Two NSW universities accused of running unaccredited degrees

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Two top Australian public universities have been accused of misleading and deceptive conduct for running unaccredited degrees in health and engineering.

Transcript

00:00It's really every university student's worst nightmare to have passed all the exams, done

00:06all the hard work, overcome all the challenges involved in a degree, only to then find out

00:11that it's not going to open the doors that you think it will.

00:14And for some of the students, they say they only found out as recruiters were helping

00:18them enter the workforce.

00:20That's according to documents filed as part of two class actions against the University

00:25of Newcastle and the University of Western Sydney over courses in engineering and health

00:30respectively.

00:32The plaintiffs in that action say that the university engaged in misleading and deceptive

00:36conduct by promising them that the degrees were accredited and that they've also breached

00:42regulations in Australia which require universities to accredit their courses where that's needed

00:47to work in the field.

00:48Well the students say it's taken a really terrible toll on them, it's basically shattered their

00:53lives, they've spent years doing this study and racked up $50,000 plus in HECS debts only

00:59to then find out their career path isn't there.

01:03They also say it's taken a huge toll on them emotionally.

01:07Now the University of Newcastle strongly denied that in a statement to me, it said that the

01:13impact on the students from the lack of accreditation was minimal and that it's planning on defending

01:18the action, Western Sydney University didn't comment but it has now suspended its Master

01:24of Advanced Imaging MRI course for new students.

01:28There is also a regulatory and political element to this Bridget because there's been a debate

01:33about how universities are regulated for quite a while and the strength of that regulation.

01:38The government is reviewing that right now and the students say that their experience

01:43is evidence that universities need to be held to account to stop this happening to other

01:48students.

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