Paid Work Overruling Education

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday March 13, 2007

Forty per cent of university students say their education is suffering due to their paid work commitments, according to a report just released.

The Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC) report details a survey of 19,000 students in 2006 that found more were financially worse off than their counterparts in 2000.

Chair of the AVCC Survey Steering Group Professor Alan Robson said it was time for the Federal Government to act.

"Students are working long hours to support their time at university," he said. "Almost a quarter of full-time undergraduates reported that they regularly missed classes or other study commitments to attend paid employment. The proportion (of students) that are worried about their financial situation and the number of hours they worked during the semester went up."

The report said one quarter of students obtained a loan in 2006, up from 10 per cent of students in 2000. The proportion of students receiving government assistance also dropped from almost 39 per cent in 2000 to 35 per cent in 2006.

Prof Robson said increasing work commitments were leading to "commuter students" who only came to university to study and did not take part in campus activities and sport.

A tyred issue

The University of Wollongong once again has a car parking crisis.

UOW director of buildings and grounds Bruce Flint said the start of semester was always a busy time but once new students settled in, more would turn to public transport or organise shared trips with classmates.

Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association president Liz Larbalestier said the university had taken the unusual step of mailing a detailed public transport guide to all Wollongong students.

The UOW access guide outlined the comparative costs of travelling to university by car or public transport in a bid to reduce the number of vehicles arriving each day.

"Of course we would love to see more spaces but we know it isn't possible to have a space for every student," Ms Larbalestier said.

© 2007 Illawarra Mercury

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