Bi-annual Student Lunch with the DVC (Provost)
Thursday 12th November 2009
In Attendance:
 Prof Judyth Sachs, DVC (Provost)
 Prof Stephen Thurgate, Exec Dean Science
 Ms Barb McLean, Executive Officer
 8 students
The DVC (Provost) introduced the Review of the Academic Year, noting that its aim
was to spread the student load to increase student satisfaction.
One option is to expand Summer School, which will allow students to take 10 units
per annum, and hence accelerate their program. Would this be attractive to students?
 No – currently the Summer School prices are 3 times that of HECs units
 No – I have children and need school holidays
 No – Summer holiday is spent working to support me through the next year at
Uni
 I would give up a month or two to accelerate my degree – if it was only a
month. I’d love to take advantage of a lesser load – get a better balance in my
life
So a compromise would be to offer the larger units in Summer School and finding
what is the right range of units – and the cost.
What about also having a Winter School? This would require changes to both
Semester 1 and Semester 2 to provide 6 weeks in the middle of the year – and allow
students to undertake 12 units per annum.
 In the U.S. and Europe the 3 or 4 years at Uni are your life – you live in and
your social life is part of the Uni experience. Here in Australia, university is
only part of our life, we don’t want to focus on uni.
 University life is a cultural thing – not just concentrate on studying and
working – you need life experience
 Don’t like the idea of a Winter School as well as a Summer School – too
intense. You need a months break – students should be counselled not to take
both Summer School and Winter School.
 Flexibility is needed, as not all students come straight from school, there are
International students and mature aged students
 Macquarie is too flexible – it’s all about the students and not about the
community needs. The aim is to get through quickly. There are non-tangible
advantages in spending 3 years to get a degree. Macquarie seems to be half
way between a normal university and OUA
Another option is to have 3 semesters per annum. This would allow you to do a three
year degree in two years or to distribute your units over the three years.
 This would be even more of a pressure cooker. It would compromise the
value of degrees
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What is the purpose of university? Is it the commencement of your career, or
is it a foundation for life? This focus on vocational training is problematic, as
schools no longer have work experience.
If the University goes ahead with a 3rd semester – it should start with 200 level
units