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Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel Tertiary Education: Student Finance Proposals Written Submission – L'Amy – 8 March 2018
Apologies for bothering you as I have already responded to the consultation on this subject. I'm sure all responses were taken onto account but there is something that continues to concern me.
We have three youngsters in our family who have now complete degrees at University, together with a friend whose son is still at university.
The comment from all four is that their courses could have been completed in a much shorter time frame and they ended up being "bored". They were/are only required to attend university between 5 hours and 7 hours per week. Taking into account time spent on private study/research/dissertations/papers etc., they all had too much time on their hands. All four agree that Universities are elongating courses in order to obtain additional fees. My nephew, in particular, said that the length of the course delayed him getting into the workplace.
I read (about 6 months ago) a letter in the JEP from a chap that said that his particular degree could have been completed in 6 months, if it had been a full time course. Of course I accept that certain degrees, especially in the medical field, do require lengthy full time courses but it would appear that the average length of a University course is three years, no matter the subject. (My brother, who was the chief photographer for the JEP for many years, could never understand that obtaining a photography degree could take three years). I understand the UK government are also concerned at the length of some courses – Universities are businesses that have to generate as much funding as possible, I understand that.
I'm sure that Scrutiny are taking these concerns into account but if the States are to provide funding for most students (who wish to) to have the opportunity of attending university, then there has to be assurance that the States are genuinely funding what is necessary.