Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth
Affairs
Linda Rosenman
President of the Academic Board
University of Queensland
December 1996
96/12
Evaluations and Investigations Program
Higher Education Division
2. Restructuring the Process of Entry into University
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The move from elite to mass higher education in Australia over the decade from 1987 to
1996 has been accompanied by concerns that many school-leavers are not well prepared
emotionally or intellectually to cope with the transition to university education. The
Australian model of higher education generally requires students to make career choices
before leaving high school and to enter vocationally-specific courses in their first year
of university. As a result many university students make career choices on the basis of
inadequate knowledge about both the range of options available and about their own
interests and abilities. The increase in the number of university places and the
development of multiple pathways into higher education has not resolved this problem.
Australian higher education has been coaxed into meeting vocational aims, namely
preparing young people for employment. Universities are increasingly assessed according to
their success in achieving the measurable outcome of graduate employment. This has tended
to focus universities onto the need for developing in their graduates the core skills or
competencies articulated as necessary by employer and professional associations, at the
expense of more intellectual, and less instrumentally-specific education.
In response to these pressures, the University of Queensland began examining the
concept of extending or broadening undergraduate education. In 1993, the University of
Queensland Academic Board established a task force to investigate and evaluate options,
and to decide whether the University should move toward a common first year or other form
of foundation study. Funding was obtained from the Evaluations and Investigations Program
(EIP) of the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) in 1994 to assist in
the investigation of options for broadening undergraduate education at universities, with
reference to the University of Queensland.
A foundation year is one possible answer to concerns about the narrowness and extent of
early specialisation in many undergraduate courses of study. It has been argued that
students are trained in the competencies dictated as necessary for a specific career or
field of study, but without being educated in the broadest sense of the term. Such
criticism originates in the view that the main function of a university education should
be to provide a socially and culturally relevant education; that is, one which is
broadly-based and encourages flexibility and the breaking down of interdisciplinary
boundaries in the spirit of inquiry, rather than the provision of career-specific
training.
This report begins by describing the contemporary Australian higher education scene and
the emergence of the perceived need to reconsider the purposes and outcomes of
undergraduate education. Two different strategies are identified; namely, the
restructuring of entry and changing the curriculum. These constitute the two main sections
of this report. Different options and experiences are discussed in each section.
Entry restructuring options have been considered across Australia partly in an effort
to combat the unmet demand for university places in the early 1990s, as well as the youth
of commencing students. This section examines the idea of a Year 13 and other
school/university links, pathways for entry by non school-leavers, delaying entry into
professional courses, foundation year proposals and related issues. While the concept of a
Year 13 seems to have lost relevance, the need to establish other types of
school/university links has been confirmed. The increasing diversity of participation in
higher education and the preference for delaying entry into professional courses are both
addressed by the provision of multiple entry pathways. However, the introduction of a
compulsory common first year of foundation study is not promoted as an option.
The section entitled 'Curriculum Change' reconsiders the essential purposes of
undergraduate education. Different modes of delivery are discussed in relation to
different interpretations of what constitutes a 'broad' undergraduate education. The
search for the optimal curriculum is an ongoing and evolutionary process which has shifted
from promoting the ideal of an educated person to teaching vocational skills, and again to
the cross curricular approach of imparting skills and knowledge which will encourage
lifelong learning. The experiences of numerous North American and Australian institutions
are used as examples.
The review findings are that:
The Project Team comprised the President of the University's Academic Board, the
Admissions Manager and a Research Assistant. The Team reported to a Task Force of the
Education Committee of the Academic Board, which comprised a number of faculty Deans. In
accordance with the DEET grant, an Advisory Committee was appointed, which included
Education Committee members as well as outside consultants with expertise in aspects of
undergraduate education.
While the scope of the EIP proposal was broad and designed to provide material for use
by all Australian universities, the University of Queensland has been used as a model and
the recommendations are in the process of being implemented within that institution.
The Project Team collected data from the following sources:
With the speed of change in higher education, the Project Team found that some of the issues high on the policy agenda only a few years ago have been resolved or have lost their currency.
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The consideration of entry restructuring and curriculum change in order to broaden
undergraduate education must be grounded in the economic, political and social changes and
priorities which have had a significant impact on higher education in Australia over the
past decade. The late 1980s and early 1990s was a period characterised by high levels of
unemployment, especially in the youth labour market. The Federal Government's redesign of
the unemployment benefits scheme for 16 and 17 year olds (which ended automatic
entitlement and introduced compulsory training programs) effectively raised the school
leaving age (Lingard et al. 1994: 5-6). This resulted in increased
secondary school retention rates which led to substantial pressure on higher education
institutions to provide places for more school-leaver entrants. National secondary school
retention rates rose from 36 per cent in 1982 to 53 per cent in 1987, with a goal of 65
per cent by the early 1990s (Dawkins 1988: 16). That goal was surpassed
in 1991 when a retention rate of approximately 70 per cent was attained (Baldwin 1991:
18).
Higher education became an alternative to labour market entry and probable unemployment
for school-leavers. Many students (who might otherwise have sought employment) were unsure
about their future career choices and subsequently unsure about their course selection.
Demand for courses that led directly to professional careers was particularly high and
there was a lag between demand and the development of new courses. The cost of education
and professional registration set limits on the availability of new courses and the number
of places. The Federal Government increased the number of university places by 53 per cent
between 1983 and 1991 (Lingard et al. 1994: 6) but there was still unmet demand. This
problem was not resolved until about 1994 when the Australian economy began to come out of
recession and the number of young people in the traditional feeder age group (17-22 years)
began to decline (Dawkins 1987: 11).
Many of the major contemporary changes to higher education were a result of the 1987
Higher Education Policy Discussion Paper (the so-called Green Paper). This document
described the critical point that Australia had reached: it was entering the international
arena and leaving behind its isolationism of the past and that higher education had a
leading role in this process. 'If we are to respond and prosper as a nation, there must be
changes in attitudes, practices and processes in all sectors and at all levels of the
Australian community' (Dawkins 1987: iii). For higher education to make this contribution
it was going to have to expand in order to affect a '... better educated and more highly
skilled population [which] will be able to deal more effectively with change' (Dawkins
1987: 1); that is, shift from elite to mass higher education.1
The transformation of the higher education sector proposed by Dawkins was based on the
belief that '[a] major function of education is, after all, to increase individuals'
capacity to learn, to provide them with a framework with which to analyse problems and to
increase their capacity to deal with new information' (Dawkins 1987: 1). In recognition of
this purpose, the content and structure of courses would have to change in order to '...
provide a greater emphasis on broad and transferable skills as insurance against the
uncertainties of the future' (Dawkins 1987: 2). Mass completion of such courses would
alter the character of the workforce and subsequently improve Australia's terms of trade.
The Dawkins' inspired shift from elite to mass higher education which would service the labour market also required the consolidation and, in retrospect, some expansion of smaller institutions. Cost-effectiveness was supposed to be improved by:
The companion Higher Education Policy Statement (White Paper) was released by Dawkins in mid-1988 following the consideration of numerous responses to the Green Paper, but with no major alteration to the policy position. There was criticism of the balance of priorities evident in the Discussion Paper; for example:
... the Government's proposals for reform and reorientation of Higher Education should not distort the system's traditional functions of intellectual inquiry and scholarship ... many respondents were concerned to avoid a situation where higher education courses would be tailored to narrow vocational or 'instrumentalist' objectives ...
(Dawkins 1988: 5)
Lingard et al. (1994) would agree with this criticism. They recall this period as the
one in which the Federal Government began to require universities to produce graduates for
the 'national interest'; that is graduates who could enhance Australia's international
competitiveness. The effect of economic globalisation and Australia's endeavour to enter
the international economy in a non-tariff protected manner, placed considerable pressure
on the higher education sector to produce '... the multi-skilled, creative and flexible
workers necessary ... [to achieve] micro-economic reform of workplaces ...' (Lingard et
al. 1994: 5). The Policy Statement (Dawkins 1988: 9) further defined this position. With
the support of employer and industry groups, the Government expected recipients of higher
education to gain more than technical skills; they wanted graduates '... with a broad
educational foundation and with well-developed conceptual, analytical and communication
skills ...'. The statement hypothesised that the '... long term interest of students will
be best served by courses that incorporate elements of both 'vocational' and 'general'
education' (Dawkins 1988: 9).
As a result of the policy changes, the traditional funding framework for universities
was altered. The Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission was abolished in favour of a
'steering at a distance' (Kickert 1991) approach which advises on the
discipline and level mix within institutions and was also intended to encourage
institutional diversity (Lingard et al. 1994: 14). Government funding for higher education
was reduced in relative terms and became more competitive. Individual higher education
institutions were encouraged to adopt a more entrepreneurial outlook in order to support
the expanded provision of places and the achievement of diverse institutional goals.
The Federal Government's commitment to a mass system of higher education necessarily included mechanisms to increase access which included:
Other methods were specifically targeted at improving '... the education opportunities available to those people who have not traditionally participated in the system' (Dawkins 1987: 21); that is, people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, people from rural and isolated areas and indigenous people. Measures to address this under-representation included:
The resultant heterogeneity of the higher education population produced great
variations in tertiary entrance scores (or equivalent) and in student preparation for
university study. Institutions could no longer assume a baseline of knowledge or
experience of its incoming students as they could when school-leavers, who had gained a
place by competitive entry, dominated the yearly intakes.
The shift from elite to mass higher education was a global phenomenon (DEET/OECD 1993: 2). Development of new 'knowledge based' industries produced more job opportunities for university-educated people. Increased school retention rates and broadened social access permitted an increase in student numbers; and all of this expansion occurred during a time of widespread fiscal restraint (Marceau 1993, in Lingard et al. 1994: 2).
1. Description taken from Martin Trow's 1974 conceptual classification and used in the title of a 1993 DEET/OECD Conference on the topic.
2. Restructuring the Process of Entry into University
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Pathways for Entry by Non-traditional Students
Delaying Entry into Professional Courses
Many of the possibilities for restructuring the entry requirements for Australian
universities have emerged from the recent context of higher education in Australia. The
Dawkins' papers had a trickle-down effect into schools. The statements impacted on reviews
of tertiary entrance procedures and school curricula, which in turn developed and proposed
alternative modes of entry into university. Universities also sought alternative
arrangements which would optimise the utilisation of the limited places available at that
time, as well as easing the ongoing problem of the transition between school and
university, and better matching students to courses. The Federal Government encouraged
entry restructuring in order to fulfil its own higher education and economic agendas,
which included a desire to reduce the amount of unmet demand and to increase access for
non-school-leavers. Such attention to university entry recognises that '[p]athways to
tertiary study are also avenues of power, influence, prestige, wealth and standing ...' (Wiltshire et al. 1994: 119).
This section examines various options for entry restructuring:
Each of these options has been advocated to fulfil a particular set of purposes, usually a combination of assisting in the transition between school and university, assisting students in making their course and career selection by delaying that choice, providing experience on which to base such a choice and recognising that school-leaving results are not the only indication of potential success at university study. These options offer different answers to the issue of expanded access to university education. Each option has a particular agenda which serves a particular target group. Some of the options presented are suited to a particular set of circumstances (subject to change) while others have a longer life.
In 1985, the Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling (Blackburn 1985) in Victoria recognised the problem of unmet demand from school-leavers for university places and the possibility of students being ill-prepared for higher education. The Review recommended delaying entry into the highly competitive professional courses
... until after a year or more of initial post-secondary study common to a number of courses. Students could make more informed career choices, thereby lessening failure in and withdrawal from these highly desired courses.
(Blackburn 1985)
This recommendation was eventually reborn as the concept of a Year 13 (Hooley
1993). A Year 13 involves an additional year at school during which students would
complete university subjects. Participation would be facilitated either through the
school's links with a particular university or by studying university-level subjects in
the school environment. If successfully completed, these subjects could be used to support
an application for entry into university and be credited towards a university award.
Ideally, a Year 13 '... should allow students greater flexibility in their choice of
courses and/or provide alternative pathways into higher education' (Wells
1993).
The introduction of a Year 13 has the potential to dilute the 'backwash' effect which
is a term coined to describe '... the effects of university selection decisions of course
prerequisites on students' choice of subjects and on assessment practices in schools' (Viviani 1990: 1).
A Year 13 would also provide school students with an understanding of university-level
standards. In a recent and comprehensive Australian survey of over 4000 first year
students undertaken by McInnis et al. (1995: 32), 45 per cent of
school-leaver students admitted that the standard of university work was higher than they
had expected.
Viviani (1990: 27) also recommended a Year 13 as a way of increasing student maturity
before hard career decisions are made, which is especially pertinent in Queensland where
students finish their compulsory schooling at an average age of 17 instead of 18, as is
the case in other Australian states. This point can also be evidenced by the McInnis et
al. survey (1995: 70-71) which demonstrated that '... the older the students, the stronger
their sense of purpose'; 34 per cent of school-leavers agreed with the statement 'I was
not really ready to choose a university course on leaving secondary school'.
In its survey of Australian universities, the Research Team found that the term 'foundation year' was commonly perceived as a year of initial, preparatory university study undertaken by a non-traditional group of entering students-from overseas, or mature-age, or without a Senior Certificate or equivalent. This type of remedial year would allow students who have not had the traditional high school preparation to consolidate their literacy, numeracy and research skills. Such a requirement could be fulfilled by a Year 13, devised especially to bring students up to a specified level of skill and knowledge so that they could be better prepared for university study.
In early 1993, following years of unmet demand for university places, a Year 13 program
was launched in Victoria. Monash University and the Swinburne University of Technology
received Federal Government funding to establish such options. Between 20 and 30 schools
worked in cooperation with Monash to offer subjects through Open Learning. In a different
approach, Swinburne offered a two-year Associate Diploma in Social Science which would
give participating students credit toward a Bachelor of Arts. It was intended that these
Year 13 options would provide a better indication of a student's aptitude for university
study while also satisfying some of the unmet demand for university places. However, the
Victorian attempt was criticised for being 'elitist': it charged up-front fees and
attracted more mature-age inquiries than school-leaver interest (Wells 1993). Also the
urgency of unmet demand for university places increased the likelihood of an ad hoc
interpretation of the Year 13 concept, which failed to provide a clear pathway to
university (Wells 1993).
Later in 1993, Griffith University received funding from DEET to coordinate a similar
project where school-leavers were able to study Open Learning subjects within the school
environment. The project attracted a large amount of interest from schools and members of
the general public. However, the project was mounted in only two private schools because
of lack of support from the State Education Department and the Department of Employment,
Vocational Education and Training and Industrial Relations (DEVETIR). The Year 13 project
at Griffith ran in 1994 and 1995 as the Open Learning Tutorial Assistance program. The
emphasis of the program was on providing a structured environment to support people
undertaking Open Learning subjects, rather than a one year program of transition between
Year 12 at secondary school and first year university.
Other incarnations of a Year 13 in Queensland more closely resembled advanced placement
programs (as reported in Ketchell 1993), which are available to gifted
students in the United States (see next section) and allows them to study university-level
subjects while still at school and gain university credit prior to actual university
enrolment.
In 1993 a Year 13 was, most urgently, a way for students to upgrade during the period of placement shortage. In Queensland, the concept of a Year 13 has not retained its momentum because the massive unmet demand for university places has been satisfied by both improved employment opportunities for young people and the allocation of more university places. The Dawkins Green Paper (1987: 11) predicted a decrease in demand for university places after 1991, reaching its lowest point for the 1997 university intake, due to a decrease in the population of 17 to 22 year olds in that time frame. This will alter the age profile of the higher education population as more places will be available for mature-age entrants. Recent newspaper reports verify this assumption (Butler 1995: 3; Coorey 1995: 5): university places available in Queensland are at an all time high while tertiary education applicants have fallen 6.3 per cent nationally (the third consecutive year in which demand has dropped).
Multiple pathways into higher education, in addition to the completion of Year 12 at high school, now exist. Strategies such as a Year 13 as an additional year at school which combined tertiary and school study, appear to have been superseded by other pathways to higher education and the growth in the numbers of tertiary places.
'Partnerships' between schools and universities are common place in the United States where it is possible to assert that such links '... are making a difference in student achievement' (Wilbur & Lambert 1995: 6). They are considered '... an important means of achieving the particular objectives of improving educational opportunities for students and enhancing student performance' (Wilbur & Lambert 1995: 12). The large study undertaken by Wilbur and Lambert (1995) entitled Linking America's Schools and Colleges shows that such links increased over the 1980s in terms of number and variety; the programs are increasingly more sophisticated and of better quality; and many are aimed at primary school students. There are four principal purposes of such links (Wilbur & Lambert 1995: 11):
In New South Wales, the Higher Schools Certificate (HSC) Pathways program offers vocationally-oriented subjects as part of the secondary curriculum in preparation for employment or TAFE study (NSW Board of Studies 1992). In Queensland similar links exist between some secondary schools and TAFE colleges (Henry & Taylor 1994: 32). After successful achievement at TAFE, a student is eligible to use this experience to apply for university entry. Despite some concern that TAFE courses are too narrowly and vocationally-focused and, as such do not provide an educational experience comparable to that of university study (which tends to be broader, at least in the first year), the Wiltshire Review (1994: 142) recommended that universities '[c]ontinue to give increasing recognition to vocational education qualifications in criteria for university entrance especially through formal articulation channels'.
Another means of linking secondary schools and higher education is to allow very
capable Year 12 students to study first year university subjects in accelerated learning
programs. For the student it represents a rigorous addition to their high school programs,
and for the university it is a way of attracting the very best students to their
institution.
In the United States there is a tradition of school/university linkages in the form of
cooperative accelerated programs for school students. 'Advanced Placement' describes a
number of similar programs in which 'a student takes courses with advanced or accelerated
content ... in order to test out or receive credit for completion of college-level
coursework' (Roger & Kimpston 1992: 60). A similar option is
'Credit by Examination' which 'through the successful completion of tests, a student is
allowed to receive a specified number of college credits upon entrance to college' (Roger
& Kimpston 1992: 60). These approaches have been used more widely across the United
States since the 1980s. Advantages include keeping students adequately challenged while
still at school without the psychological and sociological ill-effects of being placed in
an adult environment and allowing them to move more quickly through the public colleges
which has cost-saving implications (Roger & Kimpston 1992: 60; Lively
1993: 22). Such programs are also used explicitly as a recruitment strategy for
individual institutions.
In his recent Review of Qualifications for 16- to 19-Year-Olds, Sir Ron Dearing
has suggested that individual universities in Britain should provide the opportunity for
outstanding sixth-formers to enrol in undergraduate units while still at school. This
would enable them to finish their first degree in just two years. This proposal has
produced mixed reactions (Utley 1996: 1). Some newer universities are
already piloting such schemes, while other institutions perceive difficulties with the
scheme in terms of '... admissions policy, quality and standards' (Utley 1996: 1).
Universities in New South Wales have established links with secondary schools through
the HSC Pathways project initiated in 1992. A limited number of gifted high school
students are able to undertake undergraduate study while doing their Higher School
Certificate. Another pathway between the HSC and university are 'Distinction Courses'
which are available to students who are able to complete one HSC subject a year earlier
than their cohort. These high-level courses provide 'breadth, depth and enrichment' for
advanced students and '... universities have agreed in principle to grant appropriate
recognition for Distinction Course study' (NSW Board of Studies 1992: 16).
Courses available will eventually include: Comparative Literature, Challenges of the
Information Age, History and Philosophy of Science, Arts and Design, Modelling and
Simulation, Australian Archaeology, Cosmology, Philosophy, and Physiology of Human
Movement. Several schools in the Sydney metropolitan area and in larger provincial centres
offer this form of stimulating study to their very best HSC students (NSW Board of Studies
1992: 16). Participation in the Distinction Course program may be taken into consideration
for the calculation of a student's Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER).
The University of Sydney has proposed a plan to enable gifted school students to study first year university subjects while still at school. 'The University believes it may become a new way of selecting students' (Lewis 1994: 1); that is, as a supplement to the existing TER. The University of Sydney also views this as an opportunity to attract high achieving students. A similar scheme instituted at the University of Melbourne apparently enjoys high retention rates: 48 of the 60 school students who successfully participated in their program returned to the institution as undergraduates (Lewis 1994: 1). The University of Sydney also believes the scheme has the potential to better match students to a degree program than the inflexible HSC (Lewis 1994: 1).
The Year 13 or other school/university links may be utilised as a means of making the
secondary school curriculum more challenging for all of its students and easing the
transition between high school and university. In Queensland, the curriculum for Years 11
and 12 are established via the Board of Senior Secondary School Studies (BSSSS). There are
no final examinations for school exit/ university entrance; instead, assessment is
school-based and continuous throughout Years 11 and 12. School performance is moderated
and scaled via a core skills test. There are 58 Board subjects and a further 643 subjects
that are registered with the BSSSS, which allows a wide range of choice for school
offerings and for students. Universities are represented on the BSSSS and on some
discipline panels which provides them with the opportunity to exert some (limited)
influence over the school curriculum in the name of university requirements. The
establishment of prerequisite secondary school subjects for entry into university or to
specific courses has led to criticisms that universities are directing the secondary
school curriculum and limiting students' study choices by pushing them into early and
uninformed career choices (Milburn 1993: 3).
If there is a perceived need to increase options for senior secondary school students
by either broadening their education or by providing more challenging subject matter, they
should be encouraged to sample a greater range of secondary subjects rather than narrowing
their education further by taking up early university study in narrow fields. In
Queensland, the pressure caused by the existence of prerequisite subjects, which need to
be undertaken in high school to qualify students for tertiary entrance into specific
courses, is heightened because of the shorter number of years of compulsory schooling. The
institution of a Year 13 or other transitional period where students remain in the school
environment before entering university would, for those students with university
aspirations, bring Queensland in line with other states in terms of length of schooling.
Although formalised Year 13 programs have not proven popular, this shortfall in the number
of years has made room for the easy acceptance of the recommendation, which came out of
the Wiltshire Review (1994: 110), to allow students to spend three years completing the
final two years of high school. This was intended particularly to accommodate students who
wish to combine school with employment, or the pursuit of other areas of achievement (e.g.
artistic, sporting).
Many of the school/university links programs currently available provide opportunities
only to the most academically-able high school students. Such students should be
challenged through broadening their study at high school in a greater range of subjects,
rather than being encouraged into an early specialisation of their education in a narrow
range of fields which will follow through into university.
Strategies such as a transitional Year 13 have, in reality, tended to be taken up
predominantly by weaker students in an attempt to upgrade their scores to gain entry into
university. The existence of adequate university places and alternative pathways into
university have deflated interest in such approaches. Also when given the option, most
students prefer to progress directly to university.
School/university link programs which provide opportunities for school students to experience university life and enrich their high school study with university-level work are being developed as both a recruitment strategy and a transition strategy, by some Australian universities. Such programs should be closely monitored to ensure that they are not encouraging a further narrowing of study for high school students.
The recent McInnis et al. survey (1995: 32) found that only 36 per cent of students
thought that their final year of school had been a good preparation for university study.
This finding, in combination with its other findings which indicate higher than expected
university standards and uncertainty about course selection, provides evidence of the need
for assistance in the transition between school and university.
In response to the McInnis et al. findings, Robert Pargetter (Deputy Vice-Chancellor of
Monash University) attributed the difficulties experienced by school-leavers to the
potentially 'devastating' transition between school and university which he described as
'... a huge social and economic waste' (Maslen 1996a: 9). Interviews
undertaken by McInnis et al. (1995: 32) confirm that this transition period can be
characterised as an '... abrupt shift to personal responsibility for managing their [own]
learning' and was difficult for many students. Pargetter suggested that the transition
would be eased '... by schools providing modules in the final three years using university
resources such as guest lecturers ...' (Maslen 1996a: 9). McInnis et al. (1995: 66, 121)
cite the benefits for universities if they were to '... purposefully engineer such a
transition instead of leaving it to chance' by developing a purposeful induction program
which encourages the integration of students into university life.
Clearly students should be given more assistance to make the transition into
university. This would be better achieved by addressing directly and individually the
difficulties experienced by incoming university students. These include problems with
course and subject choice, teaching and learning styles and expectations, and lack of
learning assistance, which are complicated for many by the personal and social stresses of
the transition from adolescence into adulthood. These potential transition problems may be
best addressed by strategies other than a Year 13 or the study of university subjects at
school, such as improved academic and career advising, more learning assistance and
programs to identify and support 'at risk' students (as recommended by the University of
Queensland Academic Advising Report).
Tertiary education has become the preferred option for a wide range of school-leavers who would formerly have considered employment or vocational post-secondary paths. Programs to break down the boundaries between secondary and tertiary education and ease the transition between the sectors should be established by all universities. Such programs could include working with the schools on career advising, adequate resourcing of academic advising, learning assistance and programs to identify and support new students, especially those experiencing difficulty with their adjustment to university.
Pathways for Entry by Non-traditional Students
The transition from elite to mass provision of higher education has been a catalyst for the emergence and growth of a demographically and scholastically more diverse student body, in contrast to the traditionally narrow population of high achieving school-leavers. Multiple pathways are needed to cater for students with different backgrounds and entrance qualifications. Issues relevant to the diversification of higher education entrants identified by the White Paper (Dawkins 1987: 23) include:
Open Learning Australia (OLA) is a recent program which has increased the options
available to members of the community seeking access to higher education. This independent
study program has the potential to alter the mix of students entering universities. There
are no barriers (prerequisites, quotas etc.) to prevent people from attempting this kind
of home-based tertiary study. 'It adds another choice to the higher education menu and is
particularly appealing because of its flexibility and ease of access' (OLA
1994: 2).
OLA is a company owned by Monash University and served by a consortium of nine
universities, each of which offers units and degree pathways to students, and other
universities which only offer units. Between 100 and 200 undergraduate units are available
in areas such as Arts, Social Sciences, Business Studies, Science and Technology and
Applied Studies. A small number of TAFE units are available through this medium as well as
a number of graduate courses (in Health, Business, Computing, Education and the Arts) and
bridging units (in Academic Literacy Skills, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Mathematics
and Study Skills) (OLA 1994: 3).
OLA does not award degrees, instead '... many of the universities involved offer pathways to degrees which can be completed in part or in whole by study through Open Learning' (OLA 1994: 3). Such pathways are available presently in Arts, Business, General Studies and Information Technology. OLA is designed to introduce people who have not had access to traditional campus-based university study to such a level of study and thus provide another pathway into higher education.
Part of the opening up of alternative pathways to university education is the
recognition of the value of prior learning, particularly post-secondary education
undertaken at non-university institutions. Associated issues include the articulation
between vocational and university education, credit transfer between courses and
institutions and credit transfer for subjects taken through Open Learning. Resistance to
the recognition of prior learning may be exhibited by universities who are concerned about
the integrity of their standards (Dawkins 1987: 38; Candy et al. 1994: 107). However, the
Dawkins' Green Paper (1987: 39) construed the non-recognition of credit as a waste and a
deterrent to potential students.
The Green Paper (1987: 40) also suggested that the issue of credit transfer be
addressed by a sector-wide process which reverses the onus of proof so that institutions
have to show why credit should not be granted. Certainly any university entrance
process should be publicly accountable through the use of open and equitable course
entrance criteria. The task of establishing a national approach to credit transfer and
articulation was embraced in 1992 with the formation of the Australian Vice-Chancellors'
Committee (AVCC) Credit Transfer Project, and has resulted in the institution of the
Australian Credit Transfer Agency (ACTA) (Gale 1995: 15).
A recent ACTA report, Evaluation of the Relative Performance of Commencing
Undergraduate Students in Australian Universities, examines the performance level of
students from different admission categories. The study demonstrates that '... students
who have been in the workforce before attending university perform as well as, and
sometimes better than, school leavers' (Butler 1996: 3). According to the report (Australian Credit Transfer Agency 1996: 23) '... school leavers in 1994
do not have any claim to superiority of student performance in relation to other
categories of first-time entrants to higher education'. First-time entrants include: TAFE
entrants, mature age, other special entry, university examination and employment
experience.
Courses of study can be developed which allow multiple entry points depending upon background and relevant life experience and so not rely on prerequisites subjects at secondary school. Languages at the University of Queensland are offered at different points of entry to cater for diverse incoming student standards and in recognition of prior learning. The subjects are structured to allow students to achieve a similar standard by the second year to study. For example, for studies in French there are four alternative routes:
Students who do not enter university directly from high school do succeed at university. Universities should ensure that admission requirements accommodate the entry of a broad range of students and the recognition of prior learning.
Delaying Entry into Professional Courses
Delaying entry into professional courses is another means of positively changing the university entry process. It allows students time to mature and gain some experience in university study which may improve the quality of their course selection. Delayed entry may be facilitated by initial entry into a more general course (either another undergraduate course like Arts or Science or a common foundation year) at the university, followed by second year or later competitive entry into career specific courses, or graduate entry into professional courses following the completion of an undergraduate degree. These suggested options provide further pathways to serve an increasingly diverse student population and also to broaden their undergraduate education.
Researchers in the careers and counselling field (Walker 1988; Warwick-James 1994) argue strongly against early enrolment into
specialised courses. They view academic and vocational maturity as a developmental process
along which young students have not yet progressed very far. The researchers argue for
later-year, preferably graduate, entry to professional courses, or at least a flexible
system of transfer between courses in the early years of study (Walker 1988; Warwick-James
1994).
Delayed entry can provide such a flexible approach to early study so that students are
not locked into their first career choice and are able to make a change in career
direction. Credit for completed subjects should be transferable. Delayed entry into
specialised courses may also provide a better indicator of aptitude for university study.
A grade point average and perhaps the successful completion of certain prerequisites at
university could be a more appropriate testament than any tertiary entrance score derived
from secondary school results. The Carr New South Wales Government has recently proposed
major reforms to that State's tertiary entrance procedures which may include the
establishment of a common first year of general study in order to delay more specialised
course selection. Students could then be selected on the basis of their university
results, reducing the importance of the TER.
The potential benefits of delayed entry are of particular interest to those institutions which enrol a high percentage of school-leaver students into specialised courses. DEET figures indicate that the University of Queensland enrols more school-leavers than any other Queensland university. Many of these students move into specialised courses such as Engineering, Commerce and Architecture professions.
Table 1: Percentage of Commencing Cohort who were Recent School-leavers, the University of Queensland, 1990 and 1994*
1990 |
1994 |
|
| Architecture | 61.9 |
60.7 |
| Arts | 46.5 |
56.8 |
| Commerce | 70 |
57.4 |
| Engineering | 77.1 |
90.6 |
| Info Technology | 57 |
68 |
| Medicine | 77.7 |
64.7 |
| Occupational Therapy | 70.6 |
48.7 |
| Physiotherapy | 43.8 |
47 |
| Speech Therapy | 40 |
55.4 |
| Social Work | 25.9 |
20.9 |
*In 1994 DEET specified school-leaver targets for individual universities
Options Explored by the University of Queensland
In 1993 a proposition to introduce a common first year in order to defer career
decisions for another year was put forward at the University of Queensland. It was also
promoted as a means of allowing '... more valid, efficient and cost effective selection of
students, and a better match of students to courses' (Frost 1993: 2)
as the tertiary entry score was not considered to be a good predictor. The suggestion of a
common first year was also made to assist in the transition '... between a wide-ranging
non-uniform secondary school system and a tertiary system considering a multitude of
discrete specialist courses ...' because the shift '... is too large to be bridged in one
step' (Frost 1993: 2). It would be more logical to make course and career decisions within
close proximity to advice and with the experience of some university study. Those students
receiving later entry into specialist courses would be '... better informed, better
selected, more mature and more committed ...' (Frost 1993: 3).
The proposal sought first year entry into either the Arts or Science faculties. After
one year of full-time study, students would compete for entry into specialist degree
courses on the basis of their grade point averages. It was recognised that some of these
courses would require prerequisites but that '... care would need to be taken not to
over-prescribe such prerequisites'.
The proposal aroused interest but, after fully researching the topic, the Task Force into the Foundation Year recommended against the adoption of a common first year. Many of the standard arguments were asserted (University of Queensland 1995a: 2).
In place of the common first year approach, the Task Force into the Foundation Year
recommended that the University of Queensland aim to develop specific opportunities for
graduate or later year entry into its professional courses; where it is not possible to
move to post-first year entry, the first year should be as broadly-based as possible with
profession-specific requirements being kept to a minimum. The Task Force also recommended
that prerequisite subjects for entry to specific university courses be continually
reviewed with a view to maximising the opportunity for broad study at secondary school.
Some institutions have delayed entry into certain professional courses by moving to
later-year or graduate entry as a means of selecting students. This may also reflect the
prediction that undergraduate study will become more general while graduate study will
provide the specialist qualification which leads to professional registration (McInnis 1994: 47). Medicine is now by graduate entry at three
universities (the University of Queensland, Flinders University and University of Sydney)
and several universities require later-year entry for Dentistry, Social Work, Architecture
and Veterinary Science. However, delayed entry does not necessarily convert into early
years of broad study. For instance, first year requirements to qualify for second year
selection into Dentistry and Architecture at the University of Queensland are quite
prescriptive, with very limited scope for subject choice. On the other hand, admission to
the Graduate Medical Course at the University of Queensland will be based upon completion
of an undergraduate degree in any field. It will be important to ensure that undergraduate
'pre med' degrees do not develop, such as those in the United States, which purport to
prepare students (through a predominantly science-based curriculum) to compete for entry
into graduate medical courses.
The Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc) at the University of Queensland is only now
offered to students who have completed one year of full time university study. The first
year comprises of general study in the biological sciences, chemistry and physics.
Prospective students are encouraged to enrol in the Faculty of Science for the first year
and then apply through the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) for a place in the
BDSc. The annual quota of 45 students is filled according to the relative academic merit
of applicants. Successful students then commence the full time BDSc with second level
subjects.
The restructured entry for the BDSc was introduced in 1993 following the Viviani Report (1990), which promoted a common first year at university as a preferable basis for course selection. This approach to course entry for Dentistry offers a number of advantages.
The financial cost of moving to second year entry for the BDSc at the University of
Queensland was negligible. Prior to the entry restructuring, students studied a number of
prerequisite science subjects, an interdisciplinary dentistry subject and a range of
electives. That dentistry subject had already been subsumed by another subject during the
modification of introductory biological science subjects by the Science faculty just prior
to the move to second year entry. There is no undue financial burden on students as the
length of the course has not been extended; although some students are choosing to apply
for the BDSc upon completion of a degree rather than after only one year.
The only other potential cost is the lack of contact between the Dentistry Department
and intending students during their first year/s at university since there are no specific
dentistry subjects, nor any introductory dentistry content, during their first year. This
does reduce a student's ability to make a more informed assessment of dentistry as a
career option. While students do have the option of arranging a visit to the Dental School
in preparation for their application, perhaps a dentistry prospectus subject offered
during first year would be a more informative introduction to the field.
The benefits derived solely from this entry restructuring are difficult to ascertain.
The attrition rate from Dentistry at the University of Queensland has always been and
remains very low. The reorganisation of introductory biological science subjects occurred
simultaneously to the entry restructuring within Dentistry. Also in 1993, Dentistry
adopted a Problem-based Learning (PBL) approach in some of its subjects. Collectively
these changes have been beneficial to the quality of dental education provided by the
University of Queensland. However, it is impossible to separate out the relative impacts
of these variables.
Since the shift to second year entry, the Department of Dentistry has maintained
records of the incoming student profile. An analysis of these profiles shows that the vast
majority of students are taking the recommended route-enrolling in Science at the
University of Queensland and then moving into the BDSc after one or two years. A small
number of students are coming from other backgrounds such as Applied Science, Science/Law,
Science/Arts and Pharmacy. On average, approximately one-sixth of students entering the
BDSc already have a degree, most commonly a pass or honours degree in Science.
Different kinds of students are now undertaking to study for the BDSc. Previously the
commencing cohort could be characterised as a relatively homogeneous group of
school-leavers. Because of second year entry, these students now have at least one, but
often more, year of tertiary experience. Students are more likely to have different
backgrounds and, in combination with the use of small groups for teaching, this has had
the positive effect of exposing students to a range of individual perspectives.
Despite delaying entry into Dentistry, a backwash effect into first year and high school still exists. A significant load of prerequisite subjects in the biological sciences, chemistry and physics is prescribed for first year students who intend applying for admission into the BDSc. Students must have completed senior Mathematics B, Chemistry and Physics at high school in order to qualify them for entry into those prerequisite first year subjects. However, there is almost as much room for electives as there is for prerequisites and prospective BDSc students are advised to ensure that their first year enrolment will allow them to proceed to higher levels in other faculties in the event of failure to gain entry into the BDSc.
Universities have traditionally relied upon career guidance provided by high schools to assist students in selecting courses at university. A movement toward post-first year entry would require career and academic advising to be considerably expanded. This would include initial advising on subjects necessary for entry into specific professional courses in second year, career advising for students during their first year of study and advising on alternatives for those who are unsuccessful at obtaining entry into their preferred course. The University of Queensland Task Force on Academic Advising (1995b) defines academic advising as:
... the provision of verbal and written advice for students, both current and prospective, on all matters relating to their admission, enrolment, progress through their course, employment opportunities and career aspirations, with respect to their enrolment and course of study ...
The Task Force (1995b) recognises that a number of factors have recently put greater pressure on the provision of academic advising, including:
Academic guidance to students subject to delayed entry would include monitoring their progress in the first year/s with a view to assisting them in making their course selection or in qualifying for entry into their preferred professional course.
Arguments Against Delaying Entry
There is a view held by many academics, educators and employer groups that graduate
entry is the preferred level for professional preparation. Those who argue against the
widespread adoption of the concept often refer to the additional costs for students. Under
current Federal legislation, students who undertake a graduate professional qualification
would be liable for a Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) payment based upon
credit point loading the same as for an undergraduate degree. Austudy is available for all
of the graduate component where a bachelors degree is a prerequisite. However, students
and their families would be subjected to extra year/s of study with the opportunity cost
of forgone earnings as well as additional HECS charges.
Other related arguments against delayed entry focus on both the impact upon students of
the competition to get into courses, and the impact upon institutions in competing for the
best students. Students hoping to gain delayed entry into professional courses would face
a double hurdle-entry into the general program and then entry into the professional
course. This added competition has the potential to make the adjustment to first year
university even more difficult by adding further stress to the already keen competition
for grades, and limiting cooperation and collaboration in learning (Candy et al. 1994:
118).
A delay may disadvantage students, particularly older students, who might be expected
to make well-informed and appropriate choices about their career. These students and
others who are keen to complete their course in the shortest possible time may not wish to
risk failure to gain entry to a particular course in the second year of their studies, and
may find their needs are better met by another institution. Since many professional
courses at university currently attract the most academically-qualified students, a move
to second year entry for these courses would entail a risk of losing the better students
to other institutions which offer immediate entry.
In addition, professional registration of courses becomes an issue (further detail in a later section). Many professions argue that the expanding amount of profession-specific content means that every year of professional education is important, and that time cannot be wasted on students 'making up their minds' or studying outside the discipline. Several professional groups have also argued that any change to the existing structure of degrees would only be possible if an extra year was added to the undergraduate preparation for their profession.
Provision of Multiple Pathways
The concern about youth and inexperience appears to be overstated, at least when
statistics from the University of Queensland are analysed. Some data has also been
collected on the movement of recent school-leaver students from one course to another at
the University of Queensland. The evidence indicates that the volume of movement increased
between 1990 and 1995. Considering the developmental nature of academic and vocational
maturity, it is not surprising that many students seek to change courses. The challenge is
to ensure that courses are structured with adequate flexibility to permit transfer without
undue lengthening of the duration of study. The data also shows that many of the entrants
to high demand professionally-specific courses are actually not school-leavers but older
students who have already undertaken some tertiary study.
When lapsed Bachelor of Arts students who were school-leavers in 1993 are traced, the
data indicates that many of them went onto more vocationally-orientated courses,
apparently using the Bachelor of Arts to upgrade or delay entry until they have had some
tertiary experience or better defined their career direction. From these statistics it can
be deduced that often a self-determined delay of career choice is occurring. 'Already,
those students having a 'second go' are undertaking a defacto, self-selected 'common'
first year ... [and so] universities should only move further in this direction if it is
desirable on educational rather than selection grounds' (Viviani 1990: 28). This suggests
that the real issue might be ensuring that courses are designed to permit entry at a
number of points and with the flexibility for students to move in (or out) with minimum
academic disadvantage. The Social Work course at the University of Queensland is an
example of such a course.
Students can enter Social Work at three points: the first year of university; the
second year of university; or as graduates. Both undergraduate and graduate courses are
available. A set of introductory subjects are offered in first year and students must
study limited number of these. Students who choose to exit the course after the first year
can transfer credits into an Arts degree. Students who qualify to transfer into the course
in second year can carry the first year subjects as corequisites in second year; a
specifically designed two year course also allows student to obtain a Bachelor of Social
Work.
As social work education is built on a multi-disciplinary knowledge base, graduates who
have included behavioural and social science subjects as part of their first degree bring
with them substantial background knowledge which is relevant to social work education and
social work practice. The graduate program is designed to involve students directly in
subjects that focus on the purpose, principles, theories, and approaches to analysis and
skill development in social work. The full-time, two year graduate program commences with
an intensive, practice-oriented entry into social work education. Classes start four weeks
before the commencement of first semester and students spend these weeks in lectures,
seminars, workshops and skills laboratories. Thereafter students are streamed into the
third year of the four year undergraduate course. Candidates who do not have the necessary
prerequisite study of psychology, sociology and government can still apply for a quota
place and, if successful, a course of studies is planned that includes these prerequisite
subjects. Programs are individually developed for each student and are dependent on the
academic background of the student.
The possibility and appropriateness of delaying entry into professional courses to either second or third year or the graduate level, varies. Wholesale delay of entry is not advocated. Where possible, entry should be available at a number of points to encourage students to undertake a broad undergraduate experience and to increase entry opportunities for students who have delayed their career choices.
Delaying entry into professionally-specific courses can be achieved by the
establishment of a compulsory common first year of foundation study where students are
exposed to a range of subjects considered central to the university education experience.
McInnis et al. (1995: 113, 115) identify a foundation year as an institutional response to
'... the problematic nature of the first year experience...' which brings '... students to
a common baseline before specialist and advanced study proceeds'.
For Viviani (1990: 28):
[e]arly specialisation in professional courses in Australian Universities is an education problem with wider societal effects and a common first year exposure to broader subjects would go some way to relieving this.
Such an initial first year would provide a better indicator of a student's capacity for
university study. It could also free high schools from having to fulfil tertiary
prerequisites, which would allow them to encourage learning for its own sake. In exchange,
universities would receive students who are better motivated and more likely to make an
informed choice about their specialism. The foundation year could provide the appropriate
knowledge base for students to move into their professional course of choice and
discourage the situation where students are limiting their range of educational
experiences from as early as Year 10 in an effort to focus on prerequisite subjects for
tertiary course entrance (Milburn 1993). The introduction of a common foundation year
could also lead to greater resource efficiencies.
However, Viviani (1990: 28) also sees the practical difficulties for such a foundation year which include:
Students appear unenthusiastic about the prospect. In the McInnis et al. (1995: 71)
survey, when students were presented with the assertion 'I would have preferred starting
with a general first year at university before choosing a specific course' only 28 per
cent responded in the positive and 57 per cent disagreed.
Murdoch University uses a common first year/foundation approach. A student's first two semesters (termed Part I) of a study at Murdoch are intended to '... introduce students to university-level studies and give them an opportunity to develop their interest before making a final commitment to a Part II [advanced] program'. Every Part I student must enrol in a University Foundation Course, which they must pass to proceed into Part II. These courses '... are designed to ensure all undergraduates experience an element of interdisciplinary study ... [and] also facilitate the transition into university studies by helping to develop effective study habits and learning skills' (Murdoch 1995).
It is argued that '... the strength of the American liberal arts requirement is that
young people are given longer to make these vital career choices and are provided with a
broad education as a grounding for informed choice' (Kypri 1994: 34).
However, the advantages of a general first year may be lessened because prerequisites have
to be completed. The prescriptiveness of such prerequisites would be heightened if the
pre-professional period at university was only one year. The restriction of prerequisites
applies to at least some courses at most universities. Advanced subjects require
introductory prerequisites and these, in turn, have school subject prerequisites. Viviani
(1990: 1) strongly criticises this backwash effect into the school curriculum.
The evolution of prerequisites policy at Griffith University in Brisbane provides an
interesting case study. When it opened its doors in 1971, the University set no
prerequisites. However, these have gradually been introduced, particularly in Science and
Engineering courses, and now the majority of Griffith courses have one or more
prerequisites. The University found that the majority of its students had in fact
completed the desirable prerequisite subjects and that the University was regularly
attracting students who had an appropriate scholastic background, so the absence of
prerequisites was not attracting non-traditional students as intended. While the
University attracted some students from non-traditional backgrounds, for whom the liberal
approach to prerequisites was attractive, the majority of students had a traditional Year
12 background, and so tended to satisfy fairly standard prerequisite expectations. Another
reason for the gradual introduction of prerequisites was the negative perception that
prospective students held about the quality of Science or Engineering courses without
prerequisites.
The setting of prerequisites for tertiary course entrance maintains its currency for
educators, many of whom supported the recommendations arising out of the 1994 Wiltshire Review
of the Queensland School Curriculum. The Review recommended that universities reassess
their prerequisite requirements on an annual basis. In place of multiple prerequisites,
models like that provided by Languages at the University of Queensland (see above) are
preferred as they allow students without the prerequisite senior subjects to take
introductory subjects as co-requisites or to meet prerequisites through introductory or
concurrent bridging courses undertaken at an accredited institution. These models
facilitate entry of the best students regardless of senior subjects studied.
The introduction of a foundation year is not feasible for most large, comprehensive Australian universities. However, courses should be designed to allow multiple entry points for students. This would be accommodated by:
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Developing an Educated Person through Expanding the Options
Concentrating on Employability
Integration of Skills and Knowledge Across the Curriculum
Strategies such as delayed entry (perhaps by way of a compulsory foundation year) and
graduate entry are often techniques for encouraging students to broaden their perspectives
and acquire generic skills before commencing professionally-specific study. Rather than
changing or delaying entry to professional courses, a broad undergraduate education
experience could be better achieved by a systematic and purposeful redesign of the
curriculum content, teaching methods and assessment strategies.
Competing demands upon the university curriculum arise from different perceptions of the purpose of a university education. There appear to be two major schools of thought:
The first goal tends to lead to strategies to ensure that students are exposed to a
wide range of perspectives and disciplines, whereas the second approach tends to focus
upon the instrumental skills that graduates should have in order to make them more
attractive to employers. A third and more recent interpretation takes an integrated
approach to the purpose of an undergraduate education, one which seeks the production of
citizens who are both educated and employable and can be characterised as lifelong
learners in both their personal and work lives. These different perspectives about the
purpose of undergraduate education have evolved over time. Similarly, all curricula '...
must be responsive to the changing needs and expectations of society and to intellectual
social changes that alter our definitions of reality' (Association of American Colleges
1985: 12).
The modes for achieving these diverse purposes of undergraduate education are also varied. They include elective study and distribution requirements, core curricula, key competencies, inclusion of skills and cross curricular models. Issues surrounding the implementation of curriculum change have also been investigated.
Developing an Educated Person through Expanding the Options
The primary information collected by the Research Team from outside Australia refers to
United States and Canadian experiences. Details of the British experience were not readily
available. It must be taken into account that Australia has historically utilised a
different framework for the provision of undergraduate education than that found in other
countries. Australia inherited the British model of early specialisation in a discipline,
albeit within a framework of liberal inquiry and with some scope for study across a range
of areas. The American model is characterised by general study, usually a four-year
undergraduate degree followed by professionally-orientated graduate study. Another
important difference to note is the variety of funding/sponsorship arrangements that exist
within American institutions, compared with the situation in Australia where almost all
universities are publicly funded and steered at a distance by the Federal Government.
Part of the traditional North American ideal of undergraduate education is to produce an educated person (a concept used widely in the literature, see Bitzer 1993: 5; White 1993; Candy et al. 1994: 47) who appreciates the value of knowledge and behaves as a responsible citizen. Similar sentiments permeate Australian higher education material:
From the literature it can be deduced that the characteristics of an educated person would include:
Proponents of such a 'liberal' undergraduate education view the curriculum as
'... training students to be 'reflective moral agents' [which] is far more important to
society than training them for the very few jobs available in high-technology export
industries' (Neville 1994: 64).
Curricular strategies to achieve a more broadly-based education have included increasing elective choice, specification of distribution requirements, adding general education subjects or specifying a core curriculum and the development of dual degrees.
Elective Study and Distribution Requirements
The traditional way to seek to broaden undergraduate education via the curriculum is to
expand the scope for elective study because of its ease of implementation. Many courses of
study are developed to maximise student concentration in a particular discipline or
profession. Freeing up the curriculum to allow students to study subjects outside their
major discipline area is promoted as providing an opportunity for students to broaden
their undergraduate experience. However, such an approach may not achieve its intentions.
The concept of elective study does not receive favourable commentary in the literature.
The Association of American Colleges2 (AAC) (1985: 3) suggests that
'[e]lectives are being used to fatten majors and diminish breadth ...' because when
electives are made available in degree courses, students tend to gravitate toward subjects
in which they are likely to excel and which complement their major area of study.
In an attempt to avoid the disadvantages associated with electives, some universities
in North America have stipulated distribution requirements. These are usually broadly
specified areas of study which aim to ensure breadth across the key discipline domains of
humanities, social sciences, biological and physical sciences. Students are required to
complete a set number of credit points or subjects in each area regardless of their
degree. Restricted choice electives are a variant of the distribution requirement by which
students are allowed to study a number of elective subjects from a limited range of
disciplines considered relevant to the student's specialism.
Distribution requirements have tended to be the preferred route in the attempt to
graduate educated people. Unlike many other universities which will be cited later,
Arizona State University has not recently undergone a massive review of its general
education requirements (Arizona State University 1995). At present
Arizona State employs distribution requirements. While it points to the superiority of a
core curriculum, the decentralised nature and implications for student credit load of that
approach deter the University from adopting it. Arizona State's focus for undergraduate
education has been on teaching and support (advisers, tutors, facilities, etc.) which it
sees as a more valid approach than examining course structure and content.
In an early and significant project, the AAC (1985: 5) aimed to '... assess the damage
done to the bachelor's degree by the often conflicting and shared authorities that have
supplanted tradition and to recommend ways in which the degree can be revitalised'. The
AAC criticises distribution requirements as failing to accomplish their intended purposes.
In its first report the AAC (1985: 15) sought to send a message to administrators and
professors alike that '... the curriculum requires structure, a framework sturdier than
simply a major and general distribution requirements and more reliable than student
interest'. That conventional approach to broadening undergraduate education is certainly
ad hoc and the recognition of this weakness has led to the development of a more refined
approach to encouraging the development of the more contemporary interpretation of an
educated person.
Core curricula may be criticised for their rigidity, whereas distribution requirements
give some choice whilst maintaining a general direction. However, Candy et al. (1994: 122)
note that the programs established through distribution requirements tend to be
fragmented. This criticism is supported by the AAC (1995: vi) which also adds that
students tend to be unmotivated, the courses are poorly taught and decentralised
responsibility results in a lack of overview. There is also a perception that such
requirements are something which have to be gotten out of the way (AAC 1994: iii).
Distribution requirements do not look at the quality of the intellectual experience but at
the variety of subjects undertaken (AAC 1985: 25).
Despite apparent consensus that undergraduate education should not be too narrowly
vocational, there is limited agreement on the necessary content, desirable strategies or
expected outcomes for broadening undergraduate education. Electives, distribution
requirements, foundation subjects and dual degrees have all been employed in an effort to
broaden student perspectives. However, to succeed in this goal would require careful
structuring of such courses of study. It is unlikely that any single strategy would be
able to produce a coherent undergraduate educational experience.
Increasing elective choice in the curriculum does not necessarily entice students to explore beyond the boundaries of their profession or discipline. While distribution requirements can encourage a more broadly-based education, they do not ensure coherence or an appreciation of wider perspectives.
General Education Subjects or Core Curricula
A recent approach to fostering a broad undergraduate experience is to offer subjects
which have that very objective. In Australia such an approach has tended to be undertaken
by newer universities and by universities which traditionally have a technological
tradition or vocationally-specific educational function.
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) program is called The Context Curriculum. All undergraduates are required to complete a selection of subjects from this Curriculum in accordance with the institution's '... commitment to helping students develop as persons and citizens as well as competent professionals'. An internal RMIT document about the Context Curriculum sets out its major aim as being to '... help students develop the competence and confidence to contribute responsibly and creatively to the development of society'. In order to achieve this, the immediate objectives are:
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) implemented a general studies program for all of its undergraduate students in the 1980s. The University believes that the purpose of university education is:
... more than a job training program and more than simply an opportunity to obtain a secure career ... The ideal of university education ... has been to open the doors to a universe of possibility and, consequently, of responsibility for its students.
(UNSW 1994a: 3).
The UNSW program was used as a case study by O'Rourke in the Wiltshire Review (1993: 375) because:
... the [UNSW general studies] curriculum is the vehicle that will equip students to function, not only as competent professionals, but also as responsible people and citizens capable of participating democratically in the understanding, design and management of their world.
The purposes of the UNSW General Education Program system are (UNSW 1994b: 2):
The general education requirement is organised into categories. Category A covers key
questions about the external context; that is, an introduction to the environments in
which people live. Subjects include 'Human Inequality' and 'Australia and the Development
of the World Economy'. Category B subjects examine the internal content of assumptions and
value and include 'The Self and Society', 'The Individual and Social Psychology'; and 'The
Computer: Its Impact, Significance and Uses'. Category C is the integrating component; a
single subject considers the design and responsible management of the human and planetary
future. All undergraduates are required to complete 56 hours of study in each of
categories A and B. Studies in category C must be undertaken by students in courses of
four or more years duration.
The UNSW program was organised and run by the Centre for Liberal and General Studies but this arrangement changed at the end of 1995 when responsibility of general education was devolved to academic departments. Despite the appearance of reduced priority, the UNSW insists that their commitment to general education (as a complement to professional qualifications), which encourages responsible citizenship and democratic participation will remain (UNSW 1994b: 3).
More recent reviews of compulsory general education subjects have suggested that
without continual revision, updating and reframing of goals and purpose, general education
subjects tend to become repetitious and dull, with many students viewing them as
irrelevant to their major purpose at university and as a requirement that must be endured
rather than enjoyed.
Generations of students in North America have been (and in many universities are still)
required to take specific general education subjects. These core subjects vary but usually
include 'Western Civilisation' (a combination of history, philosophy, culture and ethics
from a western European perspective) and 'English Composition'. Some Australian examples
can also be found. The two cited below are similar sounding subjects but they are utilised
for different purposes.
The Civil Engineering department at the University of Queensland offers an elective
subject entitled 'Books'. This literature appreciation subject is optional but is
attractive because of the opportunity it provides for the development of communication
skills in students. The class is taught via small discussion groups with a different
student chairing each week. Students are encouraged to share their views, listen to others
and defend their values. In other words, they are required, usually for the first time, to
present confidently in public. Staff find that students are more able to perform in a
substantial seminar requirement as a result of participation in this subject. Students are
also encouraged to present orally their fourth year thesis findings at an evening with
their professional group.
Griffith University will (from 1997) incorporate a literature subject into the
curriculum of its nursing program in an effort '... to expose them [school-leavers] to
emotions that will confront when they go into clinics or hospitals' (Maslen 1996b: 9).
This inclusion is informed by the United States arrangement where '... nursing students
completed components of an arts degree before specialising in nursing ... [which means]
that they were better prepared for the experiences they would have when they began to
practice' (Maslen 1996b: 9).
Compulsory general education subjects can achieve the goal of exposing students to a range of perspectives and philosophies. However, such subjects must be continually reviewed and updated, and they should be integrated across a coherent curriculum model.
The recent development of dual degrees in Australian universities has been in part a
reflection of the perceived need to broaden the range of available undergraduate
experiences. This approach exposes students to a variety of disciplines but only as those
disciplines are represented within the existing curriculum and not in a deliberate attempt
at presenting an interdisciplinary experience.
Dual degrees are offered at many Australian universities including the University of
Queensland, Griffith University, Monash University, the Australian National University,
the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne. Generally, they are structured
to ensure that students combine subjects in degree programs to enable them to obtain two
degrees in less time than if the degrees were studied separately. There are at least three
models of the dual degree: combined, parallel and interdisciplinary. The University of
Queensland has structured some degree programs to accommodate the first two models.
Combined degrees are studied simultaneously but one degree is achieved before the other.
For example, full-time Arts/Law students are usually awarded their Arts degree after three
years and the Law degree two or three years later. Parallel degrees are also studied
simultaneously but both are awarded in the same year. The third model involves enrolment
in interdisciplinary degree courses. Griffith University's approach to Law is one such
example. Students can only study Law in combination with another discipline, such as
Law/Media Studies and Law/Environmental Studies.
The number of students enrolled in combined or parallel degrees at the University of
Queensland has almost doubled in the past five years, although the total number of dual
degree students in 1994 was approximately 800, a relatively small percentage of the
undergraduate population of approximately 20 000. The demands of dual degree study
understandably restrict its applicability to the small percentage of the student
population who can handle the additional workload.
Dual degrees tend to mix a professional course of study with a more academic area; for
example, Arts/Law. Students are increasingly attracted to undertaking dual degrees because
of the employment edge that such courses are perceived to contribute. They also provide
students who may be unsure about their choice of career with access to wider options. For
universities the combination of degrees may be used as a recruitment device, especially
when the two degrees together can be completed in a shorter time (and with less expense)
than two independent undergraduate degrees. For faculties with lower incoming cut-off
levels, dual degrees are a way of attracting higher-achieving students to the faculty.
However, dual degree programs are not necessarily planned in such a way as to ensure that
a broadly-based education is achieved. The assumption that undergraduate degrees in Arts
or Science always provide a broad academic base does not stand up to scrutiny. Subject and
discipline selection in Arts or Science degrees can as easily result in extremely narrow,
if in depth, study in one area (e.g. a Language or a specific Science stream), with no
exposure to alternative disciplines, paradigms or perspectives. The idea that such degrees
necessarily achieve an integrated and coherent set of knowledge, concepts and transferable
skills is also false.
Dual degree programs can achieve a combination of vocationally-specific and general education, provided that students combine subjects with such a goal in mind. Studying for two degrees in combination does not automatically ensure either a broadly-based education, nor that the knowledge, concepts and skills from different disciplinary frameworks are integrated and assessed as such.
Concentrating on Employability
Continued government commitment to higher education over the past decade is largely the
result of the perceived causal relationship between increased participation in higher
education and national economic growth. However, this approach has been criticised as
viewing university education from the perspective of human capital theory (Neville 1994:
65). Particular emphasis has been placed upon the responsibility of universities to output
employable, as well as educated, people. Some of this pressure has come directly from
employer and professional groups. Many professions are effectively insisting that students
should be fully competent on graduation.
The issue of the extent of a profession's influence on the undergraduate curricula is the subject of a study currently being undertaken by the Higher Education Council (HEC). The Council sees the '... potential for tension between university autonomy and a profession's desire for certain inclusions within a course' (Higher Education Council 1995: 1). The HEC is interested in the type of influence professional organisations have on the overall curriculum, including the mix of subjects. The Project Brief (1995: 1) describes one of the research issues as:
... the percentage of course load concerned with the teaching of technical and practical skills compared with that associated with generalist education subjects is of relevance to the cost of higher education, the potential employability of graduates in a range of fields in times of contraction in the labour force in some professions, and the ability of graduates to respond to changes in their professions in future years.
The trend toward professional associations requiring increasing credentials for
professional entry has also influenced the movement toward graduate entry. The HEC itself
has undertaken some preliminary work in producing a matrix comparing about 25 professions
with type of registration and regulation requirements. The further stage of the project
will examine the broader issues of credentialism and develop a best practice model for
professional education and its links to professional bodies. An interim report is pending.
The Canadian government recently reviewed its higher education system as a whole in the
context of the system's ability to serve the nation's economy. The Independent
Commission of Inquiry on Canadian University Education, established by the Board of
Directors of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, produced the Smith
Report (1991) which examined the ability of university education to adapt rapidly to the
needs of a country which is increasingly dependent on the national resource of
well-educated citizens.
The background provided by the Smith Report (1991) is similar to the Australian and United States contexts. The dramatically rising student population through the 1980s, mixed with financial pressures, led to a number of vital questions being asked about the health of Canada's universities.
Are Canadians ... obtaining the type and quality of education appropriate to prepare them for the 21st century? What combination of general knowledgen and specialised skills do students need in order to help Canada to be competitive in the global economy of the future?
While the Commission found that Canadian universities were '... fundamentally healthy
and serving the country well' (Smith 1991: 14), there were particular concerns about the
curriculum. The General Education curriculum is described as a 'battleground' where the
objective is to ascertain 'what constitutes an educated person' amidst the dichotomous
arguments of specialist v. generalist, discipline v. interdisciplinary, utilitarian v.
intrinsic etc. (Smith 1991: 66). These different ideologies are discussed and the
Commission concluded that there is no correct approach to curriculum
design-experimentation and results-sharing should be encouraged, more interdisciplinary
programs should be undertaken, graduates and employers should be surveyed about their
experiences and all graduates should be computer competent (Smith 1991: 74-75).
The Dawkins' policy papers (1987; 1988) included statements of the Government's
continuing support for the traditional values of higher education: despite growth in size
'... the system has striven to preserve the best of its inherited traditions ... freedom
of inquiry and expression of intellectual rigour ...' (Dawkins 1988: 6). However, Fitzgerald (1994: 11) encapsulates the feelings of many commentators,
that '[d]espite the Government's high flown rhetoric, a primary function of our tertiary
education system is to mop up unemployed youth and to provide a cushion between school and
possible paid employment'.
Much contemporary Australian higher education literature is dominated by the
instrumental, economic justifications for a university education which have tended to be
heavily influenced by employer groups, trade unions and government review committees
(especially the Finn, Carmichael and Mayer reviews) and focused on vocational outcomes.
The Wiltshire Review (1994: 112-115) provides a succinct overview of these reviews and their educational implications. The Finn Review of 1991 recommended that all students complete Year 12, proposed greater opportunities for post-Year 12 education and training and recommended the development of employment-related Key Competencies. The Carmichael Report (1992) further developed these ideas. This report proposed nationally consistent and recognised levels of vocational achievement to be promoted through the Australian Vocational Certificate Training System. The Mayer Report, published later in 1992, concentrated on the development of employment-related Key Competencies.
The Finn, Carmichael and Mayer Reviews were criticised by educationalists who were concerned by the narrow employment-based emphasis and that the movement toward '... statements of competencies which focus narrowly upon a limited view of the purposes of education' (Wiltshire 1994: 113-114). Despite these fears, state Education Ministers meeting in Hobart in late 1993 agreed on a list of competencies which reflect the Mayer Competencies exactly (except for the extra last competency). They are:
The Wiltshire Review (1994: 101) panel reservedly views competencies as '... domain specific and not generic ...'. The panel underscored a vital point of difference which gives competencies some educational credibility: that they can be cross curricular. The Review (Wiltshire 1994: 103) also includes the admission that '... it will be important that students are developing all of the competencies in the overall combination of subjects'.
Strategies for the Inclusion of Skills
Flinders University has recently undertaken a Working Group process to ascertain what skills should be promoted by undergraduate education and how they can be incorporated into the curriculum. In the document, Teaching Transferable Skills at Flinders, universities are described as disseminators of specialist knowledge, and it is stressed that graduates also need the skills to be '... able to identify, analyse and make use of the information they receive' (Flinders University Skills and Literacies Working Group 1994: 2) and in order to improve graduate standards and increase employability. The Skills and Literacies Working Group (1994: 11) identified these transferable skills as:
The Report (1994) displays a concern that Flinders must teach these skills in a systematic way or it risks being left behind by other universities where this is already occurring. It recommends that all degrees be restructured to accommodate the compulsory skills component. In the student's first year this would mean at least four and a half points in communication, reasoning and information processing and, at an upper level, skills to the value of six points (with at least three of these to be Professional Foundation units). At this upper level general skills are transformed into practical abilities.
The push for the attainment of transferable skills is viewed as a way of giving
Flinders graduates some distinguishing and desirable characteristics. The Working Group
also views it as revitalising the traditional university ideal of generalist study,
maintaining a commitment to social justice, raising academic standards and effectively
using resources. This approach is also couched as a response to employer expectations as
expressed by the Australian Association of Graduate Employers and the Candy et al. (1994)
report into lifelong learning.
Candy et al. (1994: 110) do suggest restructuring courses so that generic skills can be
included, even at the expense of transferring some technical components to postgraduate
level or increasing the regular undergraduate program to four years. Such an approach is
supported by a Coopers and Lybrand survey (1991, cited by Candy et al. 1994: 63) of
Queensland business and industry employers which revealed a desire for graduates with '...
good oral and written communication skills, common sense, an ability to apply theoretical
knowledge, capable of decision-making and problem-solving and capable of working
cooperatively in a team' as well as possessing 'specific subject related knowledge'.
In recognition of its motto, 'Forever Learning', Bond University is committed to
lifelong learning which it interprets as keeping up to date and being flexible, as well as
broader development as an individual. In recognition of this objective, and most
specifically the '... objective of producing competent graduates with practical skills and
understanding of certain important ideas and values ...', Bond requires all of its
undergraduate students to complete successfully four core subjects in Communications,
Information Technology, Cultural and Ethical Values and Management.
Core knowledge includes skills and perspectives that prepare students for lifelong learning. The use of stand-alone subjects to teach specific vocational skills to undergraduate students divorces these skills from the relevant context. It is preferable for these skills to be fostered by teaching and assessment methods which give students practical experience in the application of such skills within their content area.
Integration of Skills and Knowledge Across the Curriculum
A period of self-reflection in the United States higher education sector has brought
about a redefinition of what constitutes an educated person and has reinvigorated many
general education programs. These contemporary interpretations of the purposes of
undergraduate education often have futurist connotations and make reference to the concept
of lifelong learning (although not necessarily by name). Such a perception of the purpose
of undergraduate education is more likely to be delivered in a cross-curricular fashion as
part of a deliberate institution-wide strategy.
From the late 1970s and through the 1980s, the United States higher education system was subject to criticism that it was not producing graduates with the characteristics of generally educated people; that is, with broad knowledge, skills in communication, logical and critical thinking, the ability to relate to a variety of people, to work independently and as a part of a team (White 1993: 170). On its formation in 1982, the AAC sought to grapple with the:
... confusion as to the mission of the American college and university that [meant] it ... [was] no longer possible to be sure why a student should take a program of particular courses.
Such criticism goes to the very heart of undergraduate education and led some 90 per cent of American institutions to consider curriculum reform (White 1993: 170). However, the issues under investigation tend not to be framed so as to question the basic principles of undergraduate education; instead, the reviews look at the merit of different modes of delivering general education. Those institutions which considered seriously the criticisms ask: What should constitute the common university education experience?
Is the curriculum an invitation to philosophic and intellectual growth or a quick exposure to the skills of a particular vocation?
(AAC 1985: 2)
Association of American Colleges (AAC) Experiences Approach
In an attempt to address the shortcomings exposed by many institutional reviews, recent United States reports indicate
... a significant shift from a conception of education as field, courses, and contents to one that emphasises students development of abilities and capacities regardless of their specific choice of curricula and courses.
(AAC 1991: 1)
They identified nine experiences which represent a '... minimum required program ...
consisting of the intellectual, aesthetic and philosophic experiences that should enter
into the lives of men and women engaged in baccalaureate education' (AAC 1985: 15). These
experiences are not intended to result in the prescription of courses, increased
distribution requirements or the introduction of general education courses. Instead the
AAC recommends that departments redesign their courses, mindful of these minimum
requirements, within a supportive environment (AAC 1985: 24-25).
These nine experiences are consistent with the approaches of several United States universities referred to below. The AAC's nine experiences, all of which are considered 'basic to a coherent undergraduate education' (AAC 1985: 15-24) are:
At the '... the heart of the intellectual process', concerned with establishing fact and meaning through reason, and even original thought.
2. Literacy; that is writing, reading, speaking, listening;
Entails writing, which is ideally concise and original, reading, speaking and listening, to a level of distinction.
3. Understanding numerical data;
The interpretation of data requires 'a sophisticated level of understanding' which includes comprehension of the use and misuse of data.
4. Historical consciousness;
Provides a context for interpretation, allows analysis and comprehension. Can be studied within other disciplines.
5. Science;
Science is an instrument of analysis which encourages 'observation, intuition, scepticism, a sense of paradox and ambiguity ...'. The scientific method is applicable across many subjects.
6. Values;
Nurtures '... the capacity to make informed and responsible moral choices'.
7. Art;
Appreciation and exposure to the fine and performing arts are crucial as they represent expressions of culture and individual creativity.
8. International and Multicultural Experiences; and
Experiences in diversity which brings about the appreciation of differences and the recognition of common human experiences.
9. Study in Depth.
Such study '... conveys both the possibilities and the limits' of a discipline and is a
different order of learning where the students build on their knowledge through
imagination and synthesis, encourages a fresh approach and brings on the realisation that
'... they cannot know everything'.
This minimum curriculum emphasises 'how to learn' and avoids making the (false) distinction between knowledge and ways of knowing (AAC 1985: 24). 'Students of professional fields ... also need the experiences of our required curriculum to inform their intensely focused concentration and to prepare them for responsible citizenship' (AAC 1985: 30).
Outcomes of Curricula Reviews in United States Universities
This AAC approach to general education, which looks to provide essential experiences
across subjects rather through separate required subjects, has appealed to a number of
universities reviewing their curricula. The following information was gleaned from the
survey of overseas experiences in general education.
Stanford University reports that t