STUDENTS MATURE ENOUGH TO MAKE CHOICES (Sunday Age 4 October)
5 years ago by Rob
Compared to their peers a generation ago, today's young people are maturing earlier, physically and mentally. Yet Melbourne University claims that 18 year olds cannot make up their minds about career choices (5/10) and is attempting to keep them at university for longer, thereby increasing their income from fees.
Due to current government policy, universities are unable to charge full fee for undergrad students, but can do so for postgrad students. By moving its high demand courses such as Medicine to graduate level, the university is taking advantage of this anomaly and increasing their income further.
Highly able students mature earlier intellectually, so are able to make career choices after high school and will be lured to rivals like Monash. The feedback I get is that nearly all students want to get into medicine straight after Y12, rather than being forced to do Biomed or such an irrelevant degree first.
Melbourne Uni will be the loser in the long term due to loss of such bright students, although it may benefit them financially in the short term.
