CommentaryTop StoryVC's Corner
Under pressure: Universities have been resilient so far, but how long can it last?
During my nearly 20 years as a vice‑chancellor at two universities, I have observed with pleasure the increased participation of (mostly) young people in our sector. As the first member of my family to be fortunate enough to benefit from the university experience, I have myself been a beneficiary of that increased participation. There is no doubt that attending university (particularly as first in family) is a life-changing experience and that its effects are intergenerational.
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Not just NZ – the west braodly is experiencing an even larger decline as we become more impoverished relative to our Authoritarian neighbours, a source of great humiliation for many academics who remember when admin was done by admin staff, the grubby politics of management was contained by teh need to deliver genuine results and the pleasure of teaching intellectually aspiring youth that have since long vanished. Talk about executing yourself – in the midst of so much excessive overcharging internally within the insitutions themselves putting to shame the traditional Sicilian mafia!
Marvellous letter.
great letter, unfortuantely the perception in our neighbouring countries (in South East Asia) is already one of Australian/New Zealand higher education being second rate by too much focus on quantity and too little on quality. The fiscal environment has somehow forced universities to confuse their products (education and research) with the value add (providing society with a critical mass of professionals and critical thinkers). There are some valuable lessons to be learnt from business here. 1) any company that confuses its products with it value add (or is unable to distinguish them) will perish and 2) a reputation comes on foot and leaves on horseback. Two serious risks to an industry hat is very dear to me. If only academia had a lobby as strong as the mining industry.