Attachment: CAPA Submission
After reviewing the research policy and funding arrangements review discussion paper CAPA believes that there is room for improvement in current policy and funding arrangements for research and research training in Australia. However it is the opinion of CAPA that major structural change is not currently necessary, and that more evidence is required before it could be considered. Many of the issues raised in regards to current research funding arrangements extend from insufficient funding of the current system rather than from the funding structures themselves.
CAPA understands that in a constrained funding environment flexibility of existing funding and the ability to pursue or generate additional funding streams are important. There are only so many ways that the current funding quantum can be sliced but the quality and integrity of the current system must not be compromised in this pursuit. With that in mind this submission address areas in which CAPA considers there to be room for improvement.
Key Recommendations
Information pertaining to the Review can be found on The Department of Education and Training site.
ATTACHMENT: SUBMISSION made 20th February 2015
Due to serious, fundamental issues of inequality and disadvantage which continue to remain in the Higher Education and Research Reform (HERR) bill 2014 CAPA recommends that the bill be rejected. The more severe issues linked to the HERR bill that are particularly offensive to CAPA include:
CAPA is particularly concerned that a 10% cut to the RTS scheme combined with a fee of upto $3,900 pa will force current and aspiring postgraduates to choose between decades of debt or a life in poverty when studying for a Masters by Research of Doctorate (PhD) degree at an Australian university.
ATTACHMENT: Submission made 29 May 2015
In 2013 over 30% of all postgraduate students enrolling in Australian Universities were overseas students. The number of overseas students has been growing steadily over the last decade in Australia as universities and other educators have increasingly sought to engage globally and tap into the international student market.
For CAPA this trend is a positive direction for education in Australia, overseas students benefit not just the Australian economy but also society through the social and cultural contributions they make while living here. The experience also benefits the students by exposing them to Australian society and culture – while giving them in most cases a high quality education experience. A strong international education plan is essential to the future of the Australian higher education sector.
Our feedback shall focus on postgraduate students and their place in the National Strategy for International Education. A summary of our key points is as follows:
To view all submission please go to the Department of Education and Training website
ATTACHMENT: Submission made 4 September 2015
We live in a society where educational attainment increasingly means the difference between employment or unemployment and welfare dependence. We cannot ignore that more people than ever before are enrolling in higher education and that even more will be in the future. With more people than ever before attending university broad national issues are going to have an impact university students and the penalty rates matter is currently one of those issues.
Penalty rates are an issue for university student in Australia, and those undertaking postgraduate level qualification from Coursework Masters to Doctoral (PhD) degrees. The challenges facing these students are many, but in this case it is the complex relationship between income support, work and study in the lives of postgraduate students which we will focus on.
Both work and study can be immensely stressful, short deadlines and long hours are a common feature of challenging and rewarding pursuit. But to work and study together can turn a manageable arrangement in a disaster.
This report presents information on a number of key issues in regards to the Penalty Rates Common Matter AM 2014 305 and its importance to postgraduate students, three key arguments will be made:
To support these arguments a small exploratory study has also been conducted and its results are included in the report. The study involved collecting case studies of students who are currently beneficiaries of penalty rates and require them in order to continue their studies. The report is structured as follows:
All submissions can be found on the Fair Work Commissions website
ATTACHMENT: Submission made 31 August 2015
This submission covers a wide range of topics within the remit of the review and the research questions prepared for consultation. There are significant gaps in our knowledge about current approaches to research training in Australia, and we hope that by highlighting these issues a more robust evidence approach can be used to improve research training in Australia. Key points are as follows:
All submissions will be available on the ACOLA website
Since the introduction of the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) in 2011, the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has paid close attention to its implementation by higher education providers and its impact on student organisations around Australia.
As part of this activity between November 2013 and October 2014 a survey was conducted by CAPA to examine the uses and importance of SSAF to postgraduate students. The survey encompassed 32 higher education providers and focused on the views of postgraduate students towards student representation, services and amenities. Twenty three questions were presented as a digital survey over this period of time resulting in 733 responses across a variety of demographics and institutions.
A survey report was launched in November 2014, it and the survey instrument can be downloaded here. An expanded report will be released in August 2015 providing further analysis of the survey results.
The survey collected demographic data along with the attitudes of postgraduate students towards postgraduate representation on campuses and the allocation of SSAF funds to services and amenities. Here an overview of those results is given that looks at the respondents, their attitudes towards representation and their ratings of services and amenities.
The 733 respondents came from 33 higher education institutions in Australia , of those 56% were research postgraduates and 44% coursework.
Attitudes towards postgraduate representation
Respondents felt strongly that independent representation of postgraduate issues by postgraduates was important.
The importance of services and amenities to postgraduates
Part of the survey asked respondents to rate a list of 19 services using five categories (1) essential, (2) very important, (3) important, (4) not very important, (5) not required. Overwhelmingly the results show they valued the contribution that SSAF has made to campus services and amenities, with even the least popular service Student Debating receiving over 70% positive feedback, and the most popular Libraries and Reading Rooms received over 95% [Figure 3 and 4]. Respondents were reasonably consistent in their rating of services and amenities, with no significant variation in the top 5 serves and amenities. Interestingly for female students Advising students on University policy was a top five priority, while for male students it was Student sport and recreation [Figure 2].
| Preferences female | Preferences male | Preferences of all respondents |
| 12. Libraries and reading rooms 2. Advocating on behalf of students 4. Promoting the health or welfare of students 3. Advising students on University policy 10. Helping support overseas students |
12. Libraries and reading rooms 4. Promoting the health or welfare of students 17. Student sport and recreation 10. Helping support overseas students 3. Advising students on University policy |
12. Libraries and reading rooms 2. Advocating on behalf of students 4. Promoting the health or welfare of students 10. Helping support overseas students 3. Advising students on University policy |
| Top five (5) services and amenities for female, male and combined groups [Figure 2]. | ||
Today the federal minister for Education and Training has announced that he will be commissioning a review of Australia’s research training system, to be conducted by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA).
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has no confidence that a review commissioned by the minister can lead to improvements in the research training system or indeed a world class research training system.
In the recently announced 2015-16 federal budget the government committed itself to achieving full university fee deregulation by January 1 2016. Part of this higher education and research ‘reform’ agenda included a budgeted $173.7M cut (10% pa) to the Research Training Scheme (RTS) and reforms previously introduced into the parliament proposing that postgraduate students pay an annual fee of up to $3,900 to cover the loss in research training funds.
‘This review of the research training system is concerning’ said the National President Harry Rolf.
‘Despite the minister stating that the review’s main objective is to improve research training, CAPA has severe doubts that recommendations will be implemented should they disagree with the government’s stated deregulation agenda’.
The RTS is the main source of funding provided by the government to universities for training students undertaking a Research Doctorate or Research Masters degree. RTS funds go towards costs ranging from supervisors salaries to lab equipment, office computers and other resources required for the purposes of training. But the scheme is already estimated to be underfunded by an average of 27% per Effective Full Time Student and universities are known to be covering these costs through monies from other sources.
‘The RTS currently does not cover the full cost of research training at a university. If a review must occur its first step or indeed the first step of any initiative focused on improving research training in Australian must be to address this long standing issue’.
‘That a review is overdue or that research training outcomes such as employability need to be assessed are not the issues here. The issue is, how can the minister and this government have the best interests of our research training system in mind while they continue to belligerently pursue an agenda of deregulation and cuts to the RTS?’ concluded Harry Rolf.
ENDS
Harry Rolf | National President | 0431 280 817 | president@capa.edu.au
Caitlin Bruty | Media Officer | 0419 533 297 | media@capa.edu.au
Today the federal minister for Education and Training has announced that he will be commissioning a review of Australia’s research training system, to be conducted by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA).
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has no confidence that a review commissioned by the minister can lead to improvements in the research training system or indeed a world class research training system.
In the recently announced 2015-16 federal budget the government committed itself to achieving full university fee deregulation by January 1 2016. Part of this higher education and research ‘reform’ agenda included a budgeted $173.7M cut (10% pa) to the Research Training Scheme (RTS) and reforms previously introduced into the parliament proposing that postgraduate students pay an annual fee of up to $3,900 to cover the loss in research training funds.
‘This review of the research training system is concerning’ said the National President Harry Rolf.
‘Despite the minister stating that the review’s main objective is to improve research training, CAPA has severe doubts that recommendations will be implemented should they disagree with the government’s stated deregulation agenda’.
The RTS is the main source of funding provided by the government to universities for training students undertaking a Research Doctorate or Research Masters degree. RTS funds go towards costs ranging from supervisors salaries to lab equipment, office computers and other resources required for the purposes of training. But the scheme is already estimated to be underfunded by an average of 27% per Effective Full Time Student and universities are known to be covering these costs through monies from other sources.
‘The RTS currently does not cover the full cost of research training at a university. If a review must occur its first step or indeed the first step of any initiative focused on improving research training in Australian must be to address this long standing issue’.
‘That a review is overdue or that research training outcomes such as employability need to be assessed are not the issues here. The issue is, how can the minister and this government have the best interests of our research training system in mind while they continue to belligerently pursue an agenda of deregulation and cuts to the RTS?’ concluded Harry Rolf.
ENDS
Media Contact:
Harry Rolf | National President | 0431 280 817 | president@capa.edu.au
Caitlin Bruty | Media Officer | 0419 533 297 | media@capa.edu.au
Sydney, 13 May 2015 – A devastating blow was delivered to disadvantaged and underprivileged students in last night’s budget.
With cuts geared towards key accessibility schemes, the 2015-16 budget has torn through minority groups across Australia to the deficit of our overall education output.
“Australian universities are slipping down the ranks in international competitiveness. A lack of diversity, innovation and collaboration is going to be to the detriment of our entire higher education sector,” says Vice President (Equity) of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Students (CAPA), Mia Kwok.
Students supported by the Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP) will find $5million stripped from their funding. The program covers people from low socio-economic backgrounds, students with disabilities, ATSI students, and a number of other diverse background with high barriers to entry.
“It would be absolutely devastating to see the barrier to entry rise even further out of the reach of talented students,” Kwok says. “Already around 45% of people with a disability live below the poverty line. What the Abbott Government is asking is for students to take on more debt with less support.”
In conjunction with this is the winding down of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council (ATSIHEAC); CAPA has serious concerns for the ongoing diversity and accessibility to higher education.
“There is currently only one Indigenous research student to every one hundred research students,” says President of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduates Association (NATSIPA) Sharlene Leroy-Dyer.
“This government has shown so little respect for our community. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are bright and driven individuals who are being restricted from participating in the higher education sector. The support needs to be there and it needs to be there now,” Leroy-Dyer says.
ENDS
Mia Kwok | Vice President (Equity) CAPA | 0435 361 697 | vp_equity@capa.edu.au
Caitlin Bruty | Media Officer CAPA | 0419 533 297 | media@capa.edu.au
—
Mia Kwok
Sydney – As the 2015-16 budget looms, Australia’s postgraduate students are becoming increasingly concerned about what the future holds for them.
Today the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations stood alongside students rallying outside the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) who are voicing their distrust in the budget and policy-makers in Canberra.
In the past year, postgraduate students have witnessed:
‘This $646.6M attack on research funding has caused widespread concern among postgraduate students across Australia’ said the National President Harry Rolf.
‘Cuts to research training funds and fees on research degrees have immediate impact on the livelihoods of students and their ability to study at university. Cuts to research funding further reducing the already dwindling pool of university resources dedicated towards research. Most significantly cuts to research mean even less opportunities and pathways into research careers for postgraduate students when they graduate.’
‘We are very concerned about what the budget has in store for both postgraduate students and research, but we are not holding our breath. Today and tomorrow we will continue to make our voices heard’ concluded Harry Rolf.
ENDS
Harry Rolf | National President | 0431 280 817 | president@capa.edu.au
Caitlin Bruty | Media Officer | 0419 533 297 | media@capa.edu.au
Canberra – The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is dismayed to learn that the government has chosen to continue with the its $173.7M cut to the Research Training Scheme (RTS) in the 2015-16 Federal Budget.
“Cutting the Research Training Scheme by $173.7M and expecting them to foot the bill through a fee on research degrees is a gross undervaluing of this critical human resource. Postgraduate students are more valuable to a university and Australia’s research capacity than the tuition fees they may bring in,” said National President Harry Rolf.
Postgraduate students make up over 50 per cent of the human resources devoted to Research and Development at Australian universities and in some cases they contribute nearly 70 per cent. Universities’ research success depends on the contributions these ‘researchers-in-training’ make.
“A postgraduate student actively contributes to research at a university, they write publications, teach, take on lab duties and participate in many administrative and social activities which benefit the institution. They form a cornerstone of the university research workforce. A cornerstone the government is chipping away at.”
“The governments pursuit of these unfair reforms is damaging the confidence of current and future postgraduate students. Many will be asking themselves the question ‘will the benefits outweigh the costs of doing a research degree at an Australian university and will there be any opportunities for me to pursue a career in research upon graduation’” concluded Harry Rolf.
The government has also belligerently committed to fully deregulating higher education by January 2016, despite its reforms package having been rejected by the Senate on two separate occasions since being introduced into the Parliament in 2014.
ENDS
Harry Rolf | National President | 0431 280 817 | president@capa.edu.au
Caitlin Bruty | Media Officer | 0419 533 297 | media@capa.edu.au
Seven Macquarie University postgraduate students will this week appear in the Supreme Court of New South Wales as defendants in a landmark case, with Macquarie University attempting to forcibly close a solvent voluntary student association for the first time in Australia’s history.
Macquarie University is seeking under the Corporations Act to forcibly wind up the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA), which it argues has been replaced in purpose by a University-created Student Advisory Board.
The seven students listed as defendants are the elected 2014 Executive of MUPRA, which is unincorporated. Two of the students involved in the case are international students.
MUPRA will be represented by Barrister Sebastian Hartford-Davis of Banco Chambers, a former Macquarie Law Society President and Macquarie University medallist, together with solicitors from Piper Alderman.
The elected 2014-15 President of MUPRA, Doug Williamson, who is listed as the second defendant to the case, said that all attempts to negotiate the future of MUPRA with Macquarie University had been unsuccessful.
“MUPRA has sought in good faith to negotiate a mutually agreeable outcome with Macquarie University over several years, but Macquarie’s attitude has been to close any remaining independent student associations on campus, whatever it takes” said Mr Williamson.
“For a University to go to the extent of taking seven of its own students to Court, students who pay to be educated by them and to receive student services, is completely unprecedented. We have been shocked by the lengths to which Macquarie University is prepared to go to end independent student representation on campus” Mr Williamson said.
MUPRA will argue that there is still a need for an independent postgraduate representative association at Macquarie University, citing grievance services, submissions to policy reviews, publications and events as programs they have previously delivered and would seek to continue should Macquarie’s case prove unsuccessful.
“MUPRA’s long-standing services such as the provision of grievance officers, campus and national-level advocacy and the publication of a postgraduate survival guide are all services that are not being met by Macquarie University and are best provided by an independent, elected voice” Mr Williamson said.
“If anything, the decision by Macquarie University to take seven of its own students to Court is a demonstration of the need for independent advocacy and representation, such as that which MUPRA has provided and wishes to continue to provide.”
Macquarie University began legal proceedings to compulsorily wind up MUPRA in August, 2014, following several years of discussions around the fate of the sole remaining independent student association on campus.
Since December 2013, MUPRA has been unable to deliver its usual range of services after its bank account was frozen without explanation by the National Australia Bank, and elected office-bearers were locked out of their campus office by Macquarie University.
MUPRA has operated as a representative organisation of Macquarie postgraduate students since 1996. As part of its case, Macquarie University is attempting to seize over $500,000 in reserves accumulated by MUPRA through student membership fees prior to the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism. It is also seeking legal costs.
Macquarie postgraduate coursework students pay a compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee contribution of $286 per year, which is supposed to fund a range of services including “advocating students’ interests”.
Macquarie University v MUPRA will be heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Thursday May 7 and Friday May 8, 10am to 4pm.
Mia Kwok, Macquarie Postgraduate and Vice President (Equity) of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations vp_equity@capa.edu.au / 0435 361 697
Meghan Hopper, Immediate Past President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations higherworksau@gmail.com / 0421 807 303
Facebook: /students4mupra
Twitter: @teamMUPRA
