> basically the net is growing at a very fast rate and the money needs to
> come from somewhere to support it. judging what is the most "just" way
> to pay for it is impossible at best... so the most likely substitute for
> just will be efficiency... rough.. but thats life..
>
There is a serious question as whether Universities will be allowed to
charge undergrad students for AARNet usage. The Higher Education Funding
Act (1988) prohibits universities from charging students for any
course-related activities (hence no charge on libraries, computing
facilities etc).
Of course it's pretty obvious that lots of people use networks for
non-study activities. But how can the University possibly distinguish
between what is coursework or research related and what is people's
private usage? (peek in our e-mail accounts perhaps?)
Still given the dismal state of the UTS library and the fact the
interlibrary loans are not available to most UTS students then a lot of
us actually have to use AARNET for course-related purposes.
The other major issue is why should they bother. UTS receives in excess
of $7000 per year per student from the Federal Government. Since vast
amounts of that money manage to find their way into non-teaching related
activities (University research, glossy publications etc) then students
should insist that some of it be spent on them.
This is particularly relevant for postgrad and overseas students who are
paying fees. The University manages to spend those students' money on almost
everything but those students. Why shouldn't students in return have
something spent on them?
If you want to see a chargeback system in operation take a look at some
of the major Unis. At Melbourne Uni (as I understand it) if students want
just an email account, their department has to pay for them to get one.
In resource-starved departments this has resulted in six-month long
delays in account allocation even for PhD and Masters students.
Undergrads in many departments are simply not eligible for email access
(much less more indulgent things like the WWW or IRC).
The best solution is for universities to come up with the money from
their Commonwealth Operating Grants and encourage everyone to get
themselves on-line and use the systems appropriately.
Since most unis provide zero training in AARNet usage (except for
research students and academics) then they shouldn't be surprised that
people stuff around a lot while trying to learn how to use it. The
reality is that Unis rely heavily on peer training (students teaching
each other) then like to brag about how technologically literate their
students are. It's a cynical world.
Final whinge of the day: if international costs are such a problem, why
is UTS so slack on offering mirror sites, or any resources developed
internally? Hey, then we might not have to go looking overseas and clog
those pesky and expensive international lines.
Chris
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Chris Francis
Postgrad Researcher/Organiser
Students' Association.