COVID entrenches dominance of city’s big two universities

The pandemic has entrenched the dominance of Melbourne’s top-ranked universities, Melbourne and Monash, raising concerns that poorer, smaller and regional universities might fall behind, writes Madeleine Heffernan for The Age.

Peter Hurley, education policy expert at Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute, said a gulf seemed to be emerging between Victoria’s two Group of Eight universities and the others. “I think what happens in tertiary education is that prestige often dictates the flow of resources,” Hurley said. “The universities that have the greater prestige can attract more research dollars and students.”

Melbourne and Monash are among Australia’s top-ranked and wealthiest universities. Their growing wealth is an ominous prospect for smaller institutions, which are more likely to have students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and face fierce competition for research opportunities and donations.
Full report on The Age site