Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Grant Edwards: Universities NZ Chair on the Government's tertiary refresh

Transcript

Grant Edwards: Universities NZ Chair on the Government's tertiary refresh · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So a push to make our universities more elite has
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: been shot down. The government's rejected tougher entry rules and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: limits on who can hand out masters or doctorates. It's
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: accepted just twenty three of sixty three recommendations from a
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: report from the University Advisory Group led by Peter Gluckman.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: So to talk about this, let's talk to an educator.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Grant Edwards is the vice chancellor of Lincoln University and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the university's New Zealand Chair and joins me this morning.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Good morning to your Grant, Good morning Andrew. Do you
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: think we need more limits on who can hand out
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: our top academic qualifications?
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: No, I don't think we need further limits. Universities are
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: the tertiary institutions that do research led teaching in New Zealand,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: and so believe that research only masters and research PSDs
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: should be awarded in universities.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: But it's also those other universities that hand out all
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: sorts of masters and all sorts of other things that
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: makes the people make the accusation that we've been dumbing
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: down out to sector.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's there's In terms of the higher degrees in
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: the postgraduate space, we have a range of taught masters
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: in particular and postgraduate qualifications. I think there I don't
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: think there's any indication that those other institutes are actually
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: dumbing down in handing out those particular qualifications. As particular
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: interest here is in research masters and research PhDs, which
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: with universities being research led, there's important place that they're
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: awarded in universities.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Okay, well that was that was my next question. Should
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: universities be the only ones that can award masters and PhDs?
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I think, as I indicated to you, the in particular
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: research masters and PhDs should be in general awarded by
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the universities in New Zealand. Okay.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: I heard Sandra Gray on our news this morning at
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: five am saying the real problem for our tertiary sector
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: is the funding model. Would you agree?
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: In terms of the funding model, there are many funding
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: systems around the world, and most end up with some
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: form of a private government funding contributions similar to us.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: We can always look at our funding system and how
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: funding is distributed and how it's both education and research
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: funding is directed towards qualifications particular disciplines. However, present probably
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: a long slow reduction in funding in real terms is
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: acting against the long term needs of the country and
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: probably just simply making changes in how we manage a
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: diminishing pool of funding won't serve universities all the country
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: well in the longer term.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: All right, Gret Edwards, I thank you so much time
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: grants the vice Chances of Lincoln University and from Universities
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: New Zealand. For more Familily Edition with Ryan and Bridge.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks it be from five am weekdays,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.