Phantasm on Nostr: It's interesting to hear these things coming from the other side of the world, ...

It's interesting to hear these things coming from the other side of the world, because Europe has exactly the opposite problem for the most part. Universities get payed per student they allow to get in and that's all they get (tuition is mostly free with some exceptions.) The dropout rate for the first year was 75% at my uni (mechanical engineering; IT faculty was on average 50%.) Since they have no monetary incentive to keep all the students, they kick them out as fast as possible with very hard curriculum (usually very advanced math and physics for me, in network administration they were learning about kernel design and process scheduling).

This keeps the university degree "prestigious", because there's much less of them and a literal health hazard for the students. I've had to quit my master's studies and completely switch career to systems administration, because I've had many health issues from it (some quite severe) and a bachelor in mechanical engineering is almost useless here. Unless you have "Ing." before your name, you are destined to a life of physical to digital drawing conversion and 3D modelling which isn't my cup of tea at all. The dean's words sum it up nicely: "Health issues and lack of sleep are normal and expected. If you develop mental health issues or health related issues in general, consult a doctor."

Another thing I noticed was that the curriculum and exams for foreign, therefore paying, students were much easier.