Universities suffer huge drop in revenue from COVID-19

The tertiary education sector estimates a revenue drop of between $3 billion and $4.6 billion in 2020, due primarily to a decline in international student enrolments as a consequence of lockdowns and bans on international travel.

The Australian National University's vice chancellor Brian Schmidt believes the impact on the Canberra university will be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

"This pandemic represents perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of our university," Prof Schmidt said.

"This crisis has caused massive economic disruption and it's no secret we have been hit financially."

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the financial downturn was expected to cost about 21,000 full-time jobs over the next six months,16% of total university staff.

"Many universities are seeking zero or low interest loans from banks and state governments to try and bridge the revenue gap over the coming months." Ms Jackson said.

Sydney University vice-chancellor Dr Michael Spence estimated a total budget shortfall of $470 million in 2020. He said the executive was working to minimise the impact on jobs.

UTS currently estimates that in the 2020 financial year, their revenue will be down $125-$150m, primarily due to reduction in international student numbers in spring.

A spokesperson for UTS said emerging research impacts, increased costs to deal with COVID-19, increased support to vulnerable communities such as casual staff and student hardship funds, was leaving the university facing a financial impact of about $170-$190 million.

This is roughly $100 million more than the impact estimated earlier this year.

The financial difficulties La Trobe University faces are also severe.

A spokesperson for the university said estimates for 2020 indicated a shortfall of between $120-$150 million.

"The guaranteed government CGS and HELP funding will help offset about $15m of this shortfall but still leaves a considerable gap."

Swinburne University said it was facing continuing and extraordinary budgetary challenges as a result of the coronavirus situation.

"Our priority is to work together to manage the financial impacts, protect jobs and limit the impact on our people," the university said in a statement. Earlier reports indicated they were facing a $76 million shortfall for 2020.

The University of Queensland estimates their 2020 drop in revenue at best could be $240 million, but says it could easily be double that.

Griffith University, which has five campuses between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland, is projecting a revenue loss in 2020 of between $100 and $200 million.

RMIT has asked senior leaders to support the ongoing sustainability of the university by reducing their fixed salary by 10% to the end of 2020. The Vice-Chancellor's Executive agreed to reduce their overall remuneration by 20%.

The University of Melbourne's executive leadership group is taking a 20 per cent salary cut for the next six months.

The University of Wollongong and Charles Sturt University are projecting losses between $80-$90 million.

Charles Sturt's vice chancellor Andrew Vann said the university would take urgent steps to review its workforce.

"Unfortunately, we will be unable to achieve the savings required to be sustainable without job losses," Prof Vann said.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said universities in regional and rural areas are likely to be hard hit."

Ms Jackson pointed out that regional campuses relied heavily on overseas students and because the campuses of regional universities were widely dispersed, the running costs were very high.

"They are often the biggest employer in town and play a fundamental role in regional prosperity," she said.