From the Vice-Chancellor: Student choice... more or less

Vice-Chancellor

A university's worth, its 'greatness', should be judged by its value to society.

Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the development of a website, building on the MySchool initiative, which aims to increase transparency and accountability in Australia's universities.

I welcomed the concept - anything that helps students gain the best from higher education should be applauded - but this it is tempered with a hint of caution.

Capturing data that is consistent, evidence-based and genuinely representational and constructive, will likely prove a difficult challenge. Shifting the focus from primary and secondary schooling to tertiary studies is more complicated given the absence of standardised testing such as NAPLAN.

The government has already suggested potential indicators for evaluating Australian universities such as student to staff ratios, graduate skills and outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning outcomes.

For a university like Adelaide, internationally recognised for its extensive research capacity, there is a glaring omission relating to research as a measure of institutional quality. The learning experience in a research-intensive university is unique. It offers a richer, more challenging and intellectually stimulating environment to our students at all levels.

Ensuring that research achievement and capacity are core benchmarks of success is fundamental to valuing the greatness of any university.

At present, the proposed website will only scope Australia's 39 universities. This is curious given the number of independent colleges joining the ranks of private universities and TAFEs competing for the tertiary dollar. In South Australia alone, there are 26 degree-awarding institutions. Surely, students stand to gain the most from a more comprehensive review that extends beyond the publicly funded institutions.

If we are to shine the spotlight on the tertiary education sector, we should use a wide-angled lens from the outset.

Choice of further study is extremely subjective. Students come to university for a myriad of reasons, different for everyone. Broadly speaking, we know that prospective students want a quality academic education with top quality staff and state-of-the-art facilities.

We should also make the distinction between perceived prestige and earned reputation. As a Group of Eight (Go8) University, Adelaide is justifiably proud of its long tradition of academic achievement - a track record, including three Nobel Laureates among our graduates, that should inspire and be held in high regard by potential students and the wider community.

However, this is not the time to rest on our laurels. Universities must be responsive. When it comes to student enrolment, we undertake extensive and ongoing research to improve our understanding of what drives student choice and to meet changing needs.

Nor should students be complacent in their decision-making. It is your future. Be proactive and seek out information, ask questions, do your research thoroughly. You are best placed to make the decisions and choices and the more information you have, the better.

The My University website (or preferably My Higher Education), equipped with robust and useful data, will provide another tool to inform choice of further study but remember it is just one other piece of information.

Such an important life decision deserves much more than a cursory glance at a ready-reckoner website.

These comments were originally published in The Advertiser's EducationNow section.