Region. Help for disadvantaged students

The federal government plans to quadruple the existing loading for low socioeconomic and disadvantaged university students next year to about $400 a student in soon-to-be-released draft guidelines on equity funding. The loading is expected to increase to about $770 in 2011 and to $1140 in 2012, based on estimates of student numbers, according to The Australian. The loading is designed to give universities an incentive to enrol and retain more low-SES students in line with the government's targets to expand participation and overcome the chronic under-representation of poor students at university.