MEDIA RELEASE vulnerable students targeted as Startup Scholarships cut
4 December 2015 – The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is disappointed to see the scrapping of Student Start-up Scholarships in favour of income contingent loans, a move that will increase the debt of students who need this support by $2,050 a year.
The Start-up Scholarship scheme was originally setup to improve access to higher education by reducing the burden of up-front study related costs such as text books, photocopying, computers, internet access, and other equipment.
‘This cut targets vulnerable students, those students already relying on income support payments such as Youth Allowance or Austudy and who need further assistance with the up-front costs of a degree course. In particular it will hurt Coursework Masters students studying professionally oriented courses such as Teaching, Counselling. Psychology, Accounting and IT to name only a few fields’ said Harry Rolf, the National President.
Previously in the 2014-15 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) $103.9M of funding allocated to extend Austudy support to all Coursework Masters students starting 2017 was cut from the federal budget. As a result only Coursework Masters students undertaking approved courses, those deemed to be the fastest or only pathway for gaining professional employment are eligible for Austudy.
‘This makes Coursework Masters students particularly vulnerable, there is limited commonwealth support for their fees and costs. At a time when transferable skills, employability and industry engagement are top priorities for higher education, cutting support form students undertaking professional courses is just a poor decision’ concluded Harry Rolf.
ENDS
Harry Rolf | National President | president@capa.edu.au
Peter Derbyshire | Media Officer | media@capa.edu.au
