Comment from Director of the University Centre for Manufacure in Manchester - discuss

Professor Bush, director of the UCMM (see title) has attacked Tony Blairs policy of getting 50% of people into higher education.

Basically this is another attack on "mickey mouse" courses and universities, what do you think?
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He warns that money is being wasted on "students of marginal ability and commitment perusing courses of dubious economic and educational value."

He continues..

"to spend three years at public expense doing little or nothing of educational value or any relevance for the economy will simply stoke the fires of discontent among themselves, other students and taxpayers alike".

Personally I think that he has a point, there are alot of courses that are of dubious economic or educational value.

Reply 1

AT82

I am divided on this issue as the what the government is saying that 50% of under 30 year olds should have some kind of higher education qualifcation by the time they are 30.

Most of these qualifications will not be done in universities. I think there are around 300 insitutions if not more listed in UCAS, only 100 of them are universities.

Currently around 25% of the population will do a degree before 30 and the government are not making any more places for Bachelor level degrees for the next 10 years. So it seems to me like the government are already taking steps to stop the mickey mouse thing spreading.

There are some courses that are no use to society Liesure Management at my university probably being one of them. However how do you decide what is mickey mouse or not?

University of Manchester

Manchester

Reply 2

Mark_KK

amazingtrade

There are some courses that are no use to society Liesure Management at my university probably being one of them. However how do you decide what is mickey mouse or not?

I know of someone who did Theatre Studies at Huddersfield. Quite how this has had an effect on their career I know not.

It is clear that there are such things as easy courses, not just at university.

Over 40% of people who did Sociology A2 level at my college got an "A" in last summers exam results, now given the fact we are hardly a top academic institution what does this say about the course?

When a relative of mine did Medicine at uni they said they used to laugh at the people doing social sciences (sociology etc...), the medical students joked it could be added on to the Medicine degree as an extra module.

Before any of the "vocational" people come on here defending Golf Course managment I am not trying to stir up stuff, just trying to ask a sensible question.