As predicted by the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations shortly before the September 2013 federal election, tonight’s budget has shown the Coalition taking an axe to the Australian Research Council (ARC) and potentially politicising the way ARC grants are funded.
The Australian Research Council will be charged an “efficiency dividend” of $74.9 million over three years, in one of the most significant individual cuts to higher education and research in the 2014-15 Federal Budget.
The budget papers do not say what aspects of the ARC’s functions will be impacted by the cut or where the $74.9 million will go, saying merely that it will be “directed to repair the Budget and fund policy priorities”.
“It is inconceivable that Joe Hockey can claim in one breath to be investing in research excellence, and then in another take away $74.9 million from one of Australia’s most significant research funding bodies” Ms Hopper said.
“The Coalition may not see research funding as a policy priority, but it’s investing in the knowledge future of our nation” said Ms Hopper.
Elsewhere in the budget, funding for research initiatives – including the Antarctic Gateway Partnership (University of Tasmania, CSIRO and the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment) – is achieved through the “reprioritisation” of existing ARC funding.
“We bear no ill-will toward the medical and environmental research projects that have been funded tonight, but Joe Hockey needs to spell out where that funding has come from within the ARC budget” said Ms Hopper.
“’Re-prioritisation’ sounds a little bit too close to ‘political intervention into how peer-reviewed research is funded’ to me – we need more research funding, not a shifting of the boundaries on current research” Ms Hopper said.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
The Coalition has slashed Indigenous and low-SES enrolment targets and will provide no extra funding towards supporting students from equity backgrounds, with universities required to contribute to a scholarship pool using the extra fees that they charge students.
$1 of every $5 of additional revenue raised by higher education providers from deregulated fees will be used to set up an unspecified number of Commonwealth scholarships of unspecified size, meaning that students will effectively fund their own equity scholarships.
“Students who need support the most are being left behind by Joe Hockey’s horror budget – and what’s worse, Hockey is claiming to provide more opportunity for low-SES and rural students while he’s making them foot the bill for their own scholarships” said Meghan Hopper, President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
“It’s insulting that Joe Hockey thinks students from low-SES and rural backgrounds aren’t intelligent enough to see through his diversionary tactics” said Ms Hopper.
While the budget documents claim that access for students from equity backgrounds will be improved as a result of HELP being implemented across study providers, Ms Hopper argued that the trade-off – fee deregulation and a greater fee burden on students – would create an enormous obstacle.
“It’s easy for the Coalition to dismiss debt, but for students from first-in-family, rural and low-SES backgrounds the thought of a lifetime of debt is a real and insurmountable obstacle to higher education” Ms Meghan Hopper said.
CAPA Vice President (Equity) Sadie Heckenberg, an Indigenous, rural student who is a 2014 Fulbright Scholarship recipient and a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia, said that had the new fee model been in place ten years ago it may have frozen her out of tertiary study.
“I completed a sub-degree course, a Bachelors degree and Honours, and am now completing my PhD” Ms Heckenberg said.
“The thought of having each of those degrees placed on HELP, including my PhD, with each of the fees dramatically increased – I don’t know how I could ever have paid that back” said Ms Heckenberg.
Ms Hopper, a first-in-family student, echoed Ms Heckenberg’s concerns, saying many of her peers at a low-SES government school were deterred from tertiary study by the idea of debt.
“The Coalition can sell it however they like, but the bottom line is: fee deregulation is a user-pays, richest-takes-all system which will freeze poorer students out of our best universities” Ms Hopper said.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
Joe Hockey’s first Federal Budget is a shocking shopping list of cuts to higher education and research funding, with funding reductions totalling close to $1.9 billion and almost no new funding for research or universities.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations has compiled a list of cuts to the higher education sector featured in the 2014-15 Federal Budget.
HOCKEY’S HIGHER ED CUTS
| Reduction | Program | Timeframe | When it Starts |
| $1.1 BILLION | Fee Deregulation and Re-Distribution of CSP on to Students | 3 years | 1 January 2016 |
| $202.8 million | HELP Indexation to move to CPI | 3 years | 2015-16 |
| $173.7 million | RTS Funding Cut, Introduction of FEE-HELP | 3 years | 1 January 2016 |
| $121.1 million | Cut Higher Education Reward Funding | 5 years | 2014 on |
| $87.1 million | Removing HECS-HELP Benefit on Skills Shortage Courses | 3 years | 2015-16 |
| $74.9 million | 3.25% “efficiency dividend” on Australian Research Council | 3 years | 2015-16 |
| $51.3 million | Consolidation of Higher Ed Participation & Partnerships | 4 years | 2014-15 |
| $31.1 million | Cuts to Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) | 4 years | 2014-15 |
| $29.8 million | Reversing Improving Educational Outcomes Program | Immediate | 2013-14 |
| $6.4 million | End the H.C. Coombs Policy Forum | 4 years | 2014-15 |
| $3.2 million | Reduction in HELP repayment threshold, readjustment of indexation | 4 years | 2014-15 |
“You don’t need a postgraduate degree to see that this budget sucks for students” said President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, Ms Meghan Hopper. “This a budget with unprecedented consequences for students, researchers and educators at all levels of the higher education sector.”
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
Student debt is set to escalate dramatically as a result of tonight’s horror budget, with a series of hard-hitting changes to the way universities are funded:
“You don’t need a postgraduate degree to see that this budget sucks for students” said Meghan Hopper, President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
“Joe Hockey’s Horror Budget has unprecedented consequences for students, researchers and educators at all levels of the higher education sector” said Ms Hopper.
“We’re saying goodbye to a knowledge economy and issuing in an uncomfortably ignorant Australia by shifting funding of higher education on to the student, slashing research centres and putting research degrees on FEE-HELP” Ms Hopper said.
In practically the only new funding granted to the higher education sector, the Coalition has announced it will conduct three surveys on the student experience and will revamp the brand new MyUniversity website. The cost of these surveys is not provided in the budget papers.
“This disaster budget asks students to foot the bill for their own equity scholarships, giving $1 out of every extra $5 their university adds to their lifetime debt under fee deregulation” Ms Hopper said.
“The Coalition claims they are supporting students when in fact they are forcing universities to charge students more, to support themselves” said Ms Hopper.
“But the good news is, Generous Joe has found some spare funds to conduct a survey and build yet another MyUniversity website – at least would-be students will be fully briefed on the courses they can’t afford to take” Ms Hopper said.
“I don’t need to wait for Joe’s survey results to be announced to know what students will think of his changes to higher education and research funding” Ms Hopper said.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
Higher Degree by Research students will be asked to foot the bill for their Masters and PhD qualifications, with the Research Training Scheme to be slashed by $173.7 million and RTS places added to the HELP scheme from 1 January 2016.
Masters by Research and PhD students will contribute up to $3,900 toward their studies from 2016, in an unprecedented change to Australia’s research funding that has left postgraduates totally blind-sided.
“When I turned the page and saw that RTS funding would be cut and research students asked to pay HELP fees, I actually gasped out loud – this has come out of nowhere, it’s completely unexpected” said President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, Ms Meghan Hopper.
“Funding research degrees is a contribution to the future of our country, to the training of our knowledge leaders – it is horrifying that the Coalition doesn’t see it that way” Ms Hopper said.
Budget papers describe the cuts of close to $200 million as research students making “a modest contribution towards the cost of their degree through a small reduction in Government funding for the RTS”.
Ms Hopper said that the off-handed manner in which the Coalition approached these dramatic changes to research student funding demonstrated a lack of respect for Australia’s research sector and future research leaders.
“This is a slap in the face to Australia’s best and brightest, the future leaders of our research sector and the educators of our next generation of university students” said Ms Hopper.
“Joe Hockey claims that the Coalition wants to build a world-class higher education system, but he’s placing yet another obstacle in the way of our next generation of researchers and educators” Ms Hopper said.
Ms Hopper said that the budget papers were incredibly vague, failing to provide information on whether RTS changes will apply immediately to current students as well as future students.
“The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations will be demanding answers from the Coalition about how these changes to the Research Training Scheme will be implemented and what impact they will have on current and future research students” Ms Hopper said.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
It was with great sadness that the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations learned of the passing of Griffith University postgraduate student, Sophie Collombet, on March 28.
Sophie was an active member of Griffith University Postgraduate Student Association, and all of us at CAPA join with our friends at GUPSA in mourning this shared loss.
GUPSA has organised a memorial service and candle light vigil on Thursday, April 10th which students and friends are invited to attend (further details are included below).
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations will in the coming days be convening a working group to discuss concerns around safety for postgraduate students which will be comprised of the CAPA President, Women’s Officer, International Students’ Officer, and Northern Regional Secretary. This group will liaise with campus representatives in Queensland and across the country as postgraduates come to terms with this terrible loss.
Sophie’s passing is the latest in a series of incidents to have affected international students studying in Brisbane over the last year.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations takes these incidences very seriously and is eager to work with postgraduate students both in Brisbane and nation-wide to respond to issues around safety and the student experience in Australia.
The President, Executive and Officers of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations send our condolences to Sophie’s friends and family, to the Griffith University Postgraduate Student Association, and to the Griffith University community at this terrible time.
A memorial service for Sophie Collombet will be held on Thursday 10 April from 3.30pm at the Nathan campus, Building N35 Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue (formerly known as the Multi Faith Centre) so that those who knew Sophie can honour her memory. Friends and classmates will be joined by GBS staff who had the privilege of knowing and teaching Sophie, as well as members of the University executive.
A candle light vigil, leaving from King George Square at 6.30pm, is also planned for the evening of Thursday 10 April. This vigil is being organised by postgraduate students from Griffith, QUT and UQ.
Ongoing support and counselling services are available to all students and staff with respect to this tragedy.
Ms Lexie Mooney, Head, Counselling Service, is available for you to contact directly at l.mooney@griffith.edu.au if you would like to speak to her or arrange an appointment. Ms Julie Coles, Counsellor, is also available atj.coles@griffith.edu.au.
In addition, Ms Chris O’Brien, Manager of International Student Advisory Services at Nathan, is also available to meet with international students who may have concerns or issues they would like to address. Her email contact details arechristine.obrien@griffith.edu.au.
Ms Meghan B. Hopper
President – Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au / 0421 807 303
The following is a brief statement on International Women’s Day 2014 from our Women’s Officer, Rukshala Seneviratne:
This weekend we have recognised the Women of the world. Young, old, students, workers, mothers, sisters, friends, cousins, gay, straight, transgender, Indigenous women and women who are marginalised. We recognise the women who have had to struggle to enable us to have our voice and we recognise women who are still fighting to gain equal rights.
“International Women’s Day is a day to recognise the contribution of all women across the globe, including women in the LGBTQ community”, says CAPA Women’s Officer Ruk Senevirante.
“Women and children have not always shared equal rights and in many ways we still do not. We have been making progress in the recent years however; we still have a very long journey ahead of us. It is imperative that we find new and creative ways to get our message across”.
Postgraduates at campuses across Australia are being urged to take a short survey reflecting on their student experience and the Student Services and Amenities Fee: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WCJRZJN.
CAPA Affiliate campuses have received posters and t-shirts to assist them in promoting the SSAF Survey campaign, the results of which will be compiled into a report for the incoming Senate this July.
Need materials? Get in touch with Meghan directly to promote the SSAF Survey at your campus: president@capa.edu.au.
“This survey is an important opportunity for postgraduates to let the new Senate know what they think, and to reflect upon their need for strong student-controlled services and amenities on campus” said CAPA President, Meghan Hopper.
Hopper said that many more responses to the survey were needed for it to provide an accurate reflection of the postgraduate population.
“We’ve had strong early responses from key campuses like the University of Newcastle, Griffith University and the University of Technology Sydney, but we are reluctant to let a few campuses dominate the debate” Hopper said.
“It is important that other Universities like the University of Melbourne, the University of Wollongong and Edith Cowan University, just to name a few, are equally represented” Ms Hopper said.
“Key Senate representatives have told us that they are eagerly anticipating the outcomes of this report, but it will only be relevant if a diverse range of postgraduate voices are heard” said Ms Hopper.
The SSAF Survey takes around five minutes to complete and comprises of only seven short screens of questions.
Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WCJRZJN.
Students have taken their University’s recruitment process into their own hands, publishing an advertisement for a “student-friendly” Macquarie Provost in The Australian’s Higher Education section following the resignation earlier this week of the previous holder of that role.
The advertisement, which appeared on page 28 of The Australian on Wednesday February 5th, seeks “a student-friendly provost for Macquarie University” and includes key performance indicators such as a belief in democratically-elected representation and a willingness to reinstate independent student organisations at Macquarie.
The advertisement was conceived by the newly-formed Macquarie Independent Representation Working Group, a collaboration of students from across a range
of New South Wales Universities, and was funded by the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
CAPA President Meghan Hopper said whilst the advertisement was published in humour, the message it contained was an important one.
“We would hope that for Macquarie University as for all Universities, hiring a Provost who cares about students and who supports student representation would be a priority – so the advertisement, while satirical, is also pertinent” Ms Hopper said.
“Macquarie University postgraduate students are eager to see a student-friendly individual appointed to the role of Provost, and look forward to the barrage of applications they are sure to receive in response to their advertisement” said Ms Hopper.
Macquarie University announced the closure of Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA) on December 20, locking democratically elected representatives out of their offices. The National Australia Bank has since suspended MUPRA’s access to its own bank account.
“The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations agreed to fund this advertisement in support of our affiliate MUPRA, who, for reasons they are still struggling to understand, appear to have been suspended by the bank from access to their own independent account” Ms Hopper said.
“As they are thus unable to fund their campaign to represent the postgraduate students of Macquarie University who elected them, we will be providing them with assistance during this time” said Ms Hopper.
“We remain hopeful that we will be able to reach a positive, student-centric outcome through our discussions with Macquarie University, and will continue to work toward that goal” Ms Hopper said.
Meghan B. Hopper, CAPA National President
president@capa.edu.au / 0409 694 937
Doug Williamson, MUPRA President
president@mupra.com.au / 0411 254 512
