Too many students? Too many universities?

[espadrille]

In a word yes! I strongly believe that the university system should be academically elitist. You get there on your academic ability not because someone has made the political decision that 50% of all school leavers should go on to higher education. If you want an upskilled workforce then raise the school leaving age and educate in school then the top academic X percent go to university for an academic degree the next X percent go to polytechnic (remember them?) for a vocational degree and the next X percent go on modern apprenticeships. Pushing an arbitrary large number of school leavers does nothing but dilute the university system and saddle a lot of people with a lot of debt.

 

I'm also firmly of the opinion that the "opening up" of the higher education system has little or nothing to do with creating a more skilled workforce and much more to do with keeping people off the dole for three years while making them pay for it. Then again I also believe that our "education" system is in a terrible mess and needs a serious overhaul.

I am 100% with you on that one.

[mrsv]

I do think that certain courses are unnecessary and are no guarantee of better career prospects on graduation. I have worked with people studying for degrees such as Retail Management (I work in retail management and have a degree in history) and really do not understand how it could be studied in depth for three years.

 

That said, my degree combined with my very good work history while at uni got me a management position straight out of uni. Also, a degree in a traditional subject does give you options in life, I could go into teaching if I decide to, but I doubt that very specific courses such as Fashion Buying give you the same chance.

[alchresearch]

In a word yes! I strongly believe that the university system should be academically elitist.

 

Me too. When I was young you had to have done well at school and college to get into Uni.

 

But now the bar has been well and truly lowered, and the problem stems back to these 12 A grade GCSEs that most kids can come out of school with.

 

I know of pupils who got A grades in IT but couldn't do simple OS management, and that's because the GCSE was little more than Advanced Microsoft Office operation.

 

I went to uni as a mature student and was in classes with kids of 18-20 and half of them had no idea of the basics, and the lecturer spent loads of time going over knowledge they should have brought to the lecture theatre or labs with them.

 

I've always said that primaries need to have a couple of extra years to them and secondary schools need to start from Y9 and incorporate Y12 and 13 as standard.

[Greybeard]

As a system for keeping youngsters off the dole queue for a few years after they leave school it seems to work pretty well.

[llamatron]

People always quote the fact that a higher percentage of graduates are found in countries that have better economies. Could this actually be the result of a good economy rather than a cause?

[spooky3]

I reckon media studies has more psychological stuff in it. How to make a good advert kind of thing, multimedia computing is how to use a computer/MAC. Both obviously do not require a degree course and are better learnt on the job unless they are made more specific eg computer animation might be worth a degree.

 

I guess the problem is a general degree is totally pointless! it needs to be specific as you need to go into the subject in depth. If it covers too broad a range of elements then it is just a bunch of taster sessions with an exam or two thrown in the mix.

 

So your saying neither require a degree now?

 

But in reality multimedia studies is a different subject to media studies.

 

P.S. Just say "computer", a Mac is a brand name... Your falling for hyped media there!

[spooky3]

In a word yes! I strongly believe that the university system should be academically elitist. You get there on your academic ability not because someone has made the political decision that 50% of all school leavers should go on to higher education. If you want an upskilled workforce then raise the school leaving age and educate in school then the top academic X percent go to university for an academic degree the next X percent go to polytechnic (remember them?) for a vocational degree and the next X percent go on modern apprenticeships. Pushing an arbitrary large number of school leavers does nothing but dilute the university system and saddle a lot of people with a lot of debt.

 

I'm also firmly of the opinion that the "opening up" of the higher education system has little or nothing to do with creating a more skilled workforce and much more to do with keeping people off the dole for three years while making them pay for it. Then again I also believe that our "education" system is in a terrible mess and needs a serious overhaul.

 

 

Very well put!

[kevinukms]

The institutes for the education purpose are now days increasing day by day in every region of the world. The only thing right at the moment we need to see is that "are we moving in the right direction". Too many students with too many universities but with the right education as per today's era?

[spooky3]

That said, my degree combined with my very good work history while at uni got me a management position straight out of uni.

 

If your were to join the armed forces (with at least a degree) you go in as an officer, because you've got a certificate of higher learning.

 

School and further education do not provide the level of thought expansion as higher and beyond (masters, doctorates) does.

[llamatron]

So your saying neither require a degree now?

 

But in reality multimedia studies is a different subject to media studies.

 

P.S. Just say "computer", a Mac is a brand name... Your falling for hyped media there!

 

I never claimed either required a degree, I don't think either do. I also didn't imply they were similar "degrees" I actually stated a difference.

 

How to use a Mac and PC was on a course description and there is a very obvious and significant difference between the two due to their different operating systems. Its not like saying a toshiba versus a HP. Generally macs are in a different section to PCs on online stores even though a mac is a PC. Im sure you know this though and are just being pedantic.

 

I couldn't give one whether I would fail a mickey mouse degree I can use my computers and that is all I need. That is irrelevant to the discussion though