Universities are in a period of change and public attitudes are changing too. But universities currently have confidence levels that far outweigh the trust in the Government which makes their rules.
The April 2019 ANUPoll on Universities in Australia found 79% of those surveyed have confidence in universities.
Trust in educators far outweighs trust in politicians with confidence in university lecturers at 77% and the Federal Government at 27%.
While confidence remains high, only 60% of respondents agreed universities were teaching the right things.
The lowest levels of confidence were in the press (20%),in the Federal Government (27%), and in banks & financial institutions (28%).
There is a relatively high level of confidence in education institutions in general. Nearly 80 per cent have confidence in universities and 74 per cent have confidence in schools. That figure rises to 82 per cent when respondents were asked about university researchers who do slightly better than their lecturer colleagues whose confidence score is 77 per cent.
Those institutions which make rules for universities or comment on them have confidence levels well below them. Confidence in the Federal Government is at 27 per cent, the press at 20 per cent and banks & financial institutions is at 28 per cent.
Of those sampled, just over half had never attended university, 9 per cent were currently at university and the rest, 38 per cent, had been to university in the past. Those who had or are at university had slightly higher confidence in the institution than those who had never been. 86 per cent of current students and 81 per cent of former students had confidence, where only 76 per cent of those who hadn’t attended had confidence.
That confidence doesn’t mean there aren’t warning signs in the figures, with only 60 per cent of respondents asked agreeing universities were teaching students the important things they need to know. This appears to be about a 6% fall from a similar question asked in 2008.
Somewhat problematically, those respondents who had a degree (and particularly a post-graduate degree) were less likely to think that universities were teaching the important things than those who do not have post-school qualifications. Having attended a university may have increased confidence in the university, but it does not mean that a person thinks the curriculum is being designed or delivered in the right way.