics. We believe our pre-budget recommendations would protect students from the very worst of these impacts”, explains Ms Begicevic.

CAPA calls on the governments to adequately fund postgrads and recommend:

  1. That all domestic Higher Degree by Research students be paid a stipend for the duration of their research degree.
  2. That all domestic self-funded postgraduate students be eligible to receive Austudy, subject to means-testing.
  3. That the Government provides ongoing adequate funding for university teaching and research.
  4. That the government provides a one-off payment to universities to support RTP scholarship extensions to 4.5 years for all HDR students at Australian universities. 
  5. A Jobmaker initiative should include research jobs by increasing public research funding initiatives (e.g., ARC, NHMRC, research block grant, or other research infrastructure funding) that will stimulate industry collaborations that will create new jobs by developing new industries (e.g., start-ups/spin off businesses). 
  6. That some attention and support be brought to addressing the mental health concerns of postgraduate students at universities, both coursework and research.  
  7. That the Government amends the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines to establish paid family violence leave, and provides an additional $491,000 to universities to fund a family violence leave scheme for recipients of Research Training Program stipends.

The value of postgraduate students to their university is more than just the tuition fee used for funding research or low-cost researchers. The real value of postgraduate students is much greater. We want to remind Australia the value of its postgraduate students, and why investing in them is investing in Australia’s future, through our #Valuepostgrads campaign! 

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404
E: president@capa.edu.au

Statement by Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) for improving the quality of education

Dear universities,

COVID-19 has permanently transformed the education sector. The impacts of which will be felt for years to come by university officials, academic staff and students. Students are questioning their choice of education. Those who wished to utilise the knowledge and skills, gained during their degrees to form a better future for themselves, are now experiencing an existential crisis and face graduating during the worst economic downturn in history. 

A recurring theme from student feedback, across various forms of communication, which is the lack of quality education provided by their respective schools through remote teaching, especially relative to the tuition fees that students pay. Some of this feedback is clearly reflected in data collected by the universities such as from the SWiRL and TWiRL surveys this year. The reports of which were supposed to improve educational services for the future, however, students are still reporting dissatisfaction with their study experience and are asking for better value for money. CAPA has expressed concerns around this to TEQSA and we are working together to address some of these issues. In line with maintaining a high standard for education, universities must ensure the same standard is applied to the blended model, which will most likely remain post-pandemic. Our recommendations below address the needs of all students, including those who are unable to return to Australia. 

In consideration of the universities precarious financial position, we acknowledge that a straight-fee reduction may be challenging for continuation of the universities functions however, we expect universities to place greater emphasis on the quality of education through feasible avenues that resonate with students’ expectations. The recommendations mentioned below have been formulated after consultation with our members and TEQSA, while considering the Joint statement of Principles for the Higher Education Sector COVID-19 Response, supported by Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and endorsed by Australian Council of Professions (ACoP), Universities Australia (UA), the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) and the Independent Higher Education Australia (IHEA). The principles can be viewed here.

List of recommendations by classification:

Academic Support 

We ask that universities: 

  • Establish minimum standards for interactive learning processes (for eg. Live tutorials, quizzes etc.) and effective dissipation of knowledge and communicates the standards with all teaching staff, collect data on interactive elements of all courses and their structure throughout the semester, and share details of interactive elements with all students and staff before commencement of classes. 
  • Ensure that clear instructions regarding the structure of each course (classes, interactive tutorials, reading materials, assessments etc) are provided and communicated properly prior to commencement of classes. 
  • If courses are deemed to not meet the standards as set, the university holds accountability by reducing the respective course fees by a reasonable amount after benchmarking across the sector and thoroughly analysing the value of the course(s) (interactive blended versus online only). 
  • All academic staff increase the available number of consultation hours and communicate these hours properly. This should be implemented with consideration of increased workload for the staff, and extra budgetary provisions should be made for the payment of any casual labour that may be required to maintain safe and reasonable workload levels for all staff. 
  • Continue the provision of special consideration to all students with reasonable demand on documentation. 

Student Experience support 

We ask that universities: 

  • Provide clear and timely communication for all decisions and changes that could affect students in their university experience.
  • Where the university cannot meet the quality of education expected for their tuition fees, the university may consider a compromise to improve the student experience. We would like to see  universities  negotiate with their respective student association(s) to secure an increase to their annual SSAF funding.

Additional support for students outside of Australia who are unable to return 

We ask that: 

  • These students are offered a separate wellbeing service dedicated to provide them advice and direction for all mental and physical wellbeing related issues.
  • A separate grant program is established for students in dire financial need.

Continual support 

We ask that: 

  • Students who are graduating in mid-2020 or end of 2020 will be provided with vouchers for enrolment in micro-credential courses that would assist them with future career progression. 
  • A separate FAQ and helpline be set up to assist international students in navigating with migration and visa related queries.
  • Universities do not increase tuition fees and accommodation rental fees for continuing students in 2021.

CAPA believes that implementing these recommendations would assist in improving the quality of education moving forward and enhance the sectors’ resilience in the future. 

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404
E: president@capa.edu.au

Download: Response to the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Bill 2020: First Exposure Draft

Both CAPA and NATSIPA support the aim of producing “Job-ready Graduates”. However, we have concerns that varying student contributions will not achieve the desired outcome. In order to improve this package, we recommend:

  1. That no unit is subject to a charge higher than the current highest rate.
  2. That universities do not receive less funding per student than currently.
  3. CSPs should be indexed to both CPI and national population growth.
  4. Amending the legislation to extend the measures for demand-driven student places to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, irrespective of their location.
  5. Schedule 4 of the Bill enforcing and regulating a 50% pass requirement should be removed in its entirety.

Download: 2020-2021 Pre-budget submission

In our submission to consultation on the Government’s upcoming 2020/21 Budget, we have provided advice on how to support postgraduate students both coursework and research through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future to rebuilding the economy. Specifically, we make the following recommendations:

Recommendation one: That all domestic Higher Degree by Research students be paid a stipend for the duration of their research degree.
Recommendation two : That all domestic self-funded postgraduate students be eligible to receive Austudy, subject to means-testing.
Recommendation three : That the Government provides ongoing adequate funding for university teaching and research.
Recommendation four : That the government provides a one-off payment to universities to support RTP scholarship extensions to 4.5 years for all HDR students at Australian universities.
Recommendation five : A Jobmaker initiative should include research jobs by increasing public research funding initiatives (e.g., ARC, NHMRC, research block grant, or other research infrastructure funding) that will stimulate industry collaborations that will create new jobs by developing new industries (e.g., start-ups/spin off businesses).
Recommendation six : That some attention and support be brought to addressing the mental health concerns of postgraduate students at universities, both coursework and research.
Recommendation seven: That the Government amends the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines to establish paid family violence leave, and provides an additional $491,000 to universities to fund a family violence leave scheme for recipients of Research Training Program stipends.

CAPA says ‘Job-ready graduates to power economic recovery must be supported’ 

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) welcomes commitment from the government, to produce more ‘job-ready’ graduates, by supporting the delivery of an educated and highly-skilled workforce in areas of teaching, nursing, agriculture, STEM and IT. 

The lack of jobs for recent graduates is a cause for concern, as highlighted by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Allen Finkle in a Rapid Research Information Forum report. “So, it would be encouraging to see students in successful careers, for which they studied”, said CAPA’s National President Romana Begicevic.

“Career opportunities for postgraduate students are going to drive post-pandemic economic recovery, and doing this through greater collaboration with industry partnerships, was a key element in CAPA’s submission to the COVID-19 select committee”, explains Ms Begicevic. 

However, the nature of work and science is constantly changing and we need graduates from all fields of study who can shape this change and respond to it appropriately. “Raising the cost of domestic student contribution rates for Law, Commerce and Humanities units is nothing short of disappointing and CAPA strongly opposes increased financial barriers on studies”, says Ms Begicevic.

Metrics of the National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund to reward formal research partnerships with industries and advanced apprenticeships sound interesting, however Ms Begicevic cautions, “the government must appropriately manage and allocate these funds, and to have enough flexibility within the new metrics to recognise the important and necessary diversity of these activities”.  

The silence on sustainable funding for research and research training is concerning, as it indicates it will receive no additional financial support, and may even lose out in real terms. 

CAPA will continue to campaign to the government for a funding boost, to postgraduate research students, whose studies have been impacted by COVID-19 and for an investment into the growing demand for research in Australia across the breadth of human knowledge.  

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana-Rea Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404
E: president@capa.edu.au

Download: Job-Ready Graduates Package Explainer

This explainer is a brief policy explainer of what we know from the National Press Club address 19 June 2020 with Minister Dan Tehan regarding Job-ready Graduates. The biggest change that most the sector is most concerned about is the remodelling of how government subsidies will be provided per discipline band as seen below. We see that certain areas of study deemed ‘areas of national interest’ are having their student contribution lowered and not compensated by an increase in government loan. However, students studying the humanities will experience a substantial increase (+113%) to their student loans due to the withdrawl of government subsidies from their units.

Discipline Bands: Fee change
Agriculture and Maths 62% decrease
Teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages 42% decrease
Science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering 20% decrease
Medicine, dental, veterinary science No change
Law and Commerce 28% Increase
Humanities 113% Increase

Key points:

  • The changes in fees will be based per unit studied and not entire courses.
  • This will only affect students future domestic students (starting 2021) that are awarded a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP). There will be no direct impact from this policy change to international students
  • It will not affect current students that finish before 2024
  • If a student enrols in a subject that has a lower rate under the new system, this lower rate will apply, no matter whether the student commenced before or after 1 January 2021.

The long-term ramifications are still unknown i.e. university response to the reform: increasing the tuition fees of degrees, changes to course availability, etc. However, what we know is there will be significant disadvantage and inequality towards humanities students that will have to pay back student loans that will increase by up to +113%.

CAPA welcomes guaranteed loans for NSW Universities

CAPA welcomes the announcement made by the NSW State Government on Saturday 6th June 2020 that it will provide $750 million of guaranteed loans to support the state’s universities to recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19. 

The NSW Minister for Skills and Higher Education, the Hon Geoff Lee stated, “Universities play a key role in the economic strength and productivity of our State, supporting jobs and delivering skilled graduates, research and innovation. Healthy universities will be essential for NSW to recover from COVID-19”.

CAPA office bearer Shae Brown had met with Marsha Mannot, Educational Advisor to Minister Lee, on Thursday 4th June 2020, to emphasise the need for action from the NSW Government. Particularly in light of the fact that universities are projecting significant financial losses from semester 2, and to remind Ms Mannot of the important role of postgraduate students in Australia’s economy.

Mx Brown had explained that “Research is at the forefront of the economic recovery for Australia in the wake of COVID-19, providing knowledge capital which feeds productivity and prosperity, and research jobs and funding are under serious threat.”

“Postgraduate students require Government leadership to provide the appropriate conditions for continuation of their valuable research. 56% of paid research and development hours in Australian universities are provided by postgraduate students. This fact requires acknowledgement and support for their role in the generation of valuable knowledge, innovation and technology”, says CAPA President Romana Begicevic. 

CAPA continues to represent and support postgraduate students across Australia and will be seeking to discover the plans and intentions of the other States in the wake of this announcement by the NSW Government.

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana-Rea Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404
E: president@capa.edu.au

CAPA elects new Vice President/General Secretary.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has concluded its Special Council Meeting with the election of a new Vice President/General Secretary. 

We are pleased to announce that Errol Phuah will take on the role of Vice President/General Secretary, effective as of the 8th of June 2020. Errol Phuah is a PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology, in the research area of aerosol jet bioprinting. He is the Higher Degree by Research representative on the Swinburne Academic Senate and is the current Policy and Research Advisor at CAPA. 

“I am truly honoured that the council has put their trust in me in this new role, especially with how eventful 2020 has been. Bo has been a fantastic Vice President/General Secretary and a great friend. These are big shoes to fill, but I look forward to continuing CAPA’s great work through the remainder of 2020. I wish Bo all the best as she starts a new chapter in her life.” says Errol Phuah.

CAPA would also like to farewell outgoing Vice President/General Secretary, Bojana Klepac Pogrmilovic, from Victoria University. We wish her all the very best and will miss her dearly, as she embraces a new journey as a Research Fellow in Health Policy at Victoria University. CAPA thanks Bojana for her outstanding contribution to the role.

“Being a part of CAPA was definitely one of the most valuable experiences since coming to Australia. Having an opportunity to represent Australian postgraduate students at the national level was a true honour. I am happy to leave this position in Errol’s capable hands and fully confident Errol will be an excellent Vice President. His passion for CAPA’s advocacy, extensive knowledge and collaborative spirit are what make him not just an exceptional colleague, but also a great friend. CAPA currently has a very strong team of representatives who showed their dedication and excellence in one the most challenging times Australian higher education has experienced. I hope that within my new role I will have an opportunity to continue to work and collaborate with CAPA.”

END
For comment:
CAPA National President Romana-Rea Begicevic
M: 0420 258 404
E: president@capa.edu.au