How mass education is lowering the standard of our universities

This month, thousands of Australian students will celebrate entry to university and the start of their tertiary studies. At the same time, politicians and VCs will congratulate themselves on increased participation rates and Australia's success at becoming the 'knowledge' nation.

In an increasingly competitive world, where future prosperity relies on 'smart' industries and technology, the reality is that it will be those countries with the strongest tertiary sector that achieve success.

Unfortunately though, there is mounting evidence that our universities and colleges fail the 'standards' test. Instead of developing academic excellence and high-quality education, many of our tertiary courses promote a 'dumbed down' and mediocre level of ability.

Evidence of falling standards can be found in the recently released report, Changes in Academic Work prepared for the federal Department of Education and Science. The report presents the results of a national survey of some 2000 academics and addresses issues such as the quality of first-year students and the quality of degrees being granted.

The first thing to note about the report is that, notwithstanding the fact that all tertiary institutions pride themselves as being intellectually rigorous, "there was no VC or dean who had any valid or reliable means of knowing about the intellectual standards of their university's degrees …".

Worse still, 54 per cent of academics completing the questionnaire felt that the standards required to gain a degree have been 'dumbed down' and 40 per cent "reported an increase in the award of higher grades" as many succumbed to the pressure to lower standards "so that fewer students failed".

Especially with overseas students, the mantra from those in charge of our universities is more 'bums' on seats to guarantee increased funding and revenue, instead of maintaining rigorous intellectual standards.

As the report notes, the tertiary sector alone cannot be blamed for falling standards. Equally to blame is a secondary-school system that fails to properly equip students for tertiary study.

As noted in the report, when academics were asked about whether standards had declined over time, "almost half said standards of incoming students had declined". Lower levels of student ability explain why so many university departments, in particular in maths and science, have had to rewrite first-year courses to make them easier.

Further evidence of falling standards is the increasing number of first-year students requiring 'remedial courses' in English and maths. Even after six years of secondary school, the sad reality is that increasing numbers of students cannot write a properly structured, grammatically correct essay or undertake basic computational tasks.

The result? As noted by the academics interviewed in the above-named report, "The less able students, and those with inadequate skills in English or other basic skills, are very demanding of time".

Added to the problem of academics having to waste valuable time teaching the 'basics' is the financial cost of meeting the needs of under-performing students. While Australian research into the problem of remedial courses is almost non-existent, American research proves how significant the problem can be.

Some 30 per cent of American first-year college students need remedial work and the cost to the education system is calculated at $US1 billion annually. One wonders what the cost is to the Australian education system?

Worst still, the problem appears to be getting worse; in California, for example, the percentage of first-year students needing help in English rose from 38 per cent in 1989 to 43 per cent in 1996. In mathematics, the percentage rose from 23 per cent in 1989 to 53 per cent in 1996.

Given that Australian schools have adopted many of the education fads prevalent in American schools, such as 'whole language' and 'fuzzy maths', one wonders what the situation is in Australia's tertiary sector.

Normally, when the problem of falling standards is raised the answer is that Australia's tertiary system has moved from one catering for a minority of students to one where most Year 12 students entertain the idea of further study.

Instead of an elitist education system catering for the needs of the already privileged (as we had during the 50s), we now have a system of mass education where all students, regardless of background, have the chance to undertake a tertiary course.

Ignored is that increased participation does not always lead to higher standards; in fact, as shown by the report Changes in Academic Work, the opposite is the case. Also ignored is the high 'drop out' rate suffered by students in Australian universities.

As mentioned in Andrew Norton's The Unchained University (Centre for Independent Studies), one federal report noted that between 1992 and 1997 some 38 per cent of science students and 39 per cent of arts students failed to complete their studies.

No one denies the importance of tertiary education. Graduates not only earn more and have a greater chance of gaining employment, they also have the privilege of fulfilling their intellectual curiosity and academic interests.

At the same time, if the rhetoric about the 'knowledge' nation is to be taken seriously, then those in charge of Australia's tertiary sector need to embrace reality and ensure that academic standards are indeed 'world's best'.