Funding cuts to put 10,000 student places at risk

Ten thousand students will miss out on government funding for university this year, peak body Universities Australia says, as the sector looks to accommodate AU$2.2 billion (US$1.76 billion) in funding cuts by the Turnbull government, writes Eryk Bagshaw for The Sydney Morning Herald.

More than 190,000 students are expected to commence university from March, after a similar number graduated last year, but the government has frozen public funding at 2017 levels. The freeze is not indexed, which means after inflation of at least 1.5% most universities will face a choice between cutting student places, research, facilities or back office costs.

If universities opt to save on student places, all of them will have to come from first-year students, as universities have already committed to funding those who have commenced their study. According to Universities Australia, the 1.5% figure would be tripled to 4.3% of all new students, resulting in the funding gap of up to 10,000 student places.
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site