Monday, June 07, 2010

Two Year Degrees

The University and College Union (whoever they are) is up in arms about the idea of two year degrees, describing them as 'Sweatshops'.

Two ten week terms with about 5 weeks of lectures in the third term is now about average, so using simple arithmetic that works out at about 75 weeks of work spread over three years. Now if that were compressed into two years, it would be about 37.5 weeks each year.

I reckon we would be inundated with sweatshop workers from all over Asia if we introduced such a thing.


9 comments:

Boy on a bike said...

From the US - the higher education bubble is about to burst.

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/06/higher-education-bubble-its-about-to.html

Spottr said...

Now now Frank. It's not about lecture time only. HE involves a lot of independent learning if you want a decent grade.

Compress it, and you put lots of pressure on the students, with a relatively smaller quantity of staff contact time.

Who are we helping again..?

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

"Who are we helping again..?"

The people who won't have to pay another year's tuition fee, and support themselves for a third year, all the time while racking up interest on the money borrowed for the first two years, and not foregoing a year's pay because they are still at University.

That's who.

Mr Lammy said...

Maybe we could apply the same principles to schools as well. Have the school day running from 8:30a.m. to 5p.m., 10 minute morning and afternoon breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. 48 weeks of school per year instad of 40. That way we could send the kids off to uni at 16 and they would have their degrees by 18 and start earning (and paying tax). I calculate that we could save from £4-5bn. National deficit solved.

Boy on a bike said...

Spottr, in my experience, HE involves the ingestion of ridiculous amounts of alcohol, maximum relaxation time and the endless pursuit of sex.

Studying is strictly for nerds and wimps.

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

Er...Mr Lammy...4bn << 180bn, so national deficit not solved.

My main point remains, though: wasting people's time costs money.

Fee said...

37 and a half weeks' work a year - I'll have that. Sounds a bit better than the 48 weeks I currently knock in.

Kimpatsu said...

Frank, the eral opposition to 2-year degrees is that the stundets only learn the material for the exams, rather than recalling the information in long-term memory for life, which is what you want if you are talking surgeons, pharmacists, electricians, nuclear power station engineers...

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