The accommodation lottery !

When you buy a ticket in a lottery you hope to win - and expect to lose. It seems that the same odds apply to accommodation at Wollongong University.

At least the chance of securing a prize are better there than in most lotteries. The university has 1430 furnished rooms with full facilities - and these are sought by 2300 students - so 870 are certain to miss out.

The only point of contention is the price of the ticket. Those seeking university accommodation must pony up an $ 80 fee - or $ 50 if it is a returning student - and this is non refundable.

The university claims it needs this money to run the scheme, but surely the whole thing could be handled by a real estate company or a strata manager at no cost to the university ! This would also involve collecting the weekly rent and managing the project for a small commission.

It seems that the university is insisting on doing a function in-house that would be better served by employing a professional - and in the real world competition is the key to getting the best service at the lowest price !