Austerity Measures, Australian Style.

As I said below, whether that quality education filters down is a separate question. Pretty much nobody denies that American universities are the best in the world.

http://www.topuniversities.com/univ...region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=

 

Well, they're the best in the world at everything, arent they....!!!

 

No, but they are in the quality of tertiary education.

 

Have to admit, I`m not up with the accusation of 80bn cuts. The Libs are saying that they have elevated the funding well above the CPI. The ALP are saying that there have been 80bn cut. Who`s lying?

 

OK. I'm done for another few months.

Liberty. Whatever.

 

Did you actually look through the methodology and core criteria of how the universities are ranked under "their" star method?

Its like giving a fat rich kid the key to a chocolate factory.

 

I really think the term, "Austerity Measures" is a bit out of place in this case. How about, "Conservation Measures" ? Measures to conserve our pampered lifestyle, that is.

 

When we start allowing only the wealthy to be educated, we are actually turning back the hands of time on humanity to the times of the dark ages and before; when only wealthy children from wealthy families were educated. It was my understanding that a species is suppose to progress and go forward, not backwards.

 

Poppycock. The only complaint here is that people have to pay back their loans.

 

Surprised that someone indicating their location is Indiana in the USA is so blinded by the reality of what's happening in the country they live, and then want the same corrupt system here in Australia.

No. Its not about students/people having to pay back loans, to which I agree with. Its about Universities being allowed to charge what they like for higher education, which will eventually create the same system here in Australia as it is in the USA, whereby only the wealthy can afford university education, and the poor have to bribe their way into higher education.

Since when is it in the best interest of a species to only educate its wealthy people?

Should it not be in the best interest of a species to educate everyone equally, regardless of money?

 

Paying back the loan has nothing to do with it. When I went to uni 30 years ago I had to pay back my loan, it is about allowing universities to charge what they want. In my honest opinion, these things should be above politics and should be provided at the lowest cost possible by the government. 1: Health and 2: Education.

Why do I say this, simple. Both health and education are for the benefit of the nation, not just the individual.

Healthy, happy, well educated citizens denote a healthy happy well educated society which means a healthy happy well educated country. You know, one where the citizens do not think they all need to brandish assault riffles or concealed weapons as a defense against their own people, their own police or their own government, like you appear to do in America.

WE DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE, although it looks like we are rapidly degenerating to the USA's standards.

 

Couldn't agree more. Its bad enough that foreign students, because they can pay, are allocated more university placements over Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students in the first place, without creating an even more corrupt system like the USA has. I have always believed that university placements should be given to people residing in Australia first, and if there are any left over, then they are open to foreign students. I don't see any benefit to Australia or the Australian people by educating foreigner citizens, while our own citizens are missing out on education. To me, all that is doing, is making another civilisation intelligent, but making your own civilisation dumber. Maybe that's what they are tying to accomplish on an Island that soon wont have anything, except strip-mines and dirty beaches.

 

Look at the other side of the coin CD. As our universities now stand, their courses are crap. The complacency of lack of competition, and limited budgets, has led to this low standard. Pay peanuts, get monkeys, - sh1t in, sh1t out. Academia has always been isolated from reality, but ours need a kick up the arse. Students would be better served by better quality education.

 

I tend to agree with your analysis. The majority of the curriculum content within Australian University degrees has been criticized for some time as being well below basic international standards. However, is the lack of curriculum content within degrees due to the lack of competition between universities and low faculty wages?

I don't believe there is any evidence or support to suggest that by giving universities "carte blanche" to increase their degree fees without changing the curriculum content would increase the degree standards.

I have never believed in the business model philosophy: if your pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Remember Alan Joyce & Sol Trujillo, the two CEO's of Qantas and Telstra? Both a pair of incompetent idiots that wouldn't be able to manage a whore house next to a pub, but were both on $5million per year salaries. $5mK is not peanuts, but unfortunalety for Qantas & Telstra, they got a pair of monkey's as CEO's.

I have always believed in, and been guided by the business philosophy of hiring the right person, for the right job, with the right education & qualifications, for the right salary. I have never went to far off-track when following this methodical cascade of employment.

Maybe we should be looking at "all" universities around the world to see how they are teaching and developing their curriculum content, before we just automatically adopt the American model of increasing fees "HOPING" our system and degree standards improve.

The USA now has a university system, whereby only the wealthy get educated. Is that the same educational standards we want to develop here? If Australian universities get the chance to raise their degrees to $100,000 each, how many jobs in Australia are going to be paying $100K + in the near future for student to pay loans back?

 

I share your concerns re the trusting universities to set fees. My opinion of our university education system is very low, based on personal experience.
Bearing the present low standard in mind, and the fact that graduates are gaining "qualifications" without education, we wouldn't lose much without them. As for paying peanuts, and getting monkeys, this is almost a universal truth. Regrettably, it`s not uncommon to pay gold bars, and still get hairy little banana munchers.

 

My low opinion of Australian education is also based on persoanl experience - the reason why our children are finishing their higher education in Europe, and not here.

When Indian & South Americam Universities can brag their students are graduating with more technically advanced degrees, because of their enhanced curriculum, than Australian students graduating from Australian universities, then its time to move on.

The only reason that the Australian LNP government wants to allow Australian universities to dictate their own degree fee's, is because, there has been a 65% drop-off of Indian students and overseas students applying to Australian Universities. LOL

Why would Indian student and other international student want to pay Australian universities top dollar for inferior degrees? LOL

You never hear this little snippet of truth in media reporting.