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Is University really worth it?
Does going to school really pay off after having graduated in this current economic condition? The decision to go to a school of higher learning is a major commitment of not only time but also money. The question is, does this schooling give students an extra edge against others applying for the same jobs. The current recession has touched absolutely every facet of living, including those planning on going to college. Fees for entrance as well as the cost of living during schooling can be a formidable challenge for students alone or students and family.
Students wishing to work part time while in college are also having a difficult time as with the current condition of the economy and so many companies downsizing or closing down, jobs just aren't available in the number they used to be and there are a multitude of people all applying for the same jobs, internships, traineeships and any other type of job there is out there in the market today. Many companies, though they may have a little more work than they can realistically handle, are unwilling to hire anyone to come in and work for them. The economy is so unstable, the companies don't know what to expect next so they err on the side of caution. It's not just the people graduating that are having a hard time, even the schools themselves are in a constant state of flux. There are many cuts within the schools and within funding, including available grants. At a time when education seems even more important to have, it may be getting even harder to acquire. Some institutions that have cancelled grants say that the money will still be directed towards higher education purposes and to target students from lower income families.
Many institutions are talking of raising tuition fees across Britain, and students have to decide if the investment they will have to put into the education will be equitable considering the opportunities the higher education affords them. This is very definitely a very turbulent time for every part of the economy and education is no exception. There is no clear way for the general student body to see whether the investment in their future through higher education will be worth it in the end. There is no way for them to know if they will have better opportunities or any opportunities once their schooling is over. The prospective student will need to have a clear focus of what he or she wants to achieve, what knowledge they need to know to achieve it and if the field of study they are engaging in has the capacity to support them once they have graduated. There will be different answers to this question for different individuals. They will also need to figure out if there is enough financial ability available to see them through the full schooling once they have started. They cannot rely on a job coming their way once their schooling has begun, they may have more knowledge than when they started, but in these economic times, they will not have enough knowledge to make them really marketable until their schooling is completed. Then they will have a better chance of competing out in the tough job market of the time.
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Developing A Universal Education & Skills Landscape - The Key Challenge In Preparation For Tomorrow's Economy
As the 2009/2010 university term kicks off in earnest, the ongoing recession is reported to have made our campuses more diverse than ever before, with an increasing number of older learners returning to the classroom in an attempt to add more skills to their respective CVs - and to become more employable for when the job market turns.
Additionally, the latest word from the UK Government regarding higher education has come from Peter Mandelson, the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, and his calling to ‘cut out overlapping bureaucracy and duplicated programmes' in a UK-wide review of higher education research and funding bodies. Yet, despite Mr Mandelson's clearly noble intentions, All responses to this ‘review' have not been positive, with Phil Willis of the Liberal Democrats calling for a focus on ‘a universal education and skills landscape' instead of simply eliminating so-called ‘Quangos'.
So what exactly does Willis mean here when he talks of ‘a universal education and skills landscape'? With the recession causing more and more adults to embark on training and distance learning courses, or to take a break from employment altogether, the next few years are likely to make UK universities far more mixed in terms of the ages of those enrolling - the bigger picture is that our institutions need to be as accessible for people of all ages, and not simply for those who have just received their A-Levels.
Of course, this is more than simply ensuring that the correct teaching resources are in place, to ensure that those who haven't set foot in a classroom for twenty years are as up to speed with modern day learning as younger students. It will also be important for courses to be more flexible, with more part-time and online based learning to be offered to suit those with busier family and work orientated lifestyles.
Yet, this is only really the beginning. The notion of better integration on a UK level (between adult education centres, colleges, schools and universities) is ongoing and will seek to make the best use of facilities - but the integration on an international level offered by e-Learning technologies is also something that needs to be pushed. Yet, aside from the ‘learning' bit of preparation for tomorrow's economy, we also need to look at the university as a social environment, and to ask the question: is this uni bar/library/cafeteria as desirable for a 50 year old as it is for an 18 year old?
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The reality of attending an online university
Even though I attend one of the leading UK universities for media related courses I still find that there is always something to complain about on the programme. I am sure that it’s the same story in every other top university across the country. It could be that you don’t feel as though you have enough lectures to fill your week, or that you have too many lectures and too much work piled onto your schedule. Maybe you feel as though the computers at the university need updating and that there are not enough books in the library?
The stately picture of university that we get from American television programmes is far from the reality. Stately buildings concealing long wood panelled corridors and cosy dorm rooms with huge bay windows overlooking freshly mowed lawns…the truth is quite different. You are more likely to find crumbling plaster and old carpet, dusty cupboards and creaky featherweight beds that you can lift with one arm. As for university lettings it’s a matter of one-word fits all, ‘stark’.
If I had known everything I do now about the reality of university life I would have certainly looked harder at the possibility of doing online courses. At the time I applied for my Honours degree I was wrapped up in the idea of getting away to live in a different city for a while and having the opportunity to meet new people. The problem with this is if you are applying to a good course then you won’t have the time to enjoy those things. £3000 or more is a lot of money and you should expect to get at least twenty hours of lectures and many more hours of homework on top. Sitting around in strange smelling lecture halls crammed with too many people and a lecturer who has never heard the words ‘voice projection’ can often leave you looking around and wondering why you first wanted to come to university.
If you are a mature student then the experience can be even worse. You soon come to realise that most other students are of average age 18 and have no other interests apart from the percentage of alcohol compared to price in each bottle of cider/cheap wine sold at the nearest off licence.
There are other options for those who feel that they have had enough life experience to warrant not skipping away to another city to scrape by for a few years. Many people who want to go into higher education don’t consider the option of an online education yet this can often be the best yet most overlooked opportunity.
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