Edith Cowan students reject fees for courses
BY MAUREEN BAKER
PERTH — Students at Edith Cowan University here have established an education action group to reverse a decision by the university's council to establish an upfront fee-paying undergraduate course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts next year.
The council has also given its vice-chancellor, Professor Millicent Poole, full authority to introduce further upfront fee courses without need for further consultation. Poole claims that the new course, which will be run in partnership with the private University of Notre Dame, is consistent with ECU's strategic goals, including "broadening the University's revenue base" and "satisfying the demands of students for diverse education in the performing and visual arts".
Yet Edith Cowan has outsourced its tavern and cafeteria, lowering the quality of the food and service, and has cut $70,000 from its security budget. Security guards are now on 12-hour, rather than eight-hour, shifts and one guard is expected to look after the entire campus at night.
The formation of the education action group is part of a revival of activism at the university, including the re-establishment of a student union on the campus. The previous Student Guild was liquidated in 1999, a victim of university inaction and state anti-student union legislation.
The education action group and the new guild are planning a vigorous campaign against the fee-paying course.