OK kiddies, I'll don me professorial bonnet and learn youse sompin!
A university offering a non-full fee paying domestic student places in a traditional professional degree program (ie medicine) receives funding from two sources:
1) CGS = Commonwealth Grants Scheme = monies paid by the Federal Government to the university for a funded student place
2) HECS = Higher Education Contribution Scheme = monies paid by the student to the university as a contribution to the cost of their education.
The Federal Gov make a HECS loan scheme available whereby a student can defer payment of their HECS. The Feds pay the money to the Uni and then collect the money back from the student when they start earning above a threshold - via the income tax system.
The ratio of CGS:HECS varies with the degree program.
For medicine (off the top of my head) its something like:
CGS ($16,000) + HECS ($8,000) = $24,000 total per annum to the university for a med student.
Total funding is in a number of bands (12?) with Medicine and others in the top band and law (I think) and others in the bottom band.
The $24,000 pa to the uni for a funded place in medicine compares with about $32,000 for a full fee domestic place, and maybe $35,000 for an international full fee place.
The argument that should be made to the Rudd Gov is for approved aviation degree programs (eg Griffiths) to be funded as for medicine (including the flying component) with CGS and HECS, and for the HECS loan scheme to be available to enrolled students.
Lesson over.
Dr 