Aus - U.S. Free Trade Agreement and higher education

The highly mooted Free Trade Agreement really sinks the boot into an already depressed higher education sector. The FTA may see the entrance of US-based providers to the Australian market. US-based providers will be entitled to the same benfits as our public institutions. That means they will be able to access funding, their students may be eligible for the FEE-HELP scheme and they will be able to compete for research funding.

Australian universities may be able to get access to US research funding and investment and students will have mutual recognition of university qualifications. However, the FTA may enable U.S. based universities to establish campuses in Australia. These providers will be able to access the same benefits provided to domestic public institutions. This will have the inevitable effect of reducing already scarce resources - to be distributed amongst domestic universities. The recent changes to higher education may give foreign universities a competitive advantage in competing for funding and research grants. Those universities that will be hardest hit are the recent post-Dawkins universities, especially those located in regional/rural centres and regional campuses of metropolitan universities. These universities will not be able to compete as well as they do not have the infrastructure nor financial resources. These universities will not be able to increase tuition fees and they do not have the capacity to effectively compete for research grants. It will lead to these universities/campuses becoming second-rate institutions.

Any future changes to government student benefits could be a violation of the FTA as it would be construed as preferential treatment of local universities. Students will be forced to work more hours or jobs as the government continues to ignore student allowances and the cost of living. The FTA is another step toward a General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It is the opinion of the save.higher.ed collective that the Howard government is attempting to introduce GATS on education via stealth through the FTA process.

Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US have submitted draft papers to the World Trade Organisation about removing barriers to trade in education service provision for foreign providers. Overall, the FTA could see local universities sink deeper into crisis. Australia will lose more than we will gain from this free trade agreement. It must be voted down! NO to FTA!