Greens say more than a million hits on interactive that works out cost of degree
The Greens believe the findings from the online turnout will be a weapon in the Parliamentary debate over the uncapping of higher education fees and increased interest charged on HECS debt.
“It is extremely concerning that the average increase in fees the site has calculated is $44,500 and the average increase in repayment time is five years,” Greens higher education spokeswoman Senator Lee Rhiannon said.
“These changes are going to have severe financial repercussions on students and their families. Right now, parents across Australia are wondering how their kids will afford to go to university.’’
This reporter posed as a 22-year-old male about to start an arts degree in Canberra to see what the interactive site would come up with.
It said my fees would go up from $18,000 pre-Budget to $46,000 when the uncapped rates began. That, by my calculation, was an increase of about 155 per cent.
This compares with a warning from Melbourne University vice chancellor Glyn Davis that fees could rise 61 per cent. That would see the cost of my phantom arts degree go from $18,000 to $28,980.
