The federal government in June announced a restructure of university course fees, where the cost of degrees like nursing and teaching would be reduced, while humanities degrees would be more expensive.

Under the original plan, psychology and social work degrees fell under the humanities bracket. But Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan on Tuesday confirmed the two courses would move to a lower cost band.

BSA president Will Griffin said while the changes were welcomed, there could still be some students who were disadvantaged.

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"We obviously understand the government's reasoning behind it," Mr Griffin said. "Students understand that degrees are there so they can get a job in the future.

"But the government needs to think of the social impact a tertiary education can bring. All of those arts degrees are important to students and important to Australian culture."

Mr Griffin said the federal government's stance on fee support was also concerning.

Earlier this month, Mr Tehan confirmed university students who failed half of their first-year subjects would no longer be able to access a Commonwealth supported place, HECS-HELP, or FEE-HELP.

Mr Tehan said the changes would stop students from taking on a study load they couldn't complete. He said it would also ensure students wouldn't accumulate large debts that were unlikely to be repaid.

But Mr Griffin said students shouldn't be denied support because they were struggling in their first semester.

"If you're trying to build jobs but then punishing people for failing, I'm just not sure how those two things align," he said. "We understand there will be some special considerations in place.

"We're hoping they are stringent because we see a diverse range of issues - things like being first in their family to attend university or regional students from remote areas who may never have been in a busy setting.

"There is going to be that adjustment period - it's not just that they didn't bother studying."

Mr Griffin said La Trobe students should know there was support available for them - through the Bendigo Student Association, the university, and external services.

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