Introduction
The standard of education in terms of Australia has lowered in significant terms to its universities. It is because they are trying to quest in regard to foreign students so that the fees gathered from them can be capped in regard to the domestic market. The entry standards in context to the universities in regard to information technology and engineering had lowered. This particular study is subjected to investigate why the entry standards to the University degrees has lowered to an extent. This study will also compare its policy measures with the other countries in context to information technology professions in the nation. Apart from this, the sustainability implications will also be subjected.
Investigation in regard to the previous attempts for entry standards to professional university degrees in Australia
40 to 50 years ago, higher education was used primarily in traditional research universities. This image is completely different intoday’s terms. Most drifts have donated to the rebuilding of the “Ivory Tower” and elites. Currently, Higher Education Institutions are more diverse and approaching the mosaic pattern in large sections of the population. Thus, higher education today is characterized by greater opportunities and broader participation. But in today’s terms, the growing pressure on spending and money on new forms had led to the decline in the education system that was professed in the earlier times (Murray & Nallaya, 2016).
Figure 1: Revenue of Australian University, 2010
(Source: deakin.edu.au)
The spectacular outgrowth of higher education globally over the previous fifty years is undoubtedly the most widespread of these trends, shown in Figure. In 1977, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) estimated that approximately 12.5 million students worldwide were enrolled in higher education. In 2000, this estimate augmented to almost 100 million and in 2010 to 178 million. This deciphers into an average annual increase in enrolment at the third level as well as the world’s population. The percentage increases much faster than the average annual growth (undp.org, 2019).
Figure 2: Trends in context to Higher education
(Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
The universities in Australia had started to enter the foreign market since the year 1986. The major dependency lied in the foreign students and their fees. The students were mainly given admission to cater revenues and funds. It was seen that in between the year 1988 and the year 2014, the international students in Australian Universities climbed up to 13-fold. In context to the admission in engineering and information technology the universities delineated themselves by stating that they were keeping up with the standards. The issues with the students were that they fudged their results, there was no language proficiency, documentations were falsified and they got online assistance who would do their assignments. In this regard, the major issues levied on the side of the Universities as they were the ones who started to face unscrupulous students. The mentality of the students was only to get admission and nothing else. In recent years, it has been incredibly collected and passed through the pure water system. Universities operate like hungry and starving marine urchins, looking for more students than ever. In 2015, the ICAC racked the system of universities stating them corrupted. In New South Wales it has monitored the state’s university system, which it commonly identifies ascorruption risk.
The Universities are in a zeal of ready to expand which subjects bleak standards for academics. The universities in context information technology and engineering are accepting students that fall below the standards of admission. This is dangerous in context to the education system of Australia as is declining the standards of education in the country. According to a report, the entry standards came into notice after the figures were posted in context to the Fairfax Media. It showed that the Universities in context to New South Wales have accepted students whose rankings were far below from what was actually needed by the Universities to get an entrance. Most local postgraduate students in Australia attend a university based on the Australian tertiary entry rank – a percentile score that indicates student performance compared to other students.The decision to increase the number of students with lower admission rankings allowed universities to pursue their preferred postgraduate positions following the federal government’s decision in 2012. The total student population has increased to 1.37 million in 20 years. In the million, which represents an increase of about 10%? Critics accused the universities of increasing their numbers to boost incomes, saying that the decision to educate lower-quality students resulted in fewer resources and more class sizes (Deakin.edu.au, 2019).
The numbers of students in the Universities are a major concern. In the last decade or so, policies have been in favour of access and higher education, but no virtual discussion has been conferred about access or size to the appropriate level of the system. The real problem lies in the trade-off between student numbers and admission criteria, as well as the number of students and the resources available to teach each student. Third-level admission grade tests show that several universities have comparatively low standards of admission (Monash.edu, 2019).
This is generally exemplified by evaluating the third entry score in 2000 in context to eighteen campuses which are located in New South Wales. In this context, it was also found that universities admit the studentswith very low numbers, mainly to generate revenue from the fees. To remove them, the University Admissions Index (UIA) ranking is calculated in the ninth decade of each campus.
They point to the above index, which gained 90% of the new list in 2000. It can be seen that they vary between 75.2 and 46.4. Input values vary widely. The total average is 64.0. Input values are inversely proportional to the number of items. Enrolments are largely determined by the number of people who agree to finance the Commonwealth – a fixed number, regardless of price – and desire for business growth. So how many universities conduct university enrolment, and in general it is determined that more students are better than the institutions that result. If the standard of admission gets lower and lower, the quality of life expected by the students will decrease, as is typical. It goes without saying that some types of admissions are not desirable or there is no place for a less demanding course, but decisions should be made arbitrarily with that standard.
Comparison with other countries
In countries like UK, the emphasis is drawn in terms of learning and their potential outcomes. The curr8iculam is mainly decided by the Professor who is teaching the course. On the other hand, it was evident that Australian Universities fetched the students who were below the standards of selection to the University. This resulted in students with poor marks and no proficiency over the subject. This not only hampered the University but had an impact over the entire education system. The US in this regard also has a strict curriculum and every subject is taken very seriously. The terms plagiarism is taken very seriously by the US. There were several instances where the student was expelled. They work on various assignments individually as well as collectively. Continuous evaluation is done by the countries like UK and US to mark their students and impart creativity. For example, in US, practical workshops and technical interviews are done in regular intervals to check the students.
On the other hand, it has been found that the Australian University gives no emphasis in regard to extracurricular activities. The US is has a round education structure where the process of admission is introspective. In Australia it is seen that the University is responsible to control the teacher’s students, lecturers and the guides. Another problem in context to the Australian education system is that they do not have all round syllabuses and is very unconstructive.
As commented by Murray & Nallaya (2016), the policy measures are different in different countries in context to engineering and information technology. For Australia the registration process is very important in context to engineering. The engineering services are generally encompassed by the government, local bodies and others. Education implies a large part in this context because if proper compliance is not provided by thy Universities, then the students will fail to do their job. On the other hand, UK has adopted a revised standard on context to engineering. UK fully abides by the ISO system in regard to engineering standards. Perhaps, education system is different as compared to different countries. The syllabus of the Universities is different and so are there rules and regulations. The UK-SPEC in this context describes the standards of engineering (Engc.org.uk, 2019).
Sustainability suggestions of lower entry standards in context to engineering: Civil Engineering
Lower entry standards in context to information technology and engineering have already hampered the quality of education system. Sustainability can be comprehended in this context only if the higher educational institutions cater to the students who are actually eligible to get an entry. If civil engineers are taken in casual terms by the universities, there will be massive challenges in the country. As commented by Holgaard et al. (2016), civil engineers play an innate role in regard to sustainable development by building and planning the projects that will be beneficial to the nation. Planning the structures and operating it is not an easy task. Civil engineers are required to be trained in effective terms to help the nation and environment in general. In the aforesaid discussion, there are evidences that the University partakes students who are not eligible to enter in prior terms. They take in students only to generate revenue. If this system continuous in context to civil engineering then the nation will suffer from various threats. Engineering is used in almost every field and every country of life and allows the existence in context to human civilization. Civil engineering is beneficial in various regards and if the Universities remain bias for foreign students to generate revenue, it will not serve the purpose of the country. Countries’ quality of life often depends on technical factors. At the same time, there have been attempts to make engineering more stable while trying to describe the sustainability and its requirements in engineering. As stated by Dandy et al. (2017), civil engineers are the ones who help the public during natural disasters. They help redefine infrastructure and improve the city to meet a primary need. Their desire to serve society and its citizens faces various challenges. Civil engineering has a close relationship with real life and technology to influence the careers of newcomers. It offers many jobs around the world. Their field of work is not confined to any frontier. It goes from small to big projects. Civil engineering is an advanced branch of engineering. The diploma concerns the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, shopping centres, etc. It includes road works, bridges, canals and dams. Civil engineers are an important part of society. A person with a degree in civil engineering is well-focused and analytical and has the ability to solve problems. They work closely with contractors, architects and construction workers on several projects. This interaction provides a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas (Engineersauatralia.org.au, 2019).
Conclusion
This study imparted that education is a very important attribute to sustain the development and growth of the country. This study also comprehended that the Australian Universities started to enter the foreign market to collect revenue. This made the mentality of the students stick to a fact they can get admission for a degree without any standard form. The aforesaid report provided evidence of the fact that Universities in Australia take up students who are below the standards for entering the engineering institutions. It further implied that if the universities admit students who are not eligible for civil engineering, the risk will be entail in context to the nation. Thus, it can be assumed that the widening access in context to higher education in Australia is hampering the quality of the education system in context to engineering.
References
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