Universities' annual funding reduced by £533m

doire_2

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8427546.stm

phil_b_2

The government also wants to see more degrees completed over two years rather than three as a way of easing the funding crisis and to broaden education to a wider range of students.

Great idea. My first year at uni was a joke, we all may as well have just skipped to the second year. I beleive the same can be said for the majority.

If they could somehow deal with the student first-year dosser mentality and make them get their butts into gear straight away then the budget cuts could be dealt with easily and painlessly.

I know I sound like a party-pooper but uni students should get whipped into shape far more ruthlessly instead of encouraging them to go out on the p!ss every night and lay around for large portions of their 3-year dragged-out stint.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Students elsewhere in Europe study for much longer than 3 years, and often find it incomprehensible that people can graduate at 21. Will be interesting to see if European employers would consider a 2 year qualification viable.

The UK's top universities are one of this country's dwindling assets; the government has to be really clear about what it wants from this sector.

phil_b_2

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Students elsewhere in Europe study for much longer than 3 years, and often find it incomprehensible that people can graduate at 21. Will be interesting to see if European employers would consider a 2 year qualification viable.

The UK's top universities are one of this country's dwindling assets; the government has to be really clear about what it wants from this sector.

They also study for much longer than 3-years here if they go on to post-grad level and beyond. Some people seem to end up studying half their lives!

For your bog-stanrd degree 3 years is unnecessary IMO. Students need to get out there and get experience under their belts quickly (where they will learn far more real skills). The typical 3-year degree can be squished into 2 years no problem, I'm sure of it.

the financial burden to budgets, the students (extra loans) and their familes (paying the fees) of dragging it out is a big issue.

I'm sure the people behind it all have thought about it a lot more than me though and worked out that 3 years is optimal for various reasons.

ruggedtoast

International students provide the bulk of profitability in the HE sector, and indeed educating full fee paying international students is one of the of the few genuine success stories in our crippled economy.

Its hard enough to sell a 3 year degree to international students - at the moment we get by on reputation and cost savings for the students not having to study 4 plus years in the US or EU.

Internationals bring in a lot of money, add to our international standing (the UK is second only to the US as a study destination) and unlike house price inflation and shopping, actually create genuine wealth for the UK, as well as subsidising British students.

A 2 year degree will be, frankly, laughable internationally, and will fail to comply in any way with the Bologna process which rationalises qualifications amongst the EU.

Put simply British graduates degrees wont be recognised at all in the EU anymore, or respected overseas. Basically killing off one of our key industries at a stroke - nevermind the repercussions for education.

It never ceases to amaze me how there really is no golden goose this stupid, ignorant government are not prepared to sacrifice for the shortest of short term gain.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

ruggedtoast wrote: »

A 2 year degree will be, frankly, laughable internationally, and will fail to comply in any way with the Bologna process which rationalises qualifications amongst the EU.

Put simply British graduates degrees wont be recognised at all in the EU anymore, or respected overseas. Basically killing off one of our key industries at a stroke - nevermind the repercussions for education.

It never ceases to amaze me how there really is no golden goose this stupid, ignorant government are not prepared to sacrifice for the shortest of short term gain.

I thought about Bologna too- having known some people at the uni where I work and how many years of effort have gone into dragging the UK into line.

I don't agree that 3 year courses can automatically be condensed into 2 years. Whilst the first year of a degree is often slightly easier, the point is to build up a base of study skills and to bridge the gap from A-Levels.

ruggedtoast

There's no educational rationale for this - its senseless cost cutting of something people want, education, when things people dont want, bank bailouts and Blair's wars, receive hundreds of billions.

Ignoring the international perspective for a moment - many universities are receiving A level grads, who, thanks to a decade of Labours educational policy, finish further education barely able to write a sentence correctly.

For a lot of unis the first year of a degree is now spent teaching students to read and write. How on earth are we supposed to cope if they go straight into year 2?

misskool

phil_b wrote: »

Great idea. My first year at uni was a joke, we all may as well have just skipped to the second year. I beleive the same can be said for the majority.

Not at the universities where I've been to. First year is catching up a lot of students to be on the same playing field. It's especially worse this year because students can now choose to do modules which they liked at A-levels, meaning they lack the full breadth of knowledge required to read for their degree.

phil_b_2

ruggedtoast wrote: »

For a lot of unis the first year of a degree is now spent teaching students to read and write. How on earth are we supposed to cope if they go straight into year 2?

I think you would be surprised at what people can acheive and the potential they can realise when forced to get their butts into gear.

Theres too much damn 'easing in', molly-coddling and trying to look like we're matching international standards.

Perhaps a more intense 2-year course would seperate the wheat from the chaff quicker and get the drongo's behind the macdonalds counter ahead of schedule rather than wasting peoples time and money.
Uni is producing too many idiots with few real-world skills. that's what I whitnessed in my years there anyway. I'm not sure why I feel annoyance about that but I just do.

mr_fishbulb

ruggedtoast wrote: »

There's no educational rationale for this - its senseless cost cutting of something people want, education, when things people dont want, bank bailouts and Blair's wars, receive hundreds of billions.

Ignoring the international perspective for a moment - many universities are receiving A level grads, who, thanks to a decade of Labours educational policy, finish further education barely able to write a sentence correctly.

For a lot of unis the first year of a degree is now spent teaching students to read and write. How on earth are we supposed to cope if they go straight into year 2?

I wonder how many people have read this thinking "It would be well funny if I can find a grammatical error in this post. I can point it out in an ironic way and be hailed King for the day!"

dont

Look there it is - missed the '. Now where's my crown?

ruggedtoast

There has been a widening participation agenda, which unfortunately has too frequently revolved around recruiting people with little academic interest and only a few UCAS points, to do things like Pop Music Studies, which out of a cohort of 50 freshers may have 6 people left by the end of the programme.

Obviously this has to stop and these people are much better off getting an early start building up the number of stars on their McDonalds badge.

But cutting access to everyone else is madness.