bondipom

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/...110947910.html

Permanent residents saddled with huge upfront university fees
By Matthew Thompson, Higher Education Reporter
January 22, 2005

Thousands of successful university applicants face a rude surprise after the Federal Government quietly axed the right of permanent residents to defer their university fees.

Instead, the Government has decreed that from January 1 permanent residents starting university must pay their charges up front - with annual HECS fees of up to $8000 for undergraduate courses and more than $10,000 a year for many postgraduate programs.

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"Many of her friends are also in the same boat; they don't know what to do," said Wendy, who did not want her family to be identified. "No one at the open days we went to in December told us this - they sent her a letter of acceptance, and then she only found out a couple of days ago that she would have to pay $13,600 up front."

The Opposition's education spokeswoman, Jenny Macklin, said "the Howard Government was forcing people who have decided to make Australia their permanent home to pay upfront fees ... they're paying more for the same thing".

The National Union of Students' state president, Sarah-Jane Collins, said permanent residents "are Australians for tax purposes, so they should be for HECS, too".

renth

It's pretty harsh isn't it? but perhaps it's their way of encouraging people to take up citizenship.

bondipom

It used to be the case that those eligible for citizenship but not having citizenship had less rights. This is just penny pinching.

Larissa

A bit tight if you've got PR but aren't eligible for citizenship yet. I'm beginning to consider life after Pottyland but the Postgraduate fees would be a factor in any decision I make. Fortunately I didn't make any concrete decisions before arrival, but you can imagine how people who had planned to come here to study would feel.
BTW What other things are we likely to miss out on if we don't take up citizenship?

renth

Getting called up to fight in any future war

Sue from Manchester

I've been looking into this lately. Am I right in thinking that for the first 2 years we are there (moving this summer) No. 1 son will have to pay university fees up front. Then half way through his course he can take citizenship and defer fees for the second 2 years?

bondipom

Looks like it.

BTW University admissions are down this year however TAFE is taking on more people.

Banksia

Work as a public servant? Be required to vote.

bondipom

Federal public servant. Plenty of NSW and local government jobs are open to PRs.

bondipom

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/...110880095.html


Unis urged to end secrecy over names of full-fee students
By Matthew Thompson and Linda Doherty
January 21, 2005

The Universities Admissions Centre will ask universities to reverse a policy of keeping secret the names of those who are offered full-fee-paying places, now that six NSW universities offer the degrees that cost up to $150,000.

The admissions centre's managing director, Andrew Stanton, said the names of students offered full-fee places had never been published because it was "considered a bit of a privacy issue" in 1999, when the protocols on handling full-fee applications had first been set. But that was in the days when only the University of Sydney and the University of NSW accepted full-fee students, who gain entry to courses on marginally lower marks than Commonwealth-subsidised students but pay much higher course costs.

This year six universities - the University of Sydney, the University of NSW, the University of Newcastle, the Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt University and Southern Cross University - offer full-fee places, encouraged by Federal Government changes.

Under the Government's higher education changes, which take effect this year, institutions may enrol 35 per cent of their Australian students as full-fee payers in most courses, and the students have access to a new loans scheme to help finance the expensive degrees.

bondipom

This is classless oz at work again. Pay more and get into uni with lower marks.

Sue from Manchester

Happens here too. The newspapers have exposed it - foreign students get in with lower marks and rules on English language skills are bent because the university earns so much more from a foreign student than a home one. Not my particular university of course

seang

Mike ...own up now

bondipom

Both countries have been using foreign students to subsidise domestic study. Britain does not charge domestic students foreign fees. Some commentators have suggested saving the private school fees and just pay the higher fees instead of trying for the high marks to get in.