VSU round 2: it's union vs uni

With future funding now flagged for student services and amenities,
an ideological argument over unionism is giving way to jibes over who
best runs student services.

Youth minister Kate Ellis announced last week that universities
would be allowed to set a compulsory student fee, initially capped at
$250 and indexed each year, to help rebuild amenities and services
decimated by voluntary student unionism (VSU).

Ellis said the fee would kick in from 1 July next year, and that a
new income-contingent loan – Services and Amenities-HELP – would be
available to students who wanted to defer the fee. Her office said
SA-HELP would be itemised separately by the tax office but would
essentially be added to students’ HECS debts, and that the new loan was
the only aspect of the VSU response that would require legislative
change.

Ellis also announced that from the beginning of 2010, universities
would have to meet new national benchmarks on access to student support
services, and to fulfil new representation and advocacy protocols. She
said compliance with the benchmarks and protocols would be a
requirement of Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) funding from 2010. Her
office said this would also apply to other future funding arrangements,
should the CGS be replaced following the Bradley review.

The government will see out the year consulting students and
universities over the nature of the benchmarks and protocols. Once
they’re in place, the new fee will be spent on services and amenities
over and above those required by the benchmarks. This year’s
negotiations will also cover how the money can be used in the meantime.

Ellis’s spokesperson said the money would go, initially at least, to
universities. “Universities will be the first point of call, and also
the last point of call in terms of accountability,” he told Campus
Review. Unis will be able to pass the funds on to student organisations
to run the services, he said, but not in a “holus bolus way”. And
clarification is still needed on the types of student organisations
eligible to receive the money, and the exact services it will be
allowed to fund.

University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Professor James McWha
welcomed the changes, but warned too much government interference could
jeopardise any gains. “The federal government should not dictate what
services are to be supplied, or use any threat of financial penalties
if these are not adhered to,” he said.

“We should heed the lessons of the previous government that unsuccessfully tried to micro-manage the higher education sector.”

But National Union of Students president Angus McFarland said the
government should force universities to pass the funds to independent
student organisations. “I believe there are certain services that are
of a higher quality when provided by students,” he told CR.

“In practice, it helps to have students overseeing and directing how
student fees are spent. Students give more value to services
specifically tailored to their wants and needs, and delivered by their
peers.”

McFarland cited childcare as an example. He said university-run
childcare facilities generally involved long day care available
year-round. “That reflects the needs of academics. It’s fine for
universities to do that – they have a duty of care to their staff.

“However, students typically need short day care. They need to be
able to have childcare for a few hours, a few days a week, a few weeks
of the year. It’s not cost-effective to provide both forms of childcare
within the one centre. That’s why lots of universities have childcare
centres provided for students by the student union, and centres
provided for staff by the university.”

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations sided with the
NUS in calling for fees to be passed to student organisations. “If
students are paying, they need to have a direct say in how their money
is being spent,” said CAPA president Nigel Palmer.

“These measures go some way in recognising that services and
representation are an important part of university life, but there is a
bigger principle at stake. Since the onset of VSU, we have seen the
loss or appropriation of services and infrastructure formerly owned and
run by students. The proposals represent the culmination of this,
mandating a fee on students that will be controlled and administered by
universities.

“If a solution to VSU is restoring vibrant student services and
representation that are independently funded and run by students, then
the measures fail in this. There is nothing to suggest student
organisations currently struggling at the margins of sustainability
will be able to take any encouragement from this at all.”

Universities broadly welcomed Ellis’s announcement, but stressed the
need for student representation. Universities Australia (UA) and
Innovative Research Universities (IRU) Australia said “an effective
student voice” was crucial to good university governance and
management. “UA and the NUS have been working, along with the LH Martin
Institute, on a skills development package to improve student
representation and advocacy,” said UA CEO Dr Glenn Withers. University
groups also highlighted the ongoing need for student income support.