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To: The University of Melbourne
Reduce the tuition fees for international students for semester 1 and 2 2020
The University should recognise that important aspects of a university degree (access to campus libraries and facilities, face to face learning and support, the development of social skills etc) are being left out as a consequence of the transitioning to online learning. The University should offer reduced tuition fees for impacted semesters as reimbursement for this change in quality and experience. The University has done a great job at shifting to an online environment, however the new teaching and learning experience should not be priced the same as previously. International students should be paying the same tuition fees as domestic students until the learning is back to normal.
Why is this important?
This should be recognised and compensated for since it is unjust treatment of international students who are paying a high price for something they are not receiving, and who in addition are not eligible for Job keeper payments or Centrelink (but are still expected to pay full tuition fees which is causing extreme financial distress). The University is offering Emergency Support grants for students who have lost their income. However these are not guaranteed and are addressing another issue. They are not a recognition of the change in quality of the teaching and learning experience; a change which should be reflected in the pricing of impacted semesters.
For approximate pricing per year for international students see: https://study.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/84399/2020-tuition-fee-tables-for-international-students.pdf