🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4fhbcf$qah@nntp.ucs.ubc.ca> dwalker@news.ucs.ubc.ca (Dan Walker)  
writes:

  > Let's kill two birds with one stone. Trash the archaic 
  > concept of a "PhD degree" and a "PhD student". The Free 
  > Market demands it --- supply exceeds demand. But the work 
  > in the labs still needs doing. So, rather than doing the 
  > work as Phd students, the same people can be hired on as 
  > Advanced Research Technicians (ARTs). They can be paid 
  > whatever the Free Market says they're worth...well, at 
  > least within the constraints of the minimum wage law.

Rather simplistic view Dan.

You can rest assured that the university will cut back on 
PhD students. I think that with the cuts coming down the line
that there will be less money in the pot (TA awards/UGF awards)
for graduate students. Also, I think that downsizing is a 
reality and many departments are considering the best approach
to downsize. Further, NSERC and MRC are also cutting funding
to researchers as their budgets are being axed left right and
center. The outcome of all this will be, in my opinion, smaller
research intensive universities in large centers (TO, Van, Alta).
There won't be as many researchers and the researchers that are
there won't have as many $$ to take on students. The universities
won't be able to help out as much and therefore overall you will
see a decrease in the number of graduate students. There is no
need to simply axe programs, it will happen by a slow death.

Oh yeah, so what about the fate of undergraduate education?
Larger facilities will deviate away from educating undergrads 
and focuss more on elitist undergraduate programs, education 
of graduate students and research. Undergraduate programs at 
universities will be more geared towards research than before
and will become correspondingly harder for average students
to gain entrance. Everyone else will have to go to smaller 
degree granting locations (colleges and small uni's) to get
a degree. This will be cheaper for the government since they 
can pay instructors less than researchers and it will be 
cheaper for students since they don't have to pay tonnes
of cash in res fees etc (most will likely find small educational
institutions close by their communities). Guess what will happen
when the government sees they can make something more affordable?
Yep, they will put even more burden on those students and make
them even more financially responsible for their education.

Ooooohh.. I could just go on forever.

Regards,

Shaun. 
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<A HREF="http://philos.resnet.ubc.ca/~sfoy">sfoy@zoology.ubc.ca</A>