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Thanks to ARB for a document that lists a global ranking for the worlds 200 top universities from the Times Higher Education Supplement. I have gone through the list and extracted those that have a school or department of Podiatry that made it into the top 200.

NB: This is not a ranking of podiatry schools, but a ranking of the University (numero uno is Harvard)

76 Curtin (Australia) .... the one thats closing!!!
142 LaTrobe (Australia)
193 Southampton (UK)

Thats all - no other University associated with a podiatry school got in the top 200 - I looked for them all (NZ, UK, USA, Canada & South Africa)

Another way of looking at it .... of the worlds top 200 Universities, only 3 (shortly to be 2) have podiatry schools.

Hi Admin.

This is of real interest to some of us! I may be able to make a guess at the third one about to disappear after reading the posts on this Forum but would you please mind telling/reminding me who the third one is about to cock it's toes up? Not funny really! Especially when it has reached the top two hundred, no mean feat!

Regards,

Colin.

PS. Re read message? Did you just tell me or am I blind at this time in the morning?

PPS. If Curtin is in the top 200 and is about to go down the shoot, would someone please tell me how many University ranking courses now exist in Australia? How many other chiropody/podiatry courses exist or have they been legislated out of existence as in England?

Its just podiatry at Curtin that is closing - not the University. There are 6 school's in Australia, all at Universities (incl Curtin; but new one coming at UWA)

We have been calling ourselves (Australia) the "clever country" for decades now. In view of that, I am surprised that we didn't have 1 university in the top 100 last year.

Atlas

> We have been calling ourselves (Australia) the "clever country" for decades now. In view of that, I am surprised that we didn't have 1 university in the top 100 last year.

That should tell you a lot about contemporary Australian Society. Sometimes the "polys" get a hold of a catch phrase and when they say it often enough then the populace begin to believe it. Australian higher education has been on a low for at least a decade. Keating might have made the key moves to make the difference but was not re-elected and Howard just wants to have finishing schools for the affluent. Beezley's "smart nation" only relates to the rich and smart sadly. Academic creep is prevalent and the education industry is noted as the highest incidence of bullying in the workplace. All on public record. Higher education in Australia is in crisis.

The Chancellors blame lack of Federal Government finding (as in Curtin's case), whereas the cynical would suggest poor management and total absence of public accountability in out of control autocracies with no social conscience, would be more in keeping. I think you can see where the government is coming from by now implementing greater controls on the Australian universities.

Craig et al

Being in the top 200 universities does not mean the podiatry programs are so graded, as you so well know. When I did a survey of Australasian, UK and Canada schools in 2002 the results were very much the same with equity and reciprocity shared. So each centre of podiatric excellence operates at about the same level, so QUT et al rest easy. There is other survey data which publish exit feedback from students and if memory serves the results would indicate Curtin Podiatry faired less well than other centres from the student satisfaction point of view. To be fair the response rates from these questionnaires are poor and hence comparison impossible.

To the credit of Curtin Podiatry and Arthur Hill and Paul Tinley in particular, the unit led Australia into degrees and provided the first consolidated post graduate programs which helped the surgical podiatry lobby establish itself. Under Paul Tinley it forged the first Masters by distance in podiatry as well as maintain a contemporary curriculum for undergraduates and encourage PhDs and Masters research. Not bad for a three person teaching team and administrator. Like anything so small however it was always vulnerable and when the Division of Health decided to remove a subsidy the small department went into the red and was closed. End of Curtin Podiatry.

I have attached a letter from the Federal Minister of Health's office which relates to the Government's concerns about closing podiatry course at Australian univeristies and their interests in maintaining a prioritised education for the profession in the future.

Cameron

__________________

Cameron Kippen, Podologist and Shoe Historian




Cameron Kippen

In a different context this paragraph is terribly apposite. Substitute NHS Trusts and Central for Chancellors and Federal, then Health Service for Australian Universities and you realise we've all been round this particular pole many times before. They say the profession is much bigger than individuals but it is remarkable how much influence - good or bad - that individuals can bring to bear on a profession as small as ours.

Mark Russell

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Australia actually had 6 Universities in the Times top 50. It helps to have a medical school in the univesity. They were

16 Australian National University
22 University of Melbourne
33 Monash University
36 University of New South Wales
40 University of Sydney
49 University of Queensland

more info on Australian University rankings here
http://www.australian-universities.com/rankings.php

the full list of the Time rankings is available from their web site

http://www.thes.co.uk/worldrankings/

but you need to register for full access, which is free for a 14 day period

__________________
Stephen Tucker
Eastern Health
Podiatry Manager

My location

$20 million donation funds QUT health clinics

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has received a $20 million donation from The Atlantic Philanthropies toward a Centre for Physical Activity, Health and Clinical Education at the Kelvin Grove Urban Village (KGUV).

QUT vice-chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said the new centre would enhance clinical education as well as facilitating knowledge transfer to local, national and international health professionals.

"As well as consolidating clinical teaching in optometry, podiatry, human movement science and a range of other allied health services, it will enable us to engage with external agencies and the community to more effectively translate the benefits of new knowledge into better health policy, practice and outcomes," he said.