Why is it that going to University Costs so much.

The_One_Who

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I had 2 hours per week in my third year - I commuted once a week from Wales to Essex!

If I were you I would've asked for my money back! What were you paying them for?!

MissPop

I currently get 14 hours of lectures a week, and there is a LOT of work to do independently - far more than I had expected!

Oldernotwiser

The_One_Who wrote: »

If I were you I would've asked for my money back! What were you paying them for?!

I thought that we agreed that HE was about independent study rather than being taught? (puzzled smiley)

The_One_Who

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I thought that we agreed that HE was about independent study rather than being taught? (puzzled smiley)

Sorry, sarcasm doesn't come across well. I do absolutely agree that HE is all about independent study.

MrsManda

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I thought that we agreed that HE was about independent study rather than being taught? (puzzled smiley)

I'd still be a bit upset if I only had two hours contact time a week, unless you don't count doing work in a lab with a principal researcher for minimal guidance as contact time?

kettlefish

Whether you are studying full time or working full time you have to pay for somewhere to live, food and bills. Going to uni is no more expensive than running a home normally, there's just less money coming in!

olly300

MrsManda wrote: »

I'd still be a bit upset if I only had two hours contact time a week, unless you don't count doing work in a lab with a principal researcher for minimal guidance as contact time?

Depends what degree course you are doing.

People who do the traditional Arts - Dance, Drama, Music and Fine Art will need studios and practise rooms. These cost money to run.

Students who do sciences where there is lab work or they need to use the university's computer system extensively will be paying towards the running costs of the labs and computers.

However in all cases regardless of subject you will be paying towards the cost of the university getting journals, up to date books and other library facilities. This material is more important in your final year than previous years. In addition you are also paying for the University Careers service which again is more important in your final year.

Plus just because you are paying for 2 hours per week contact time in year 3 doesn't mean that your 16 hours per week contact time in year 1 was paid for in full with your fees for year 1.

That's why:
1. Universities want as many foreign non-EU students as they can possibly get
2. They give clear figures to show that tuition fees are not covering the cost of running the courses.

And my lab courses where tended not to be with a "principle" researcher they tended to be with a postgraduate student who needed the extra money and the majority of what they did was baby sitting for health and safety reasons not teaching.

Oldernotwiser

MrsManda wrote: »

I'd still be a bit upset if I only had two hours contact time a week, unless you don't count doing work in a lab with a principal researcher for minimal guidance as contact time?

I was reading Literature so this wasn't relevant.

We had a seminar for our major and our minor subjects with an optional lecture series which would have added an hour a week.

squirrelchops

Hi all. An interesting thread.

I am in my final year of the Social Work degree and would defy anyone to go through it and say it was easy. I had 5 years direct experience when I began the degree and life experience being a mature student. I also had 4 A levels with good grades that I attained 15 years ago so considered myself to have the ability to study at degree level but I think we were all in for a shock!

Studying for what is a professional qualification as well as a degree meant we had certain expectations placed on us from the outset and also given that social work is an extremely pressurised job we were loaded with work from the outset. I am not complaining about this as I think it has been of benefit to those who have little work experience to see what the 'real worls' of work is like.

The social work degree is essential is you want to work in social work now. Without it you cannot register as a social worker and without register you cannot title yourself as a social worker. Therefore it is an essential degree such as medicine, law etc.

Similalry we have to undergo rigorous work placements.....200 days over the course, which for example for me is spending 5 months working for social services, holding cases and basically doing what a qualified worker would do but with supervision of course. Therefore the expectation is once we are finished we are of a level where we can go into the work place and hit the ground running and not be useless graduates who don't know anything!!

We also have a newly qualified year, similar to teaching whereby we have protected case loads and the like which again is about getting us fully integrated into the work and building on our knowledge.

I see the degree I have undertaken as 100% worthwhile. I have touched upon the benefits in term of employability but also the personal journeys we have all gone on has been vast. I doubt there are that many other degrees that take you through such a refelctive process.

It also therefore seems such a shame that with all the hard work and training we both do and receive that things go appallingly wrong in this field of work and that the public has such a poor perception but that is another forum another time!!!

Blacksheep1979

squirrelchops wrote: »

Similalry we have to undergo rigorous work placements.....200 days over the course, which for example for me is spending 5 months working for social services,

I'm guessing that maths wasn't a prerequisite - either that or you have a very advanced understanding of physics as 5 months with an average of 30 days per month is 150 days, only 5/7ths of them are 'working' days so that's only 107 days....

I guess this may go some way to explaining the state social services are in.