There’s a Senate Inquiry into the first Bill to make the Accord happen – Universities Australia is signed up to the bits that won’t bother members.
The peak lobby is okay with the changes to indexing student loan debt when the measure that is used is the lower of CPI or the Wage Price Index. And it is fine with the legislative changes to combine Uni Adelaide and Uni South Australia into Adelaide U.
But it has issues with the other three:
- Requiring 40 % of the services fee students pay go to “student led organisations.” UA warns there aren’t “appropriate” student organisations at all or ones that are “to scale” everywhere while some organisations, “lack the professionalism and stability required to appropriately manage the quantum of funds involved, and to effectively provide the required services.” Plus, student groups have different needs, notably on-campus and on-line. “There are cases where consulted students requested funds not be given to central student-led organisations for fear this would result in service loss.” And, jobs will go! “there are cases where consulted students requested funds not be given to central student-led organisations for fear this would result in service loss.” UA calls for more consultation
- Funding for fee-fee “uni-ready” courses. This needs to wait until the Job Ready Graduate funding model is replaced, which UA assumes will happen. The problem with enabling place funding now is that is tied to the JRG discipline rate, which is good for some disciplines, bad for others and the proposed new flat rate for enabling courses creates will compound anomalies and inequities.
- The prac payment. “UA notes that this is another example of the Government asking universities to provide a service delivery function for government.”
As examples, it includes means testing, eligibility and appeals, as admin functions members will manage.
Plus, there will be pressure to extend it to other occupations with professional accreditation requirements.
In case its’ cases against the prac payment and enabling course funding proposals is distorted while JRG stays; UA tells the Senate committee it can live with them as is.
But not the student services fee – which they argue should be deferred until universities are involved in more development.
