Why is going to university the norm?

[Joseph41]

In 2015, there were 1.3 million students enrolled in Australian universities (with the vast majority of those being domestic students). As below, there is clearly an upward trend.

Source: Universities Australia

Source: The Conversation (taken from the Department of Education and Training)

And, naturally, the proportion of Australias who hold a degree is also on the rise.

This leads to the question: is the worth of a university degree diminishing?

Why do people go to uni these days? Career prospects? A thirst for knowledge? Or is it simply the done thing in various social circles?

[fantasticbeasts3]

university for me has always been something that's expected of me. my culture is something that impacts that as well, but it's also parental expectations of "fully" finishing your education. despite these expectations, i think i would go to uni anyways simply because school is just so uninteresting and i'd rather focus my attention on doing something i'm actually interested in. also, career prospects and the whole "uni experience" seems like something to experience.

[K888]

Interesting topic. I think the answers we get by discussing this on AN will be quite different to the answers you would get discussing it in other places, though.

I think there's just a general expectation in society these days that you'll go to university once you finish high school. People sort of just don't think about not going to uni as being an option. I imagine that in schools, when counselling about post-year 12 life happens, it can almost exclusively focus on what uni degrees people want to do and that sort of stuff - other things just aren't presented as an option.
We're helped by the fact that we have HECS and all that to make tertiary education more accessible. People also seem to do a degree if they're not sure what to do - it gives them a few years to think about or discover what they want to do, and they come out of it at the end with a qualification, which is a bonus

I guess also, these days, more and more jobs require you to have a degree. And there can also certainly be a perception that apprenticeships are for people who supposedly aren't "smart enough" to go to university. I guess some people might look down on people that work in labour-based jobs and the like that don't generally require a university degree, and they pass on these perceptions to their peers, kids, etc. so people might almost be programmed to think that a university degree is a superior qualification and makes them a better person?

[strawberries]

This leads to the question: is the worth of a university degree diminishing?

yes

Spoiler

I feel like so many people going to uni now that like, I don't see the point anymore. It's like, ages ago, uni was only supposed to be for the "smart" people and nowadays basically anyone can get in.

offtopic

I know unis are supposed to make money but the oversupply of students + graduates aren't gonna help people get jobs (i.e. people 'waste' time at uni + debt for nothing). But then again, with so many students to compete with I guess it pushes us to work harder??

Why do people go to uni these days?

because my parents forced me. i love what i'm doing but if they didn't force me i probably wouldn't be here tbh
like fantasticbeats3 said above, it's kind of like culture for my parents/family too.

controversial

but all in all, if you're doing it just for the thirst for knowledge then that's all good
if your ideal career requires a degree (e.g. med, law etc.) than it's all good too
it's just so many ppl doing it now "just because" that it's become 'mainstream'? now everyone has a uni degree you're not special anymore.

[heids]

I've dropped out of uni, I think mostly from a perverse and completely unoriginal desire to rebel against the status quo - "if everyone expects me to go uni without questioning it because I'm a high-achieving student, well fuck you all, I won't then" sorta thing hahaha.  Uni is an automatic social default, and I hate social defaults - at least until I've questioned them thoroughly and come up with my own reasons to follow them. 

Sure, many professions absolutely require degrees (most health-professional degrees, law etc).  But more generic non-essential degrees - feel free to do them of course haha, but I personally see more value elsewhere (such as on-the-job training!) than uni.

For me, I know I have a number of potential job options that I'd love without requiring uni, plus my entrepreneurial side screams for expression, so - why bother with uni?  I think the need for a university degree to get a fulfilling job is overrated.

*purely my personal perspective, this might just be me being a special snowflake hahaha*

[peterpiper]

I've dropped out of uni, I think mostly from a perverse and completely unoriginal desire to rebel against the status quo - "if everyone expects me to go uni without questioning it because I'm a high-achieving student, well fuck you all, I won't then" sorta thing hahaha.  Uni is an automatic social default, and I hate social defaults - at least until I've questioned them thoroughly and come up with my own reasons to follow them. 

omg me hahaha except I'll have to go through with it anyway, since I feel sort of indebted to my parents.

[Calebark]

My personal experience will probably be different to most people here, but for me, deciding to go to university was actually my rebellion. I was told to be a truck driver, so naturally, I decided I wanted to be highly educated instead. Having spent a lot of time in hospitals as a kid (where I developed a love for the human body), the only obvious course to me was medicine.

So I suppose I decided to go to university because it is the only path to the only career I have ever really wanted.

I mean, still in high school haha, but that's the plan.

[zofromuxo]

Seems i'm a bit late to this thread, but here is my two cents on it.
Disclaimer: My experience is my experience, Please Don't use this for generalization purposes

I went back to my high school recently and was catching up with a Year 12 co-ordinator, who I have a good rapport with. We discussed a little about how university was going, but mainly discussed about Year 12 and post-Year 12.

One of the things I raised was the negative connotation of the VCAL program ran by my school. Sidenote: Is in my opinion one of the most successful programs, my school has ran in re-engaging indivudals who aren't academically versed, but showing them that Year 12 => University isn't the only way to have a fulfilled life . He said that one of the regrets the individual who run VCAL was the poor rap it got from Year 12 students and how this impacted students in previous years, who need it most to enter VCAL and not either bomb Year 12 or leave after Year 10. I feel this isn't entirely the school's fault, but also society's antique view as well.

It is true that university degrees aren't the meal tickets for jobs nowadays and I think it should stay that way. I firmly believe university is about broadening one's education and not careers , that's what TAFE is for but got butchered by the government and aided by the misguided perceptions of the public . This shows as you don't see Melbourne University, Monash University topping job outcomes for graduates. It is mostly RMIT university, why?
Because RMIT has a strong practical component, but not a research one , Monash and Melbourne have extremely strong research backing, but less practical application within their degrees.

Another reason university is the norm is because parents aren't a tuned to the times. They don't understand the TAFE system, all they see is funding cuts, poor mismanagement and individuals getting ripped off . They don't see the benefits of an apprenticeship and instead see all the overglorification of famous people having university degrees. I think Mick Rowe covers this well, when he reflected on his show Dirty Jobs. People have a negative skew towards laborers and blue-collar workers and an over-positive outlook towards white-collars jobs and people with degrees.

So in essence most of the blame lies with the government and society for this stupid and dangerous trend of going to university. But I also feel part of the issue is the students themselves, I also talked to numerous current Year 12 and the majority of them had only visited universities during open days and hadn't visited any TAFEs at all. Why? Because they didn't think TAFE was worth it or that they have a better chance of a job in TAFE or that TAFE is useless. I then asked where they got this information from, they said previous year 12s and then I asked "Did you research the TAFE and what they offer?" and the response was not even surprising, it was no .

So you must wondering well Zofromuxo, you have just said the issues how do we fix it? .
It isn't an easy fix and it won't have any impact until the next generation maybe even later. This is because this attitude to going to university and hope you can get a job is so deeply engrained that it won't be easy to sway.
It starts with the career co-ordinators not being pieces of shit and allowing people to go to TAFE as opposed to telling them to do this university degree instead, which they don't like , it starts with the government fixing the TAFE system and instead of killing it , it starts with the parents and prospective students to research TAFE and understand the pros and cons of each, But also understand that university is an investment that may not yield a sizeable return of investment , .

But I think the biggest impact on the decision of going to university or not is the monetary cost. Are you certain that spending 4 years for a grand cost of $250,000+ is worth it for your career. Are you sure Law is what you want, despite the poor job market?

These are the things that need to be said and need to be accepted. The landscape for universities have changed, job markets for industries like law, psychology, teaching, etc are extremely competitive, that your gender studies, sociology degree isn't going to net you a job as easily as you think. The later we put this conversation off, the worse off each subsequent generation is going to become off this norm.

Sorry for the rant and long read, but I'm too saddened by seeing prospective friends and students screwing their 19-20s going to university and doing nothing instead of seeking alternative options because it isnt' sexy, cool or popular to do it .

[Joseph41]

There have been a couple of articles floating around regarding similar topics recently!

This one from the ABC:

"36 per cent of the Australian population had gained tertiary qualifications in 2011, compared to two per cent in 1971."

"Universities collected over $27 billion in revenue in 2014."

"Australia Bureau of Statistics data shows that, for many students, working while studying is essential."

"Mr Schleicher says universities — and the types of qualifications they offer — were designed for a very different time."

"Our qualifications, he says, are "lumpy" — assuming a relatively static workforce, where graduands aren't required to continuously adapt and engage with new environments."

Definitely an interesting time in the tertiary education domain!

[meganrobyn]

When society as a whole spends years giving increased respect, status, money and power to a certain class of people over others, you're going to see an impact on behaviours. And that impacts not only university rates, but what people want to study. Enrolments in philosophy and literature have declined, for instance. It's all about what we teach people is valuable to the world.