Students lose union cash to HECS

The Australian: Brendan O'Keefe | November 01, 2007

HECS increases in the past two years have eaten away any extra money
students had in their pockets since voluntary unionism made service
fees non-compulsory. A report on the impact of VSU by Australian University Sport and the
Australasian Campus Union Managers Association said many domestic,
full-time, undergraduate students were worse off because of the
legislation.

The report says: "For students subject to HECS fees and who first
enrolled in 2005 or subsequently, the level of increase in HECS fees
in real terms relative to the 2004 year - and even after taking
account of the increased repayment threshold - has on average
significantly more than consumed any economic benefits gained from no
longer being required to pay compulsory amenities and services fees."

HECS increases had increased students' future debts and way beyond
the $300 to $400 they saved on amenities fees. And as student unions
suffered an income drought, they were forced to increase prices,
further eating into students' pockets.

The report says prices charged to students have outstripped inflation
and "in some cases prices have more than doubled".

AUS chief executive officer Don Knapp said: "It all became very
commercialised overnight. In the longer run if student services on
campus become more commercialised it's probably not a bad thing, but
the impact is dramatic over a 12-month period."

VSU bans universities from charging student fees for any non-academic services.

The cost to universities has been put at $162million a year in lost
fees, forcing the closure of many services and hundreds of job losses.

The report also found that a dramatic fall in revenue had exposed
students and others to danger because sporting grounds and equipment
were left unmaintained and unrepaired.

"A fifth of sporting organisations and 36 per cent of service
providers - student unions - report suspension of all capital works
on infrastructure, causing concerns about the longer term viability
of sporting, social and cultural facilities infrastructure," the
report says.

The legislation appeared to have affected women more than men: the
report says that women's participation at the Australian University
Games had fallen from a pre-VSU high of 48 per cent of competitors,
to 40 per cent.

Prices charged to students for use of services and facilities have in
general increased materially since VSU came in: the level of the
price increases has in most cases far outstripped CPI and in some
cases prices have more than doubled.