University life is considered to be all about new experiences and great ideas but turning it into commercial exchange is a kind of insult for professors. However, for many undergraduate students calculating of the cost of the vocational course seems to be more like an investment. Apparently, this should not be the way universities run today but the reality is different.
There is one good way of influencing students’ decision while choosing the university to study at – it’s the metrics of the marketplace. It ensures that students get exactly what they want – decent education.
For-profit sector Phoenix – that is fiercely criticized – it exists for students with years of experience already. In Australia the majority of school leavers lives and works off campus.
The idea that the market makes the education more affordable and cheaper doesn’t actually influence it greatly. A university that keeps poorly-educated teachers will be soon in demand of students. A campus that reduces tuition fess below sustainable cost will be a bankrupt soon as the main value in education is the quality.
However, this argument is not referred to those who support the traditional idea of the undergraduate experience. Michael Farthing, chair of the 1994 group of UK research universities and vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex, can’t understand the idea of education being a commodity. He said on Tuesday that university has always been about relationships but not transactions. Michael Farthing considers that social experiences are available only at universities and they direct young people to learning.
"The role of a university is to help open a world of knowledge to students; to develop their understanding and insight; to provide them with opportunities to explore intellectual interests. This is fundamentally different from vocational training and it would be a tragedy if higher education was viewed as a precursor to employment."
