Should the government cap the number of students who can study at uni?

[portrao]

I know the number of students who could attend uni was only uncapped in 2009, but given our weak graduate job market and the few billion dollars of uni debt the govt has piled up, what are your thoughts on whether or not they should reintroduce this cap?

[MagicGecko]

In my opinion, NO.
But then again, I am the wielder of a powerful and almost non-existent knowledge bank when it comes to government school affairs. So my train of thought is mainly from the perspective of those who would be affected by the cap.

I guess its also a matter of fact whether or not HECS would still apply if the cap exists. If not, then I think that the selection of students into university (including post-grads) will be given mainly to high achievers (like the cream of the crop), the wealthy, and those with connections.
Which isn't very fair on a lot of people either choosing to turn their life around at uni, didn't perform well in VCE due to personal reasons, etc.

[slothpomba]

University rates were trending up and were always going to increase anyway.

Jobs that you can get with only a high-school (or less) education are drying up. In my parents day, say the 70s and 80s, these were everywhere. Now so many jobs need some kind of certificate or qualification, not having a university degree locks you out of a lot of places, where you might not have previously been locked out (a lot of the public service, etc).

Likewise, under government control, IT enrollments peaked (everyone thought it would be huge) and crashed (the market didnt need that many graduates). Arguably, the same thing happened for pharmacy. The government still allowed enrollments to rise. The question is should bureaucrats in Canberra be formulating these numbers (God knows how they figure out how much or little of X or Y we need and from which universities, see IT and pharmacy debarcles)?

University shouldn't be hard to get into. It should almost be like taking a language course for fun. You can take it up, if you do poorly, well, thats your fault and you deal with the consequences. Indeed, ATARs and caps aren't designed to be a medieval guild system to lock people out of universities, all they are designed to do is share out a scarce resource in a fair way. If we were in a position where it was easier to educate everyone in universities, a lot of these caps and entrance requirements would evaporate.

Also remember, by making it harder to get ino university, you make it harder for those least able to get into university (primarily kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

[Aaron]

Here's a good read:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/a-matter-of-degrees-20130530-2neo9.html
(even though its from 2013)

"As the number of graduates increases, the value of each individual graduate's degree goes down" - Article

Also remember, by making it harder to get into university, you make it harder for those least able to get into university (primarily kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

Double-edged sword here. You can't win regardless.

Cap = value of degree stabilises, low SES students fail to get a degree.
Don't cap = influx of students, value drops significantly over time.

Don't really need to say much because that article and sloth's comments sum it up perfectly.

[dankfrank420]

I'm pretty sure this is done for thing such a medical degrees, not sure why it can't be extended to over saturated fields such as law to ensure better outcomes for graduates.

[vox nihili]

My favourite quote on this came from ACU's VC. He was responding to the Kemp-Norton report, which was commissioned by Christopher Pyne to examine the higher education system. Without going into the details, the report basically said that the more students the better. That quote:

"The Kemp-Norton report gives broad university entry the sort of tick usually reserved for baby animals and free beer. Their findings refute the dedicated fear-mongering of some that wider access to university undermines quality, admits knuckle-gnawing students and produces rampant halitosis."

[Russ]

University shouldn't be hard to get into. It should almost be like taking a language course for fun. You can take it up, if you do poorly, well, thats your fault and you deal with the consequences.

Even when the government is covering 30k worth of expenses for you? It's quite a large up front cost to the budget for everybody to go to university and then be unemployed or under the repayment threshold.

I don't really think we need a cap on university enrolments, but I wouldn't be particularly opposed to it happening.