Don Aitkin,

1. If more than say twenty percent of the population can handle university curricula, it might be Continuing Education (which is good in itself), but it is not Higher Education.

2. Before we look at full/high fee paying, as a funding option, we need fewer (10 not 40) universities, less clerical administration (centralise it). If universities want to be commercial, these institutions, need to be run efficiently internally on a corporate basis, sor far as infrastructure is concerned. Bear in mind few VCs and deans have real world business experience.

All,

3. On the teaching front academic could do with a short course (six months) on andragogy, delivery and assessment. Some are very poor communicators compared to sat (trained) TAFE teachers.

4. Educators need to look beyond seeing themselves as mere rationers of degrees, and seeing themselves as partners with students and industry in growing knowledge. Theory and practice need to interact. We were better at the latter with the Academies of the 17-18th centuries. Specialisation can be good, but dichotomy arresting.

Harry,

Are you going to engage your audience?

I agree.

By tending to mediocrity in universities, it becomes harder to distinguish the cream from the others.

Thus the cream of talent, unless they are in a heavily regulated industry like say medicine, may enter the workforce and thus never be sorted out. The regard for one's overall commercial value
overwhelms the regards for his/her specialised talents. The specialised talents then are not utilised ot the optimum.