Why are university degrees in Australia getting more expensive, and how much will they cost?

The University of NSW is among a number of universities that have dropped minimum Atar requirements for arts degrees as a direct result of the Coalition’s job ready graduate program. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Pressure is mounting on the federal government to prevent ballooning course costs as figures reveal some humanities courses have become more than 140% more expensive in the past five years.

The costs are a hangover from the previous federal government’s controversial job ready graduates (JRG) scheme, which brought wide condemnation from the sector.