International fees ‘new price guide’

By John Ross. INTERNATIONAL students’ fees are the yardstick of what domestic students could face when tuition fees are deregulated, says University of Wollongong boss Paul Wellings.
The Australian government has made international fees a “surrogate price guide”, Professor Wellings said, because legislation prevents universities from charging domestic students more than they extract from overseas enrollees.
His comments follow HECS architect Bruce Chapman’s prediction that elite universities will quickly raise their fees to the levels collected from international students. More...