Well, let's start with a rant!
I feel I've pretty much wasted £600 and the last two years at TVU (Thames Valley University, the former "Reading College"
. Just thought I'd tell how I saw it from my perspective. I've no doubt I'm going to annoy someone, but if you think I'm wrong, form a reasoned argument and post it.
In 2005, I started a foundation plumbing course. I sailed through it with the highest overall marks, doing well in the practical, theory and key skills aspects.
However, I was rather startled to find that effort counts for absolutely nothing.
After putting exceptional effort into the technical drawings and key skills presentations, I then sat in a presentation while other people, who had not done a single thing, were allowed to go and print out something totally irrelevant off the internet and just stand and read from the page! In fact, I clearly remember one standing there, having not even read through, so that he said:
“…and for information you can click her….I mean here. Oh, I don’t think I was meant to read that.”
And they were allowed to do this over and over again until it scraped a bare minimum standard.
The whole foundation course appeared to be just about “bums on seats” – doesn’t matter how incapable someone was, they’d pass. “Everyone must have a prize”. I only remember one person getting kicked off the course, and that was because he fiddled his EMA. But it’s about educational standards, not the money, right?
And key skills was just a joke - questions like, "What belongs at the end of a sentence. A full stop or an elephant"?
And yet still 50% failed. They probably answered "release back into the community" for that one, though...
I was at a builders merchants when I saw one guy's leaflets pinned up.
This boy was consistently and utterly hopeless, missed a large chunk of the course, and no-one I spoke to even remembers him being there for the last month. HOW did he pass?
I got onto year 2 of the NVQ. The standard was far higher, only three of us from year one made it through, and then was less messing about, so no griped there.
At this point, I needed a job in order to complete the practical aspect. How hard could it be? I can turn my hand to any skill needed – I’ve done everything from electricity network maps for the national grid to huge fence runs on farms in New Zealand.
Then I hit the snag – the Polish dimension. So when I ring up a plumber (one of the 45 CORGI registered ones in a 30 mile radius that hasn’t gone out of business), the answer’s either:
• “I have a choice – watch over an unqualified person who probably won’t be insured, or backhand a Pole £3 an hour”
• OR – “You’re from TVU? Sorry mate, no way!”
A lot of us who weren't already in the industry found the same thing.
That’s not a very enviable reputation for a college to have. Places for H&V students are in extremely short supply.
Here's a transcript from BBC Radio 4’s “file on four” programme, explaining exactly the problem I had:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme..._4/6366523.stm
I’ve also contacted the council and hospital’s subcontractors – all say exactly the same thing – I the last year or so, they can’t get insurance for people who aren’t qualified, so they can’t take me on.
I've decided to go in a different direction now, but I went back to the college for a couple of hours to print some stuff off and have a chat with a couple of the lecturers about the place. There was the usual spouting of figures - you know "of former polytechs based in the Kings Road we have the highest ratio of students to carpet in this postcode". That kind of thing.
But what struck me most, not having been in for a couple of months, was just what a weird, un-academic atmosphere the place had. I was trying to work in the computer room. I remember about 3 months ago, I quickly and discreetly answered my vibrating mobile and someone was on me in a second, waving at the "No Mobiles" sign even though I was almost whispering and there was lots of noise. But when I went back, there was one "special" guy, not even logged on, just sitting there making moo-ing noises. And in the far corner, 3 BIG dudes listening to rap music, loudly, through a tinny mobile phone.
When I asked if anyone was going to tell moo-ing man or rap-dudes to shut up, it was a case of "he's special so we're not allowed to interfere (even though he doesn't even have a PC account)". Oh, and sometimes he makes barking noises, as the girl the other side of me told me. "It's well annoying, can't concentrate or nuffink", as another message appeared on her MSN...oh, and the answer to the big dudes was "would YOU tell them to turn it off"?
Now, I'm not tarring ALL departments and students with the same brush, but just before Christmas (sorry, winterval or whatever it is now) I spoke to a woman in the queue at the cafe who said she'd just quit because every time she tried to discipline or kick someone disruptive or lazy off the course, she was told that as many people as possible had to pass, no matter what.
And that, ladies and gentleman, is Blair's vision 50% in higher education.
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TVU - what a joke.
And the OP summed it up perfectly with And that, ladies and gentleman, is Blair's vision 50% in higher education. 50% aren't capable of higher education, so 50% shouldn't be in higher education- simple as. It's bad enough having to put up with dimwits like that at school and it shouldn't really be acceptable at college/sixth form, but that people like that can get into uni really is ridiculous.
Re: TVU - what a joke.
