THE BSc(TECHNOLOGY) DEGREE: RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE EDUCATION MARKETPLACE

Introduction

The New Zealand Government has changed the whole nature of uni­versity and higher education in recent times (Brownlie, 1982; Hawke, 1988; Todd, 1994). Prior to this, New Zealand university students paid very low tuition fees for their studies, and most students qualified for an accommo­dation allowance which helped defray accommodation costs. If a student was able to secure some form of vacation work, it was possible to at least break even cost-wise for a year of academic study. However, students now pay substantial fees for their tuition, and many students receive little if any assistance toward accommodation costs. For the 1996 academic year, typ­ical fees for a full-time science student at The University of Waikato are in the region of NZ$2500 per annum (University of Waikato Calendar, 1996). Many students rely on financial support from parents or take out student loans. It is now common for students to be faced with debts in excess of NZ$10,000 by the time they graduate.

Approximately half the funding received by New Zealand universities comes from the Government: the remainder comes from other sources such as student fees, consultancies and contact work. Furthermore, the funding allocated to New Zealand universities by the Government is now directly indexed to the number of equivalent full time students (EFTS) attending that university (Brownlie, 1982; Hawke, 1988). To obtain fund­ing, each university is required to provide an estimate of their EFTS for each year. The Government then considers the university's case and makes an allocation of the number of EFTS that will be funded for a given year. It is then up to the university to attain the EFTS figure by attracting students to the degrees and postgraduate programs they offer. If the uni­versity fails to meet the number of EFTS allocated, this greatly weakens their position in the bidding for EFTS in future years.

Furthermore, the funds provided per EFTS have continued to decrease. In the current New Zealand political climate it seems likely that funding will continue to contract and so for the future funding of the uni­versities it is essential that they can continue to attract high-caliber stu­dents. These students, now paying substantial fees, demand more "education for their dollar." Hence, universities are faced with twofold competition; the need to attract students and thus retain funding, and the need to satisfy the high expectations of these students. At the University of Waikato's School of Science and Technology, this has been achieved by the instigation of, and subsequent promotion of, the BSc(Technology) degree program.

The BSc(technology) Degree Program at The University of Waikato

The BSc(Technology) degree at The University of Waikato is a four­ year degree in contrast with the three-year Bachelor of Science degree. Subject majors include: physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, com­puter science, and mathematics and statistics. Besides the subject majors, a great variety of specified programs are available such as: biochemistry, biotechnology, forestry, environmental science, and so on. The BSc(Tech­nology) degree essentially consists of a BSc degree with the addition of two management papers and a total of twelve months relevant work experi­ence (Chapman, 1994). The course structure of the BSc(Technology) degree program is shown in Figure 1.

The BSc(Technology) degree is unique among undergraduate science degrees in New Zealand Universities. The introduction of the manage­ment papers has occurred because of feedback from the employers of our science graduates (Chapman & Kirk, 1992, Chapman, 1994). Increasingly, capable technical people find themselves taking on managerial roles within the laboratory, and often within the upper hierarchy of the organi­zation. This includes such things as the preparation of budgets, and the presentation of scientific material to non-technical staff. Therefore, it is of great benefit if technical people have some management training. The Co­operative Education Unit at The University of Waikato has developed two modular Science & Technology Management courses that form part of the BSc(Technology) degree. Subjects studied include; basic accounting prac­tices, communication skills, computing skills, Total Quality Management (TQM), and marketing (Chapman & Kirk, 1921).

Articulation Agreements with Regional Polytechnics

Because The University of Waikato offers the BSc(Technology) degree, we can attract students from outside our usual recruitment area. The degree also helps in the retention of students from the region who might otherwise be tempted to undertake studies at other larger universities such as The University of Auckland or The University of Canterbury.

To increase the recruitment area for students from outside the Waikato region, The University has entered into articulation agreements with sev­eral regional polytechnics. In this scheme, students can enroll at The Uni­versity of Waikato, but carry out the first year of their degree at their local polytechnic. This has several advantages for the students. For example it allows the students a further year to mature which helps ease the transi­tion from high school to university - considered a significant factor in poor university performance for students from small towns in New Zealand. A significant cost saving can also be achieved, especially if the student can reside with parents in their hometown. It is estimated that for a year of full time study a cost saving of approximately NZ$5000 can result from sh1- dents spending the first year of study in their hometown (Parkin, 1996).

The Overall Success of the BSc(Technology) Degree Program

The success of cooperative education as illustrated by the BSc(Tech­nology) degree can be estimated in two ways: how successful the degree has been in attracting students, and how well the degree has been satisfy­ing the employers of the graduates from the program.

The BSc(Technology) degree is marketed by The Cooperative Educa­tion Unit and The School of Science & Technology at The University of Waikato. The degree is promoted at polytechnics, secondary schools, and at a variety of "Open-Day" and "Career Expos." This usually takes the form of a presentation by a co-op team member in which the benefits of the program are described in detail. Student benefits cited include: the gain­ing of real-life practical experience, application of practical knowledge, contact with practicing professionals, enhancement of oral and written communication skills, clarification of career choice and financial compen­sation. Case studies of work placements carried out by previous BSc(Tech­nology) students are also described.

Possibly the most significant factor in attracting sh1dents is the exis­tence of The Cooperative Education Unit. The team members of this unit, as well as being involved in publicity and lecturing, secure the work-place­ments that the students require for the completion of their degree. When the degree was first introduced, students received much less help in secur­ing the work placements. Perceived difficulties in securing work place­ments is considerably off- putting for students (Colling, 1994). The co-op team does not guarantee to find employment for the students, but never­theless is a significant draw card. This does require a greater input of the university's funds, but the resulting increase in BSc(Technology) student numbers has been dramatic as can be seen from Figure 2.

Because the industry placement courses receive academic credit and thus attract student fees, the funding of the Cooperative Education Unit can be justified on the basis of the extra income it generates (Langdon & Judd, 1994). The larger universities in New Zealand such as The Univer­sity of Auckland have seen continued increases in student numbers. How­ever, other smaller universities have seen significant decreases in student numbers. For example, Victoria University in Wellington has seen a drop in 1996 enrollments of 4.5% compared with 1995, with the biggest drop in the sciences and arts faculties (NZPA, 1996).

The increasing student numbers enrolled in the BSc(Technology) degree at The University of Waikato suggests that the program appeals to students. We have also carried out regular surveys to gain feedback about the program. A more detailed description of the survey results will be pre­sented elsewhere, but the overwhelming response was positive with almost 90% of the students surveyed indicating satisfaction with the pro­gram (Eames et al., 1996).

How successful the degree has been in satisfying employers needs has also been established by surveying employers (Chapman, 1995). The fact that The Cooperative Education Unit screens students before admission to the program, and takes considerable effort to match employers with suit­able students, ensures a high degree of employer satisfaction. This is a complex task as the variety of placements is considerable. The enormous variety of programs and subject majors results in work-placements in a huge variety of industries and other organizations. Most of the students are employed by private sector organizations, but significant numbers are employed in Crown Research Institutes (CRI's) - independently run gov­ernment research institutes, and other government and local-body institu­tions. The approximate division of placements by type of organization for 1995 is illustrated in Figure 3.

Students are required to complete a formal written report at the end of their work- placement, and this along with feedback from employers is used to assess the placement. Because students receive full academic credit for the placement, this further helps to motivate them to do well. Most of our employers (ca. 80%) continue to take students year after year suggesting that they are satisfied with the quality of students produced from the program. Nevertheless, perhaps the most telling statistic is the fact that approximately 40% of our students are offered further employment by the employer with whom they complete their final placement Oudd, 1994). This more than any other fact speaks highly of the benefits that cooperative education has for employers involved with the BSc(Technology) degree.

Summary & Conclusions

The nature of the university and higher education sector in New Zealand has changed dramatically in recent years. Reduced government funding and increased student fees have resulted in a more competitive marketplace for these educational institutions. Increasingly, universities need to respond to these changes by providing the skills that the employers require in university graduates, and providing training for students that enables them to find employment. At the University of Waikato this challenge has been met by the introduction and promotion of the BSc(Technology) degree program in which cooperative education, involving work-integrated learning, is a key feature.