Comments on: What do we want from a University?

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:28:19 +0000

In the 80s and 90s multi-nationals employed British workers with A levels on the same grade as American graduates. An American needed a masters to match a British degree. Moreover, in Britain anyone bright enough – rich or poor – could benefit from a University education without having to worry about living costs or college fees. I felt very proud of our education system which worked so well.

The pursuit of prizes-for-all has destroyed the relative advantage we enjoyed and the loss of grants followed by the introduction of tuition fees means financial concerns now deter many bright students – others are disadvantaged by having to work during term-time to support themselves and all but the richest are left worrying about debt.

Do away with the 50% target for university entry and bring back academic excellence, abolish tuition fees and reinstate a grant system so that the best and brightest of our youth can flourish again. Britain will benefit.

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:01:06 +0000

I am currently doing a little part-time TEFL teaching. the other teacher is a student at de Montfort University where she is reading TEFL.
She is a good teacher, in her twenties.
This week-end she is working to pay off her debt. She has Sunday morning off for Charity work. Otherwise, Monday through to Friday, after driving for over an hour each way, she teaches French children English and supervises them all day. She also has a week-end job. she rubs her eyes a lot and says she has trouble sleeping at 3 a.m.
She works, she tells me, during the term too. She is deeply in debt and wants, when qualified, to travel the world. I do not think she is either interested or that she has time for interesting hobbies and pursuits after hours.
It is so different from my own (distant) time at Cambridge where we were always discussing things we couldn't understand and so on. We got fed richly. We got a good grant to live off. We had dignity and superb teaching one to one from a world authority. We also got excellent, stimulating lecturers. We lived in a mediaeval setting and ate there too. Often we made life-long friends.

By: Freeborn John

Freeborn John — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:20:09 +0000

Universities should indeed be the place where serendipity flowers because it is not realistic to expect it to happen anywhere else. Even the most innovative company has bills to pay, short-term goals to achieve, processes to follow, etc. which focus (and restrict) the mind on more mundane matters.

All cities in southern England inevitably live in the cultural shadow of London. A local university can be an important source of vitality to light up these shadows. As someone who works in the outskirts of Reading (close to the Windmill) I feel that the University is uniquely positioned to light up the life of the city but has sub critical mass. The temporary influx of vitality that occurs during say the Reading Rock Festival is palpable, serving only to highlight by contrast that the general ambience of the place is primarily commercial and corporate. Of course the commercial and corporate life of a city is important too, but these interests (of which I am part) would also benefit from a cultural scene energised by the University. When driving to Reading yesterday I heard a feature on the radio about Austin in Texas and how the vitality of its cultural scene (centered on its Universities) had attracted an influx of companies looking for creative minds. My company had a plan some time ago to relocate a large number of staff from the Heathrow area to Reading, but this clearly will never be fulfilled now. There are numerous â€œlogicalâ€ reasons for this, but a powerful undeclared reason is simply resistance from staff who feel that Reading is a bit of a backwater. Of course Austin does not suffer from close proximity to alternative cultural centres in the way that Reading does, but I cannot help but feel that the University is the one facility which Reading has that could (over time) grow its appeal beyond the mere convenience of its transport links.

By: Cliff

Cliff — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:05:29 +0000

You make some good points John.
I like most of the ideas the university are suggesting and more often than not, as is the case in industry, much of the useful discussion and debate happens outside of the formal sessions.

One thing I would like to see is the removal of tuition fees, this would allow students to get on with their studies instead of having to take jobs to fund themselves, it would also allow students not to start out in life with huge debts…..Hardly a good way to start adult life is it?

I wonder if a university education has been devalued due to the large number of polytechnics that have been give university status and offer degrees, in my opinion, of little value.

One thing that does worry me, not about universities but the education system in general, is the fact that most of the red brick universities no longer accept A Levels as an indication of ability and now insist on would be students sitting an entrance exam. I wonder what that says about the value of our so called gold star standard examinations?

By: Stuart Fairney

Stuart Fairney — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:34:39 +0000

First off, how many of the audience do you think had to go to wiki to see what "coruscate" meant (myself included)?

You are quite right in the sense this 'half-way house' design reflecting local vernacular to a degree is an utterly hopeless concept, I can't stand it and always brief architects not to do this. Some smaller sites really do need to fit in to the surroundings, others, given sufficient mass and setting, can stand alone.