just a thought...
but i think uws isn't as bad a university as people may think it might be. if it's a disadvantaged uni then it probably receives extra funding from the government which the other universities don't... maybe
i know they do that for public school in disadvantaged areas in the west, and i went to a public school in the west, but it wasnt disadvantaged, and i also went to this eco lecture at st marys high (near mt duritt/ penrith) which is a disadvantaged school, on a saturday and theyre school looked pretty good, in fact they had a really cool cafeteria and when i first went inside i thought they had their own MCDONALDS! ... cos they have a lot of the foods you can find in take away shops.
but anyway, ive been to uws parra, i dont know what the other campuses are like, but the parra one looked really good. its very modern, very clean and well kept/ looked after.
on the other hand, i went to macq open day and all i saw was cigarette butts strewn all over the lawns and the main quad looked horrendous with tattered, old and doggy eared posters covering the walls and concrete support columns from floor to ceiling... their union really ought to put restrictions!
and yes i know ive based all this simply on appearances, but i reckon most people sound as if they are basing their opinions on 2 factors..
1) appearance/ reputation. i personally think it matters for some courses more than others, e.g teaching- doesn't really matter the reputation of the uni so much cos the government is desperate for teachers, on the other hand i think if someone wants to do something in business or law it will probably matter a lot more- no offense to people who want to become teachers, and not trying to scare ppl who want to do business or law
2) the level of UAI. the higher the UAI, the more people assume it means that the uni is good in this topic area .... maybe. but the level of UAI is driven by demand, not set by an objective measure taken by an outside institution of the quality of the course being offered, therefore it's subjective and you have to be careful.