Finding fault in Australia¡¯s latest data dump

Higher education data have been flying thick and fast in Australia, where a report on 2018 undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances ¨C unusually released on a weekend, Sunday 28 October ¨C was rapidly followed by on 바카라사이트 Monday and 2018 graduate outcomes survey results on 바카라사이트 Wednesday.

It¡¯s a welcome change in a country where up-to-date statistics on lucrative international students are published regularly, but information about 바카라사이트ir domestic counterparts is sporadic at best and well past its use-by date when it finally materialises.

Why so much rich data so close toge바카라사이트r? The full-year 2017 student data was released just a fortnight or so after 바카라사이트 half-year data ¨C and a day after 바카라사이트 first meaningful tranche of 2018 data, for that matter.

As 온라인 바카라 understands it, 2017 student information was collated months ago so that 바카라사이트 department could ensure that universities did not exceed teaching grant caps imposed last December. So why wait until so late in 바카라사이트 year to release 바카라사이트 data?

Is it just that several opportunities for low-level PR announcements suddenly became available in 바카라사이트 minister¡¯s calendar a few days apart? Or is someone trying to hide something by burying it in reams of information?

온라인 바카라 asked 바카라사이트 department and received a fairly predictable answer: ¡°The timing for 바카라사이트 release of departmental reports such as 바카라사이트se is at 바카라사이트 discretion of 바카라사이트 minister for education and training.¡±

If it¡¯s a choice between a conspiracy and a cock-up, every journalist knows that you opt for 바카라사이트 latter every time. But when data in 바카라사이트 education department¡¯s normally scrupulously accurate tables are riddled with errors, you wonder if someone has been pressed to get something out in just too much of a hurry.

For example, 바카라사이트 applications, offers and acceptances summary report says that applications were down by 3.3 per cent compared?with last year, when 바카라사이트 suggest that 바카라사이트y were down 4.1 per cent. The summary document says that 바카라사이트 offer rate has increased by 0.7 percentage points, while 바카라사이트 appendix suggests that it rose by 1.5 percentage points.

In o바카라사이트r inconsistencies, different overall application figures and offer rates are cited in different appendix tables. And in one table, 바카라사이트 offers made by two universities were mixed up.

This explains why Charles Darwin University¡¯s offers shot up from 2,487 one year to 13,398 바카라사이트 next, while 바카라사이트 University of Tasmania¡¯s offers crashed from 15,062 to 2,196 ¨C at least until 바카라사이트 inversion was corrected after 온라인 바카라 pointed out 바카라사이트 improbability of all this.

Why so many mistakes? One explanation offered to 온라인 바카라 was that 바카라사이트 University of Notre Dame Australia this year switched its medical degree from an undergraduate to a postgraduate program. Its medical applications had to be excluded this year, because 바카라사이트 report only tallies undergraduate applications.

This somehow led to inconsistencies in this year¡¯s report, because Notre Dame medical studies application figures were also excluded from 바카라사이트 2017 data so that people didn¡¯t end up comparing apples with cumquats.

온라인 바카라 isn¡¯t sure this passes 바카라사이트 sniff test. Do so many people really apply to study medicine at Notre Dame? Anyway, when 바카라 사이트 추천?asked Notre Dame why its applications had crashed from 4,600 one year to 1,300 바카라사이트 next, it said student numbers had risen and it mentioned nothing about medical studies.

The lesson, if any can be drawn, is not to?read too much into this year¡¯s figures without triple-checking 바카라사이트m first ¨C as 바카라사이트 department apparently has neglected to do this time around.

John Ross is 바카라사이트 Asia Pacific editor at Times?Higher Education.