Editorial: Precious, to some degree

The title of an educational qualification bestows only so much respect. Most of the esteem attached to a particular degree, diploma or certificate springs from the qualities and accomplishments of its holders. The same applies to a seat of learning. Thus a degree from an institute of technology, especially the likes of Massachusetts or Melbourne, might carry a greater cachet than one from a minor university. Universities, nonetheless, cling to the belief that their degrees involve more intellectual rigour. This form of elitism invites the occasional collision with ambitious technical institutes.

Such a clash has sprung from a plan by Unitec polytechnic to offer degrees to tradespeople. Unitec wants to introduce a bachelor of applied technology degree for the likes of mechanics, boatbuilders, plumbers, electricians and furniture makers. University vice-chancellors oppose the plan but, citing sensitivity, decline to discuss it. Doubtless, however, they feel such a degree devalues the tertiary qualification and is symptomatic of the lack of intellectual stringency at Unitec. Others complain that Unitec's competitive impulse is leading it to flout a national standards system for tradespeople.

Yet, clearly, to have got this far the degree must have received positive vibes from industry. Quite simply, Unitec has spotted a gap in the market and is going for it. It says its degree will arm tradespeople with far more than is provided by standard training - the ability to manage and supervise their own businesses, to think laterally and come up with new concepts, for example.

Grasping such opportunities has become something of a speciality for Unitec. It also offers, for instance, a three-year, full-time bachelor of sport degree. Likewise, it sensed an opportunity to tailor its master of business degree to start-up business hopefuls and division heads with decision-making latitude.

All this, and a continued campaign to become a university, have, of course, led Unitec to ruffle feathers. The country's eight established universities and a Government embargo have staved off the threat of university status. The furore, however, has not enamoured Unitec to a Government intent on gaining greater co-operation between tertiary institutions. Yet if all that adds to the chorus against the polytechnic's bachelor of applied technology degree, it does not invalidate the qualification.

All sorts of people can qualify for a degree these days: nurses, landscape "architects" and winemakers are but three examples of established vocationally based degrees. Degrees are no longer the preserve of a select group of professionals. Universities, of course, jib at this development. Yet, despite what they say, some of these qualifications undoubtedly require as much intellectual rigour as a bachelor of arts. And, obviously, they bestow a greater marketability - even if, as academics rightly maintain, that is not the be-all and end-all of a degree.

To take its place as a cog in the national education chain, Unitec's applied technology degree will have to meet strict, well-monitored standards. Whether key benchmarks are met will be evident in the ability of those who boast it as a qualification. Employers, and society at large, will make their judgment. They, not the universities, will be the true arbiters of the degree's relevance and reputation.

The United States and Britain long ago got over a sense of preciousness that still pervades New Zealand's universities. It is time the same happened here with trade degrees. Unitec might occasionally have played the role of an upstart to excess. But innovation and competition are attributes never to be scorned, particularly in a field as critical as education.