Choosing the right campus for you

Everyone wants to get the best education. A much heard cliché says 'knowledge is power' and I agree with this. Ideally, learning promises to lift people out of poverty and improve life outcomes.

For students trying to choose which campus to attend this decision can be difficult to make. When it comes to choosing an overseas campus to study at the decision becomes even more complex.

This week I received an email from a reader who sought clarification regarding Australia's education system.

Primarily, the issue was whether it was important to select a university based on reputation alone. For example here in China most students and their families dream of getting into Peking University or Tsinghua. Is this the situation in Australia similar?

Fortunately, the answer is no.

From my experience students, families, communities and the wider business sector have trust in our campuses – be they world famous or lesser known. As a result there are pros and cons for choosing to attend any campus, be it in downtown Sydney or in tropical, less built up Darwin.

It was a good question and one that particularly strikes at the heart of Australia's competitive advantage in regards to education provision in the global marketplace.

Essentially in my country the government has created the Australian Qualifications Framework. This set of structures requires all universities and vocational colleges to meet agreed upon standards. Not only does it provide bridges between the two sectors but also between various campuses themselves.

In addition, a student who graduates from a regional campus with a law major is expected, required, and to a point as far as possible, guaranteed to have learnt and acquired the same skills that a graduate from a metropolitan campus received.

This sees students often using the same course materials and following the same examination system – whether they are from this or that university.

It often involves cross campus subject provision, e.g. a student in the north may enroll in elective subjects that are offered in a southern campus. Increasingly online, distance education is being provided creating more flexibility.

When it works well the system sees the nation's education providers working together to maximize resources and offer the best service available across the board.

Thus after completion of studies, graduates are market ready and employers are willing to look at the individual and their study performance, work experience, character etc rather than just focus on the reputation of the campus where they studied at.

So if I was to be asked the question,

"I am interested in completing a Masters in Accounting, but I am not too sure whether to choose this Sydney based campus or this other Sydney based campus"

my answer would be to first realize that the two programs may very well be offering the same course material.

That in a field like accounting that is regularly administrated and tightly managed with certification skill competencies at a national level; does the wider society prefer graduates from this campus or from that?

Possibly the answer is, they don't care. They look beyond that. They look at your face and inside your character and your academic performance and try to ascertain whether you will fit in well within their organization.

Remember although George Bush Jr went to Harvard Business School, since becoming president the US economy has gone from a budget surplus under Clinton into an incredible, never seen before budget deficit under Bush.

Does this make Harvard a bad campus?

The point is for true, sustainable success and performance we shouldn't be relying on the reputation of other people or organizations to bring us up there.

There is no short cut to competence and quality.