Almost half of Australian university degrees are at serious risk of becoming obsolete in the next 10 years unless they’re overhauled, a new research paper has revealed.
Ernest & Young has called on universities to future-proof or risk major disruption following the release of its latest report, titled The university of the future.
The dominant Australian university model is under threat of becoming unviable, and will leave graduates with more debt and poor job prospects, according to the report released on Tuesday.
More than 50 university leaders and policymakers were interviewed and more than 3000 students and employers were surveyed.
The dominant Australian university model is under threat of becoming unviable, and will leave graduates with more debt and poor job prospects, according to a new research paper
Large numbers of academics, teachers and employers consider that many of the degree courses offered will soon be obsolete unless they are overhauled to reflect the rapidly-changing nature of industry and employment, the report found
Around 42 per cent of current and past graduates felt their degree needed to be overhauled.
Only 36 per cent of those studying humanities, culture and social sciences and just 41 per cent of science and mathematics students thought their degree was relevant to their job.
The report follows a recent Grattan Institute prediction that more than 50,000 of the 250,000 students who started a bachelor degree in Australia this year will drop out.
‘Australian universities are under threat from changing learner preferences, new competitive models and international competition,’ Ernest & Young Oceania Education Leader Catherine Friday said.
‘They need to move now to ensure they meet the needs of a changing society and changing economy. To succeed, they will need to deconstruct the higher-education value chain, offering new formats such as unbundled degree programs, continuous subscription-based learning and just-in-time learning options.’
Around 42 per cent of current and past university graduates felt their degree needed to be overhauled
The report urges universities to collaborate more closely with industry in creating course content to produce more work-ready graduates after 50 per cent of employers claimed that management and commerce degrees are not worthwhile.
‘Australian universities are ranked last in the OECD ranking for the ability to collaborate with business on innovation,’ Ms Friday said.
‘Fixing that has become an urgent priority – 51 percent of international students believe their degree needs to be transformed and the university leaders we spoke to estimate that 40 per cent of existing degrees will soon be obsolete. Those institutions that can crack the new, flexible teaching learning models required will reap the benefits, as they outpace competitors that persist in delivering three to four-year degree programs that employers simply do not value.’
The report found that 87 per cent of nursing students and 80 per cent of education students interviewed say their degree was relevant to their job
Just 41 per cent of science and mathematics students interviewed thought their degree was relevant to their job
Ms Friday believes there’s a role for governments to define what they want out of the sector and needs to motivate the development of future offerings in collaboration with industry.
‘For better or worse the policy choices of the past 40 years have given us today’s education sector,’ Ms Friday said.
‘The policy choices we make now will define the education sector of 2030. Policy makers need to step above the fray and start making decisions that encourages a more effective and efficient model that builds on existing strengths.’
Marketing executive Michael Nguyen said little of what he learnt from his commerce degree had been relevant in the workplace.
‘When you get out there, you have to know how to use platforms and create campaigns on social media,’ Mr Nguyen told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘You don’t learn that at university, you only learn textbook theory on things like what consumers do.’
University of Technology Sydney vice-chancellor for education Peter Scott is already planning for the future.
‘One of the things UTS is now doing is developing our strategy for 2027 and looking at unbundling the degree, redesigning the physical campus and working with industry,’ Professor Scott told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Almost half of Australian university degrees are at serious risk of becoming obsolete in the next 10 years