Has the quality of Higher Education declined since this government's push to get everybody into uni.?

Question

My feedback from ex-pupils at the secondary school where I tought, combined with the experiences of my own graduate offspring, lead me to believe that the university experience is now a pale shadow of that which I enjoyed 3 decades ago. Anyone else of my age with a view on this?

please note that I question the quality of the EXPERIENCE rather than the value of qualifications. It seems that there's no longer the contact with charismatic, challenging and inspiring lecturers who open your mind to your subject in ways you never thought possible. Comment and contact might be via margin notes on work that's literally been posted to a tutor. And what about the facility and encouragement to become totally immersed in ones subject? A couple of lectures/tutorials per week and no expectation that the students involvement goes much further. I,m just sad that the amazing, life enhancing experience which I had, doesnt seem to be there for the current generation.

Answer 1

No research and current reports show that Universities are dpoing so much better than before,so are their students.

Answer 2

I think in Britain, the overall quality of those attending university has declined, because instead of the top 5% of the population going to university, it's more like 50% that go.

With that, of course, you're going to get a bigger range of abilities. So how to ensure everyone gets through?

Of course, universities shouldn't. But unfortunately, the funding each university dept gets is directly connected to how many students pass the course. Therefore, in order to facilitate the continuation of certain courses and departments, of course some standards have to be lowered.

But what really is the underlying cause of any lowering of standards is the decline in the level of the classical secondary education.

I know government figures report year on year increases in passmarks. I'm sorry, but common sense denotes that this is simply against the law of averages. How can the education of the pupils improve so steadily year on year, without the odd minor setback? It can't. Some will shoot me for saying this, but it has to be the case that exams are getting easier.

This in no way is intended to undermine those undertaking such exams, as the competitiveness and sheer numbers means it's just as hard as ever in some instances to get ahead, and I really feel for those who are in that position. People said exams were getting easier when I did them (1995 for GCSEs, 1997 for A-Levels) and that was hard to stomach, because we could only do with the exams what we had been taught in the curriculum.

But having been through the Higher Education system and also worked in a university academic department, as well as having a partner who is a university academic and parents who were both lifelong teachers until they retired a couple of years ago at 60, I have to concur with your statement that the quality of HE has declined.

You cannot blame the Labour government for this though, because these measures were already in place and the curriculum was massively messed about with during the Tory years. The Labour government simply took up the mantle and carried on.

Answer 3

No, I strongly disagree.

Forty years ago I attended one of the top 10 universities, my son graduated from the same school six years ago., He was MUCH better prepared than I, and he had to work much harder to succeed there. Every single one of his friends was a really, really smart kid and every one of them was a workaholic. They studied constantly and wrote papers and did real research, far better and more sophisticated than what we did when I was there. My other children also were much better prepared for college than I or any of my friends were years ago. And they took college courses which constantly challenged them.

Also, I have tutored gifted students at the local elite high school for about 20 years. There has been a constant improvement in the preparedness of these kids. They know more, they have better writing and critical thinking skills and a much more balanced knowledge base about the world as a whole. Information is more available to them, and they take advantage of it. They know that the world is competitive and are ready to take on the competition. Every year they go on to college and have great experiences.

When I went to school in the 1960s only about 1/5th or fewer of HS grads went to college. Now, well over half. So kids who in the old days would be in the Marines, are today in college classes. Of course they do not do as well as the elite kids of years gone by, but they do MUCH better than the equivalent kids of years ago who never went to college.

I am not at all pessimistic about todays college students. The best are better than they ever were before, and the lowest are constantly improving.

Answer 4

In most cases, an undergraduate degree is the bare minimum education level required to get out of the poor house. Many people use a bachelor's as a stepping stone for graduate studies. Without doing a master's your level of education is rather mediocre by today's standards. I certainly don't recommend NOT going to university, but it has certainly lost its prestige over the years. If you want a well paying job, your best bet is to do a master's degree.

Answer 5

University is now meaningless now for most parts. With meaningless subjects, it is now becoming something that 18 years old do because it is the norm. What has happened to learning a trade or learning on the job.

With the exception of traditional universities and traditional subjects, for most parts is is just a 3 to 4 years waste of time.

Answer 6

I think a percentage of people today, see university as another excuse to go out get wasted on weekend binges of ecstacy & ket, Threesomes. Then moan that they've assignments to do.