The Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) is calling on government to reconsider its proposed hike to university fees. It says the changes could have a devastating impact on the marketing and communications profession, with consequences for all facets of business, government and the wider economy.
The call comes after Federal Education Minister, Dan Tehan, proposed changes to university fees across Australia. The reforms aim to push prospective students towards ‘job relevant’ degrees, by making some more affordable and some more expensive than others.
Subject to the legislation passing Parliament, the cost association with a year of full-time study in Communications degrees will increase 113% from $6,804 per year to $14,000 from 2021. The fees for Management & Commerce and Mixed Fields (marketing) courses will be up 28%.
The AMI subsequently surveyed over 100 current and prospective students in a highly targeted study to reveal over half (56%) say the proposed changes have impacted their plans to study marketing at university. Almost one third (31%) say they will consider changing to another field of study and roughly the same number (34%) have postponed their plans to study at an Australian university.
In a letter to the Federal Minister, the AMI is urging government to take note of how the potential changes could limit the economic potential of businesses set to feel the continuing impact of COVID-19.
On the proposed reforms to university fees, Lynda Cavalera, AMI Chair, commented:
“The reforms fail to acknowledge how critical marketing is to Australian industry. A key driver of revenue growth and competitiveness, the marketing industry contributes an estimated $9.4billion to the economy each year. If we deplete the stocks of talent, industry and Australia’s ability to recover from Covid-economy in the future will be negatively impacted. We need to continue to bring new talent into these highly valuable professions.
“Budding marketers will be dissuaded from pursuing the field due to daunting repayment fees, instead choosing courses with lower cost associations. In turn, the talent pipeline of highly-skilled professionals entering marketing, commerce and communications-related fields is severely at risk. During a time of economic uncertainty which shows no signs of easing up in the near future, prospective students are surely going to be drawn towards cheaper courses.
“Not considering marketing-related degrees as ‘job relevant’ is an oversight and dismissive towards the myriad of skills these courses equip graduates with – all of which can be applied at a practical level in the workplace. While niche courses may follow a path to a specific job role, the roles cannot be guaranteed, and graduates are limiting their breadth of options.
“Larger university debts mean longer repayments, which begin at incomes of only $45,000 per annum. As well as affecting graduates when they are looking to save for a home deposit or to pay for childcare costs, this move will disproportionately impact women, who are the majority of marketing graduates.”
AMI is seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister to discuss the matter.
