Universities Should Be Accessible For All

Since there were no restrictions on who could study what, students were able to enrol in a number of programs and thus complement and enhance their learning experience. Nowadays we hear about "interdisciplinary learning" or "interdisciplinary approaches" all the time, but students in Austria have been "interdisciplinary all along. In fact, when you look at the CVs of these graduates, you will often find that they hold multiple degrees (under the Austrian system you are allowed to take even three majors at a time - if you find the time, that is). I know plenty of people over there who completed, say, their LLB and MBA studies at the same time. Other examples include people who completed both business school and medical school. Today, however, universities are not free anymore. Each student has to pay a nominal amount of about 400 euros (approx. C$600) per semester, but that's still not bad compared to what Canadian universities charge. What matters the most, I believe, is open access. Athabasca University here in Alberta is an open-access university, but every public university should be open access. Just as health care, education is a public good and as such it must be available to every one. To deal with the resulting problem of limited space, I suggest that all universities offer the option of distance and/or online learning. Also, following some European examples, each department could organize "knock-out exams" after the first year or so. If you don't pass, you can't go on and have to select a different major. This would also help to relieve the stress on facilities with limited space and resources. I call on all political parties to consider open-access post-secondary education. Education is a right, not a privilege.