"I see little point": UK university students on why attendance has plummeted

https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/28/i-see-little-point-uk-university-students-on-why-attendance-has-plummeted

by evanelias • 2 years ago

2 3 2 years ago

theguardian.com

reify• 2 years ago

No one ever mentions those students who fail their degree but are still liable for the full cost.

A friend's son decided to do an aerospace engineering degree after showing promising skills at college.

A three year degree course.

He wanted to be a B2 licenced engineer but the college sent him, wrongly, to Norwich university where he found out after a few months that the degree course was only a B1 licenced engineer degree.

The college arranged for him to go to Bristol university to study for a B2 liceneced engineer degree.

After two further years squeezing in three years of study he failed the final module and so failed his entire degree.

Because he had wasted a year at Norwich university he was unable to do the extra year that he should have been entitled to if he had been sent to Bristol university in the first instance.

His parents could have forked out £9,000 to do the extra year but could not afford the cost.

£30,000 in debt with no degree.

This all happened back in 2010.

He did manage to get a role at British Airways and is now a manager but sadly his dream of being an aerospace engineer is long gone.

doublerabbit• 2 years ago

My university was the same.

Network Management and Design was the course yet due to university failures and lack of lecturers it was merged into "Programming Networks" a subject I have distaste for.

I have no ambition to be a java programmer, nor interested in developing code for embedded network tech nor programming at all.

Of course this was never announced until the start, when they had already sucked the money from your soul.

This was in 2008 and my loan was around £32k debt and thats with myself dropping out in the second year.

Should of chosen to become a vet instead.

AnimalMuppet• 2 years ago

Society has been telling everyone that they should go to college/university. Society is wrong. Not everyone can benefit from college; not everyone can benefit enough to be worth the cost.

And, if supply and demand is in operation at all, if fewer people decide to attend, then the price should drop...

"I see little point": UK university students on why attendance has plummeted

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