| Energy Source | Initial Investment Costs | Environmental Impact | Efficiency | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Solar Energy | | | | | Wind Energy | | | |
After purchasing a house and a car, the next major life expenditure is almost certainly the cost of tertiary education. The question is, are prospective university students getting value for money? Paying up to $25,000 for a university education, they need reliable information in order to compare institutions and courses. There are now two official guides comparing universities, but not courses. As a result, academic controversy has arisen over their adequacy, and because of concerns about comparability and accuracy of data. When comparing universities, one should be aware of what exactly is being measured, and whether the information is useful. Professor Brian Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney, says, “There is as much variation within one university as between universities; no university has all the best activities, and no university is without its strengths”. It makes little sense for prospective students to choose to go to a university simply because it has an excellent reputation. It is wiser to look first at the overall characteristics and reputation of a university, and then at the faculty or discipline desired. To do this one must have access to quality data for each discipline. Let us look at three ways we can now rank universities. A government-appointed Quality Review Committee made the first ranking of universities in 1993. It divided the 35 universities in Australia into six quality bands based mainly on research and teaching outcomes. In the top band, only two universities were represented: one from NSW (the University of NSW) and the other from the ACT (the Australian National University). Sydney and Wollongong universities were both in the second ranking. Wollongong was the only newer university to make such a high grade. Macquarie and the University of Technology, Sydney, were in band four; Charles Sturt, Canberra, New England, and Newcastle were in band five. In band six were the Australian Catholic University and the University of Western Sydney. This ranking has drawn much criticism, since it was based on what universities spent on research, and not on the quality of teaching. However, it should be stated that this was the first year of a continuing quality review. Next, the Quality Review Committee will assess the teaching record of universities. The Department of Education Employment and Training (DEET) has published 50 indicators of diversity and performance of Australian universities. This lists comparative data on everything from academic staff ratio and percentage of staff with PhDs, to expenditure on library grants. The document says it does not rank universities, and is designed to assist students to make informed comparisons. But the universities can be ranked by each measure using a key indicator of success - positive graduate outcomes - which combines the percentage of recent graduates in full-time work and/or full-time study. Here, the University of Technology, Sydney, emerges as the leader in NSW, with 83.2% of its graduates in work and/or study, just behind the ANU with 83.5%. Sydney has 79.8%, Charles Sturt 75.5%, Wollongong 74.1%, Macquarie 73.2%, UNSW 73.1%, Newcastle 72.5%, New England/Southern Cross 72%, and Western Sydney 69.7%. Professor Gannicort, a Professor of Education at Wollongong University, has developed his own “performance table”, ranking Australian universities using some of the DEET data - including the number of government research grants and grants from industry, as well as the number of recent graduates in full-time work or study. This time the University of Queensland tops the league. Sydney is third, UNSW fifth, ANU sixth, Macquarie 10th, Newcastle 15th, and all the other NSW universities well down in the rankings. He says this shows that the key factors which determine better university performance are what has always been supposed: that is, high quality students, numerous well-qualified staff, and nonproliferation of courses. Interestingly, Ms. Barbara Bell, the National Recruitment Manager for the Institute of Chartered Accountants, claims employers are not so much interested in the university as in the skills and all-round quality of graduates. Those graduates who lack communication skills, for example, are at a big disadvantage. Ms. Bell quotes a recent survey that found a quarter of employers of graduates chose not to rank universities “because they said there was no correlation between the university and performance”. Dr. Michael Dack, Public Affairs Director of the Institution of Engineers, has commented that the prestige of a university does not count. The smaller universities are tailoring courses and products to the marketplace better than the large universities. They are trying harder to produce graduates who are acceptable to industry and employers. Traditional universities are often more academic and less industry-linked. He argues strongly the case for more broadly educated graduates. For example, the trend in engineering was to produce graduates with a broader education, communication and financial skills, and knowledge of the environmental and political context. Engineers with other skills were able to weather times of economic recession much better.
: Look for synonyms and paraphrasing; the exact words in the statement rarely appear in the text. Questions 9–13: Sentence Completion You must complete sentences using a maximum of three words taken directly from the passage. Course Hero
It wasn’t a person. It was a legendary, terrible exam. Students who failed it didn't just fail the class; they failed their entire degree trajectory. The Guide presented three seemingly unrelated texts from different centuries and asked one impossible question: How do all three speak to the same unspoken human fear? tertiary comparison guide reading answers
The text notes that non-traditional students look for "flexible" timetables to accommodate part-time employment.
The text states, "Universities offer theoretical, research-driven education... In contrast, vocational colleges focus on practical skills training." 2. Which institutions usually have lower tuition fees? A. Public universities. B. Private universities. C. Specialized colleges. Answer: A.
If the question mentions "tuition fees," the text might say "cost of education" or "student contributions." 3. Track Data and Contrast Phrases | Energy Source | Initial Investment Costs |
By focusing on the structure of the guide rather than reading every word, you can pinpoint the "Tertiary Comparison Guide" reading answers efficiently and improve your overall score.
Before you answer a comparison question, ask yourself three questions:
The text compares their costs and services, not their popularity. 4. Key Strategies for This Passage Type There are now two official guides comparing universities,
Follow a consistent method when approaching comparison questions:
Find more detailed practice exercises for True/False/Not Given questions. Break down specific types of comparison vocabulary. Provide strategies for other IELTS reading passage themes. Let me know what you'd like to focus on next! Tertiary Comparison Guide Reading Answers|IELTS Practice